Thalassophobia

The phobia revolves around the common knowledge of the ocean being the most unexplored and mysterious, not to mention the largest, water body that holds countless unwanted surprises within. And thus brings aquaphobia to a whole new level.

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Thalassophobia is very different from aquaphobia itself, though, as the fear mostly involves sharks or sea monsters or the vast abyss itself.

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According to Mark Carlin “A phobia is very different from fear as a phobia is an irrational fear”. Similar to the fear of darkness (nyctophobia), where one is afraid because they can’t see in front or around them, thus causing them to rely on their other senses which they normally aren’t used to, this fear can’t exactly be classified as irrational, but primal.

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Phobias are mostly stimulated by the fear of threats that are mostly unlikely, in this case the likeliness of being attacked by a shark while swimming or another kind of deep sea monster, the odds of which are extremely and increasingly low. .

A lot of fears are irrational to some extent, as we tend to create this reality where we think they are real when they are really not. For those suffering from the fear of the ocean, there is probably nothing dangerous in vast majority of open water, but that doesn’t make the danger feel any less real.

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Since most normal fears people harbour that keep them safe while navigating the world were learning over time and repetition, training them to overcome it is equally challenging. .

A phobia is an intense emotional response, usually related to a single memory, be it an object or experience, and thus somehow can be related to trauma. .

Due to the irrational nature of these fears, people with phobias are usually told to 'get over it' because it's 'silly'. But we must understand that it isn't very silly to them.

Written by: Mridhul Prathap