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I am 36 years old and I do not suffer from any debillitating disease. I do not fear water, I even enjoy playing in the pool or in the sea. I tried to learn swimming many times, with different coaches, but to no avail.
Seems a lot of people can't swim, or at least can't swim well enough to get themselves out of trouble. Can you even dog-paddle well enough to save yourself if a riptide takes you out of wading water into water over your head, or if you fell into a pool?
If you don't see yourself swimming for your life or fun then I don't see why you need to.
I'm not the greatest swimmer. I really want to learn how to surf though so I need to work on that. *sigh* I've been saying that for years :(
I've never understood people who say they can't swim, yet claim to have no anxieties about the water. People are born with an innate ability to keep themselves afloat in water and to move around in it. Sure, you're not born knowing how to do the breaststroke, but if you're not freaking out and flailing around, your body will want to naturally flatten itself out for buoyancy and your arms and legs will move the right way to keep you afloat. Swimming is as easy and natural as breathing and even easier than walking because you don't need to practice balance. Babies will swim if you drop them in water, not that I suggest doing so, but all babies have to crawl before they walk. If you can't at least float on your back, you're obviously more anxious than you think you are, or else you have cement bones.
When kids learn to swim, it's the ones who are excited to get in the water who don't even need a "lesson". The ones with reservations or a fear of drowning are the ones who tend to overthink swimming. Swimming requires little thought. My advice? Relax! Just let your body do what it wants to do. If you start sinking, let your body naturally correct itself. The aim is to spread out, let your limbs move freely and loosely and to work with the natural surface tension of the water. Humans have an inborn relationship with water. Our arms and legs are muscled such that they make for perfect paddles. If you're letting yourself make naturally sweeping, curved motions with your arms and kicking gently with your legs, you'll find staying afloat is easy. However, you'll never stay afloat if you thrash violently around.
Keep trying in shallow water with a friend to help (: Breathe slowly and enjoy yourself!
Normal. A LOT of people either don't know how to swim or can't learn a certain skill no matter how hard they try. It's nothing to worry about.
I would guess that most people on this planet can't swim. After all, the instant you dip your big toe in the ocean, you move yourself down the evolutionary ladder about six rungs and become food.