Adult swimming lessons: It's time to take the plunge

We can't deny it, Australia has the best beaches in the world. But what if you can't enjoy it. What if you are so riddled with fear, that even walking on the beach with your feet in the water makes your anxiety levels go through the roof. For 33 year old Laurén Roberts, this is a reality. She is one of our popular studio crew in the Nine News Perth newsroom. She moved from Liverpool to Perth 6 years ago, falling in love with the Australian lifestyle, except for the beaches. Laurén has a fear of water. It's so crippling it has restricted her enjoying some holiday moments with her friends. Her fear of water and lack of swimming skills even stopped her friends marriage proposal.

"My friend wanted to propose to his girlfriend and he wanted to do it snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef with all his friends on the boat with him. He was organising the trip but his girlfriend said 'We can't do that. Laurén can't swim.' We all knew why he wanted to do it. I said, 'Don't worry, I won't go.' She said 'No, we're not doing something you can't enjoy.' So we didn't do it. I ruined his proposal."

Luckily, Laurén's friend was forgiving and found another way of proposing to his now wife. It was one of many times that Laurén felt she let her friends down. This year, she decided she would not let them down anymore. An upcoming trip to Thailand has pushed her to take the plunge and sign up for swimming lessons.