You May Already Have Thalassophobia, But You Just Don’t Know It Yet

Fearing the unknown depths of the sea or any other body of water is something that a lot of people have. This is not surprising, especially for those who don’t know how to swim. But do you know that there’s actually a name for such fear? It’s called Thalassophobia and it is described as persistent fear of large bodies of water and whatever that is lurking within their depths.

Now some people are not even aware that they have this condition. So how do you know you have Thalassophobia? It’s certainly more than just being afraid of swimming in the deep. Here are some signs that you are afflicted with this phobia.

1) Deep water makes you nervous.

2) You’re afraid of being unsure of what is actually down there…

3) Imagining those living things in the ocean is enough to give you a panic attack.

4) Even the man-made creations lurking beneath makes you nervous.

5) You get extremely anxious with the idea of being too far away from the mainland.

6) When you’re in the water, you have that feeling of helplessness – that things can go beyond your control.

7) You wouldn’t even think of swimming here…

8) Or navigate through this…

9) You couldn’t fathom the idea of repairing oil rigs for a living.

10 ) The idea of navigating through a road completely flooded by the sea wants you to hide in the covers.

It’s important to note that thalassophobia is different from the fear of water itself, which is called aquaphobia. People who suffer from extreme thalassophobia will sweat, shake, and vomit when confronted with large bodies of water. Just like all phobias, it’s possible to control this fear with the help of psychologists and hypnotists.

The fear of the sea is actually understandable, according to Marc Carlin, a hypnotist who uses cognitive therapy techniques and hypnotherapy to help people overcome their fears and phobias. He said:

“In context [a fear of the sea] is not irrational. It’s primal.

“We all have this fear of darkness because we can’t see and we rely on our vision to protect us. If you shut your eyes and you can’t see, now you have to rely on senses that you don’t normally rely upon.”