Swimming Past PTSD
Derek Robinson grew up in Southern California loving to swim. His passion for the water led him to become an ocean lifeguard and a competitive swimmer in college. The desire to help others motivated him to join the fire service in Los Angeles, and he retired as a fire captain for Kern County in Bakersfield.
The World Police and Fire Games offered Derek a unique path to continue as an adult competitive swimmer, and he has won his share of medals through eight WPFG Games. In 2017, however, he found himself in a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “The anxiety caused me to scratch from my best swim event- the 100-meter fly. My broken mind had convinced me I couldn't finish,” he recalls. “But after getting healthy and coming out of my darkness, I was focused on doing the 100M fly in the next Games and proving I could finish. Not only did I finish in 2019, but I won and set a new games record.”
“I was unaware at first why I was having a lot of anxiety and depression,” he continues. “For me it was a build-up of several incidents that involved children that were lost. I suppressed them for over 15 years. I thought I was safe, and the memories of those calls just started flooding back.”
Derek says it’s important to find the right help and has written a book about what he’s learned. “There's multiple treatments and modalities to therapy, and I found the right counselor,” he says. “I always advocate that if you don't feel like you can open up to a good friend who doesn't really understand, or to a therapist who's never worked with first responders, you need to find someone else.”
He also credits swimming as his healing and calming factor. “There's no emails or phone calls in the water. It was always an escape from whatever was going on and a chance to focus on something and not have your thoughts wondering.”
Derek enjoys visiting new places where the Games are held and is excited to go to Birmingham. “I’ve never been to that part of the country. I'm a craft beer lover and I already saw there's a beer trail there. I’m looking forward to experiencing a little southern hospitality!”
By Del Moon