Chronicles of a Lifeguard: Sub-Chapter One - Panic Is Not An Option

Log start: 11:25pm August 2nd, 2010

There's bulletin board at our pool with a poster named "Panic is not an option." On the same bulletin board are posters explaining some popular water sports such as scuba diving, surfing, and recreational beach things. There are posters that give you annual statistics on the risks of water related accidents compared to on-land activities. One of these statistics compare the risk of being killed by a shark to being killed by slipping in your own kitchen. The risks of getting killed by a shark is 1:14,000,000 and the risk of death by slipping in your own kitchen is 1:15,000 falls. On the poster next to it, there are statistics that say that you are less likely to die via a pool drowning than someone randomly stabbing you on the street.
In most life threatening situations, the key to survival is to always stay calm. You should never panic because you're in a deep shit hole because then you'll never get out of it. It's hard to keep that in mind if something life threatening is actually happening to you, but you must always tell yourself to relax, or things will get worse. Remember, things can always be worse, but it should never be.
During recreational swim on saturday, my co-worker and I had a lady call out for help. This was the first time in five years that i've worked saturday recreational swim that someone had actually called out for help. This lady was in her early 60s, she was a fairly large eastern European lady who didn't know how to swim very well and floated out too far to the deep end. This lady, when she was calling out for help, was hanging on the lane line and was panicking because she couldn't get her feet on to the floor. Lets analyze this situation from two perspectives, starting with the old lady and then the lifeguards.
Old Lady - Oh God, shit shit shit shit shit, i'm going to die. "HELP! help, someone. SOMEBODY HELP ME" I fucking hate the swimming pool, I don't want to die "HELP, HELP."
Lifeguard(Basically my point of view) - Fuck me... i'm not in my swimming trunks because no one ever calls out for help and now I might have to go in because they're too stupid to follow rules? Ugh... sorry, my un-named co-worker, I promise you that if you get this one, i'll get the next one. :D

Now, the overall situation, as analyzed by the lifeguard:
I don't expect everyone to know about swimming as much as the lifeguards do, people start off slow and there are obstacles along the way. But wouldn't it be common sense that you don't swim too far out if you can't swim? And i understand that old people fucking LOVE to do water aerobics, but please, why would you even do aerobics in the water in which you can't even stand? I don't get it. Further more, look around you, the lane line which you are holding on is attached to the wall, you're about 5 feet away from the wall, it really doesn't take a genius to go "so... if i pull myself... i'll eventually get to safety!"
This is the exact reason why panicking is not an option when you're in danger, you lose all common sense and you can't add one and one together. Something so simple as to, "oh wait, i'm hanging on this lane line, i'm floating, not drowning. So let me just pull myself to the wall" will escape your mind when you're not thinking logically.
To me, that's as illogical as having a flat tire, changing your own flat tire, and then pulling out a knife and slashing your own tire.
There were some minor flaws on my end too, like not being in trunks and trying to reason with a person in distress, but that will come later on.
Focus is the fine line between saving yourself and putting yourself in trouble; if you're not concentrating on what's happening, then you're going to crumble and lose it. It's a hard thing to grasp, staying calm will be the last thing that I do if i find myself in a huge mess, but it is imperative that you do remember that there is an option to not panic. No matter how afraid you are in a situation, you must never panic because then you're done for.

Panic is not an option for anything. You lose your mind and it's game over.


HakoneDayDreamer, TIRED FROM WORK. Blah.