List Solutions to Reduce the Probability of Occurrence
While it is possible that someone might swim over the top of you and push you underwater, the probability of that actually happening has got to be very low. Generally, people are just not that aggressive in most race situations.
You can further reduce the chance that anyone will swim over the top of you to zero if you begin at the back of the swim wave or wide and to the side of the swim pack away from the buoys. If you are swimming by yourself, no one can swim over you.
Practice in Open Water
If you are swimming miles in a pool, but never do swim workouts in open water, you need to do open water swim workouts on a regular basis. If there are no open water swim opportunities near you, travel to another town if necessary. Of course you need to do the swims in a safe environment with a kayak or boat near.
Each time you begin your open water swim practice, repeat a calming mantra such as "I'm strong, fit and calm." When you get to race day, tell yourself that this open water swim is no different than a workout. You've completed more than the race distance in training, so endurance is not a problem. You just have more friends with you this time.
More: 6 Tips for Beginning Open Water Swimmers
Why Are You Racing?
When athletes are anxious about race results, disappointing family or being embarrassed by performance, I always ask, "Why are you racing?"
I've never had a single person tell me the reason that they race, or the goal for the season, is to impress family or co-workers.
Most people race to improve personal performances and for some, a goal is to land on the podium. You cannot control how other people think or perform; the only thing within your control is your performance at that moment in time. Focus on yourself.
When you start to feel anxious ask yourself, "What can I do right now to make my race the best it can possibly be?" If you focus on the things you can do to optimize your race experience, some of the anxiety is removed. There is peace in knowing you're doing all that can be done at this moment.
Refrain from allowing your thoughts to drift to "would'a, should'a, could'a" done things different in training. That time is gone, focus on the present. Save the troubleshooting for improvement until the day after the race.
More: Dave Scott's Mental Tips for Triathletes
Summary
I've included just a few examples of tools I use to help people. There are a number of mental toughness books available to help you work on mental fitness. Similar to physical fitness, you need to work on mental aspects of training and racing. Doing one workout won't get you through a triathlon. Reading one column won't eliminate your anxiety.
In both cases, working on fitness and mental skills, a little bit each day pays big dividends on race day.
I hope this helps, best wishes.
More: Mental Preparation for Your First Triathlon
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