The Fat Guy In The Back
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 2,532
Bikes: '81 Panasonic Sport, '02 Giant Boulder SE, '08 Felt S32, '10 Diamondback Insight RS, '10 Windsor Clockwork, '15 Kestrel Evoke 3.0, '19 Salsa Mukluk
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I think the SCUBA approach wouldn't break you of the habit of breathing underwater. If anything, it might encourage it.
Question: Can you hold your breath above water? If not, then that's probably the first thing to start practicing. Keep practicing until you can increase your endurance up to about 30 seconds. This generally is far longer than you would need to hold your breath during regular swimming, but it will get you used to the technique and the sensations.
Then I would move to the shallow end and do bobs. Start with quick bobs and slowly decrease the pace until you get used to holding your breath under water. Once you are able to stay under water comfortably for 5-10 seconds at a time while resisting the urge to breathe, then you're ready to move on to attempting strokes and learning to swim.
Kudos to you for facing your challenges head-on and looking for a solution. Too many people would just throw up their hands in defeat and quit.