There are many phobias associated with water bodies and Thalassophobia is one of them. It refers to an intense and often unwarranted fear of the ocean. The word Thalassophobia comes from Greek thalassa meaning ‘sea or ocean’ and phobos meaning fear or dread.
Thalassophobia is often related to fear of salty water, fear of large waves, fear of distance from the land as well as fear of the vast emptiness. Some Thalassophobes might not be afraid of the sea per se; they are simply afraid of encountering sea creatures. Oceans are vast and relatively unexplored and people already suffering from anxiety disorders fear it due to its “mysteries”. Sometimes, terms like Aquaphobia and Hydrophobia are often used to describe Thalassophobia. Aquaphobia is actually the fear of all kinds of water bodies or of flooding from rains, and sometimes may even be triggered by the water in a bathtub. Hydrophobia on the other hand, develops in the advanced stage of Rabies and might make a person so afraid of water that he refuses to drink any liquid. Some cases of water phobias may even be related to the fear of swallowing.
Causes of Thalassophobia
Often, we read news reports of Great white sharks, electric eels or other dangerous sea predators attacking swimmers in the ocean. We have also seen documentaries of large squids being washed up on the shore or hauled out by fishermen. All these sightings and reports can instill the fear of the ocean.
Popular books like Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea have explored mythical and monstrous sea creatures (namely the Kraken which is a prehistoric cephalopod). Likewise, Moby Dick and films like Jaws depict huge whales and sharks that are not only deadly but evolved enough to think intelligently and target humans.
Similarly, real cases of ships including the Titanic drowning in the vast ocean have been made terrifyingly realistic by their movie versions. People who are very afraid of violent death or particularly of drowning are likelier to develop Thalassophobia aggravated by these movies and books.
A negative or traumatic event (experienced directly or indirectly), can also trigger a deep fear of Oceans. Sometimes, parents or caregivers unknowingly give inputs that might trigger Thalassophobia in children.
Other relatively uncommon causes of fear of the sea are linked to genetic disorders, or diseases involving the thyroid gland as well as hormonal imbalances or adrenal insufficiencies.
Symptoms of Fear of the Ocean phobia
Some cases of Thalassophobia are so severe that the symptoms might interfere with the sufferer’s day to day life. In other cases, they might manifest only when the phobic is brought to the shoreline. Some might be unable to watch pictures or images about the ocean let alone movies involving them.
Typically, the fear of the ocean phobia presents a variety of physical and emotional symptoms like:
- Shaking or trembling at the sight of the ocean
- Feeling terrified so much so that constant movie stills of death and dying play through the phobic’s mind.
- Feeling detached with reality, feeling numb or being unable to express oneself clearly.
- Weeping, running away etc.
- Gastrointestinal distress, nausea.
Naturally, these could be debilitating symptoms especially when they interfere with one’s social activities involving beaches or when the phobic has to encounter the sea frequently.
Overcoming Thalassophobia
Several types of therapies have shown positive results in overcoming the fear of the ocean.
Hypnotherapy– This therapy involves deep relaxation under the guidance of a trained practitioner. It helps the therapist find out the root cause of one’s ocean phobia. A series of hypnosis sessions help “debug the response to the fear” eventually minimizing the anxiety caused each time one sees the ocean.
NLP or Neuro-linguistic programming therapy– Another effective therapy is NLP therapy that helps one understand how the mind creates reality. This helps the phobic literally “reprogram his mind” to create a different response than he normally does upon confronting the object of his fears, in this case, the Ocean. Several NLP sessions might be needed to minimize and eliminate ocean phobia, depending upon its severity.
Other effective means of overcoming intense fear of oceans is through the use of energy psychology or “needle-less Acupuncture”. One must also understand that the oceans are generally safe and the instances of death related to them are far less compared to deaths caused by road accidents or natural factors. Understanding this can help one rationalize their fear. Gradually exposing oneself to the ocean can also, overtime, help one completely overcome Thalassophobia.
Jupiter Moone says
My phobia started from watching the Titanic movie! Seeing a whole ship just sink like that! I don’t have a problem swimming in pools or dipping my feet into lakes and oceans. But if you think I’m going all the way in, yeah, right! When I see photos of sunken ships or objects at the bottom of the ocean, it cringes me out; I just can’t bring myself to look at them!
Amazing says
I am so scared of the ocean, or really any deep body of water. Even if I can see the bottom I am so scared that I feel a sense of impending doom. I told my mom about it but she said I’m making it up in my head. I guess it’s hard for her to think water can be that scary since she grew up on the water. I’m okay with pools, and man-made lazy rivers at the water parks, but real rivers, lakes, the ocean, all are so terrifying. I don’t think I’m really scared of the water itself, but more of what’s below the water. And just the vastness of the ocean. When I get in an ocean, lake, river, etc. I feel like I’m about to die. There is a feeling of impending doom. One time I was with my family on the boat and my mom had convinced me to go on the tube with my two brothers. Once we were on the tube my littlest brother pushed me off. (I was 10 here). I started screaming and crying. My dad had to jump in and get me out of the water onto the boat. Once on the boat I was still sobbing for at least 10 minutes out of the water. I can look at pictures of deep water but it sends a shiver down my spine.
Nicetry says
I couldn’t describe it more perfectly. I cried too when my sibling pushed me off. I was terrified and I was about to drown. Yes, I can swim, but there was no way I was dangling my legs because obviously I feel impending doom when I’m fully exposed.
analee says
Wow, I think I have this phobia too, and the fear of fish. Yes, a damn fish. Single live fish in the water can make me cry, vomit, have a mental breakdown, drown, and make me have nightmares. It is just a weird uncommon phobia that I have as well as the ocean. When I went on a trip (St Maarten), I was in the water looking down at all those fish, and I started crying, barely breathing, just like a panic attack or similar.
Yuna McHill says
Hello there!
I believe like everyone here that this has perfectly described my fears.
It’s a bit weird since when I was little, I loved being in the water and I could swim without problems. I must have developed it during my tweens or late childhood. It’s so drastic that I start to feel afraid (closed chest, panicked breathing) even in freaking swimming pools. Even if I wear goggles or know what’s under me, the feeling of weightlessness terrifies me to no end, I feel absolutely paranoid. Same when I see videos that show how vast and deep the ocean is, I freak out so badly, blue holes, cliff drops, you name it, I freak. I haven’t swam in years, not in pools, not in lakes and certainly not in oceans, even though I can handle going up to the waist. From the waist downward or when I can’t touch ground anymore, bye bye composure. Also the creatures lurking there, some are downright out of a Lovecraftian novel. I’m not scared of being on a ship though or a secure boat. But I firmly decline when I have to board a small motorboat or a kayak.
The thought that I’m so far gone I can’t even swim in pools is scary, but how I’m gonna make this fear better, I don’t know for the love of me.
Idk says
I couldn’t describe it better than you did, I feel the exact same.
L says
I just found this article while in a parking lot after i had a panic attack walking up to the ocean line. I ditched my girlfriend with her mother, it was so bad. I never felt like this until today. I thought I was going to collapse.
Dolly says
I’m pretty sure I don’t have an actual phobia of the ocean when I compare my symptoms to others, but it’s very borderline. Like, imagine the levels of anxiety. You have “I’m going to scream and die if I touch the ocean, I don’t want that” and then you have “the ocean just makes me uncomfortable.” I’m still in the ‘uncomfortable’ category but just barely touching the line of having a phobia. It’s the waves man. The waves get to me so easily. I can go into the ocean but looking at the waves causes the greatest discomfort imaginable while also not being enough to make me freak out. I remember playing GTA V once and going into the ocean, and even then I felt extremely uncomfortable in the ocean (it really didn’t help that my character started drowning either lol).
Eredge N. says
I think my phobia of the ocean began in third grade, when we did a big research project on the titanic. We made gigantic newspapers, watched a bunch of videos about it, and even dressed up in 20’s fashion and did interviews! I started to get scared when we watched an animated video of the titanic sinking in class. Now my phobia is basically when I see something really big in oceans, like a boat or a large whale. I tested myself to see if I really was scared by watching a video of a whale jumping out of water. I screamed and clicked off faster than you could say hello.
Carol says
I used to live near the ocean, the 4th largest island in the world, Borneo. I love the sea, ocean, beach, everything to do with the ocean. But its strange to love the ocean and beach as its refreshing the mind and calming and at the same time being scared of the ocean, scared to swim very far and have the fear of dark water or the idea of diving and keep imagining dangerous sea creatures. Since I left my hometown and now living in a big city without an ocean, every time I come back and go to the beach I feel I become more scared to go near the shore and swim even just nearby. I dont understand whats happening to me.
allie says
I grew up always going to the beach and swimming, so it’d be unusual to be afraid of the ocean, but I really can’t stand the sight of it. I think it started when my family and I used to go to this hotel with a swimming pool that had a dark blue whale shape on the tiles. I’d always avoid that part of the pool because I felt like something would pull me down or swallow me whole.
The fear still hasn’t subsided until now. Any picture of the deep scares me and any kind of dark water gives me anxiety. I can’t even look at the house toilet because it’s dark green instead of white.
I think other factors are also the underwater shows on National Geographic and this trailer of Lady in the Water that I used to always see as a kid—that trailer would always come up before a kids movie I’d watch because that’s how it went with our CDs.
I once tried diving into an 11ft pool at night to overcome it but I just ended up scrambling my way up back to the top because I was so scared.
Basically any deep, dark water terrifies me. Especially the ocean.
haley wright says
I’ve always had a fear of the ocean since i was little. I had a panic attack walking in an aquarium when i was 5. It got better overtime and then one day i was swimming when i was younger with my friend in the ocean and we got caught in a riptide and it was good deep to swim and no one could hear us screaming for help until 20 minutes later when someone got us out. From then on I’ve always had a fear of the ocean it scares me to go past my thigh. Whenever i see a creepy picture of the ocean or a sea creatures in the ocean my heart stops and i have to look away. No one that i’ve told about this really believes me and thinks it’s a weird thing especially because i love the beach and don’t mind lakes or pools. I don’t know what to do.
Adenna says
My biggest problem is when I’m in the water and go out deeper. I start realizing I’m surrounded by water. I feel panicked. I feel I can’t breath when this happens. Even though I did learn to swim I still fear drowning. I do realize good swimmers can drown. I don’t think this fear I’ve developed will pass. It seems to get worse since I noticed it a couple of years ago.
Leidel says
Same here
iris says
oh MAN i cant even think about the ocean or close my eyes with the thought of it or i will start breaking down. i can talk about it and be on the shore of a beach but i cant go into oceans/lakes/ponds cause i get so terrified of not only not being able to see the bottom, but thinking of the vastness..
i think i would straight up hyperventilate and pass out if i got in the water– mostly the ocean. creatures also terrify me; angler fish, sharks, even dolphins. god i start tearing up thinking about that fish in finding nemo its so pathetic.
Edwin says
Dude, I feel you. I have the same fear of the huge dark vastness of the ocean. AH I can’t even think about it.
Vanessa says
its nice to know what to call it now.. i only realized last summer i had this fear.. me and my grandma go kayaking every summer since i was 8 but last summer was different, i got into the boat like usual and paddled around the main little marsh for a bit then i wanted to go farther than 2 houses over this time.. i got a little past a rock that when i was little i wasn’t allowed to cross.. but now that im quite older i passed it.. idk what happened but as i did i just started having a panic attack.. i told myself to calm down and to drink my ice tea and keep going so i did but was still on edge.. as i kept going it someway got worse.. i looked around expecting any moment for a killer whale or seal to just grab and rip me under.. anyway i hope i get over it soon cause my friends wanted me to do stuff that would prove difficult with this fear.. like see islands and on pride its a tradition that we all (me and friends) run into the ocean and do a lap around the marked off spot in only underwear.. lol
JJ says
I have this phobia and I know I do. I’ve never had a problem in the ocean until I went to Destin and swam in the ocean for the first time. I was boogie boarding on a wave and felt a burning sensation on my ankle. When I reached the shore it got worse and worse and I realized i was stung by a jellyfish. It was the worst pain i have experienced and has scared me every since. But my worst experience is when I went out to the lake on a friend’s boat. I was in a tube that was being dragged by a boat and the tube hit a giant wave that sent me flying. It was fun until I realized I was alone floating in the middle of the lake. My mind started racing and I thought of all the sea creatures that were below me. I started kicking and flailing as fast as I could, to distract the fish and scare them away. That night I had a nightmare where I was stranded in the middle of the ocean and a creature pulled me down and drowned me.
Daniel says
I think I have this fear, but only when I can’t see bottom. if the water is deep but I can see the bottom I’m fine its just the not seeing bottom part I freak out with. most of my problem comes from not being able to see under water clearly without glasses, I wouldn’t be able to know the difference between a seal and a shark. I discovered they make prescription diving goggles, so gonna order a set and see if they work. will post back my results
Me says
same for me then
Amirah Akbar says
I know for a fact I have this fear… I can swim since my dad taught me growing up. Being in a pool is no problem at all! In fact I can be in a pool all day!
I noticed I started having this year 4-5 years ago. I used to watch videos with my dad on tv and when a scene would come up where there would be deep seas, ocean or dark caves with water I would instantly having a panic attack. So I tested myself by watching videos of (this may sound crazy) but planes, boats and cars sinking in the ocean, lakes or seas and I would have to quickly shut the video off wanting to cry and breathing heavily. I thought it was just me but one day I had an experience on the jet ski. My friend invited me to her lake house and my Husband and I went on the water. A part of me was very uneasy but gave it a shot. The jet ski flipped and both of us fell in, my husband got back on and tried to help me up. But because I was in so much panic my hands, legs and mind couldn’t work at the same time. I kept thinking “my foot is dangling, there’s sea creatures down there, something is going to pull me under, this lake is so deep”. Luckily the neighbors came out with their boat and helped me back to the dock. I had nightmares for a week! After that, anything that I see underwater that is in an ocean etc or even thinking of it gives me a panic attack.
A scared boy says
I understand.
Aryn says
I didn’t realize I had this fear until a couple years ago when I got so anxious and uncomfortable while underwater in a video game, that I almost had a panic attack and had to pause it for half an hour. But thinking back, I definitely had this as a kid, which is strange, because I’ve always loved swimming and secretly wanted to be a merman, haha.
But yeah, seeing underwater levels in games, seeing the ocean and anything involving the ocean in movies… extreme discomfort and anxiety. I had a panic attack while watching the movie Poseidon with my mom. If there’s nothing underwater and it’s just water, it’s not so bad, but once it starts getting too dark or a creature is seen… no. Just no. Get me out of there lol.
And yet, I’m pretty much fine with shark movies and want to go in a shark cage, and am totally fine with the entire underwater portion of Cthulhu games. It’s pretty weird what I do and don’t react to involving deep dark waters and what god-awful creatures are in it.
patricia says
I have this phobia but I can go swimming in the pool but when it comes to sea I can go just knee deep no more because if I go anymore deeper I start panicking and I can barely move. My family thinks I’m crazy and whenever I mention it to someone they just laugh or they look at me like I’m crazy. And I can’t tell them how much sea terrifies me because they could never understand so I just don’t talk about it ever. But when it comes to pictures of open sea it does nothing for me, I actually find it relaxing, but yestereday I watched a movie and this girl jumped into the sea which was full of big waves and I just couldn’t watch it, I had to look away and I felt like my legs were cut off I can’t explain it. Oh also when I think of what “lurks” in the sea it terrifies me and I can’t think properly and I can barely breathe.
I hope someone can relate. Also english is not my native language, sorry for any mistakes.
Joy says
Same here…
Lucy Oechsner says
You just described it perfectly for me
Jacob Brown says
I’m pretty sure i have the aquaphobia fear, which is really hard for me because I’m on the swim team at my school. I try to just swim and let it be but it scares me to death when I look straight down in some of the pools of the teams I swim against. I can’t get in the deep end of any pool without someone else there which makes me ALWAYS lose sprints. I plan to continue being on the swim team for a couple more years. Does anyone have advice?
Nana says
Cool thx for the phobia I described and used it for a project for a school project
Elsa says
I don’t know what causes me so I can have this kind of phobia, but what I know when I look at a picture or video of ocean that really dark I couldn’t see it’s just terrify me like I was in that picture. If in real life I can’t dive or snorkelling in ocean that have really dark ground(?) Or river that I can’t see the below or swimming pool at night that don’t have light beneath it. I hate it I have this kind of phobia, actually I really wanted to try diving but I can’t because of this phobia
Danielle says
I thought i was the only one! I love swimming, and i love the ocean (never swam in the ocean tho, parents). But if i’m swimming and cant see the bottom i have to immediately get out. I think i’m not scared of the water exactly, just being touched by something i cant see. This part should probably be on a different phobia but… Anyway once i was tubing and i fell off. I started swimming back to the boat when i decide to look down into the lake water (i’m 8 at time) Its dark and murky green and I FREAK out . I start thrashing around when suddenly a piece of seaweed touches my foot. Also my brother did not make the situation any better. He had told me that sunfish (you know huge creepy looking flat fish) lived in the lake. So i think that’s where my fear of dark water, seaweed and fish touching me (im fine if its at the shore and i can see them but in open water its NO) came from.
Lily says
I live in a wonderful, and slightly privileged, home and acting scared is a no-go. You never know how they will take it. Well, one day my family was watching an advertisement for the Meg. I wanted to cry it scared me so bad. I quietly turned my head and started silently shaking. My mom noticed and talked to me later and I described the terrible feeling of being in the unknown, things like the dark, or a closed shower curtain in the bathroom all scare me. I don’t know if I have this or just a fear of the unknown. I also have Trypophobia and claustrophobia, both of which have to do with the unknown. Please help me understand
kawai says
Just the thought of swimming into an open ocean really scared me, so i went snorkeling twice. The first one was okay but i needed to hold to the boat or a part of it while looking down below because i was afraid to get swept away from the boat, God knows what creature i might encounter there, lol anyway, it’s beautiful as long as the fish are far away from me. I tried to jump from the boat but i got scared because the boatman said it’s 30 feet down below, im like that’s too deep! My second one, which was 3 days ago went like this. We availed an island hopping and snorkeling package and i thought that the boatman would take us directly into the snorkeling area, turns out that the boat is not allowed in that area and that we had to swim by ourselves if we wanted to see the fish. I was so pissed and scared at the same time because they didn’t tell us! I knew how to swim, i just didn’t have the heart to swim alone in open water. One of my friends who grew up on an island was not afraid so she swam right away despite the strong current, she even went back and forth from our boat to get bread to feed the fish. There were 3 of us who were still holding on for our dear life in the boat, when suddenly a smaller boat behind us offered to go to the snorkeling area. After discussing with my friends, because it was too pricey and the waves were getting bigger, we decided to give it a try. They instructed us to hold on to the boat, put our faces down in the water while it was running. It was fun at the start until i saw a tortoise swimming below us. I was so startled as it was so big and because of that, i didn’t put my head down for a while. Then i decided to look back down because i still had to pay for it, then i saw a lot of swordfish, a lot of BIG sea urchins, another tortoise swimming too close beside us, a lot of fish i don’t know and the vastness, darker part of the ocean floor. I was so out this time because i just realized how small i was in this world and that these creatures could easily eat us if they wanted to. Then i freaked out more when i saw the corals beside us, it was too high and big, it almost reached the surface. That time, i got worried that we would crash into one, but i still trusted our boatman. Then i really panicked when we just passed a coral that was so close to my face that i changed positions and started floating away. My friend also saw it and started panicking, then after that we crashed into a coral. I don’t know how or where i got the strength to jump back into the boat, but i did however. My friend got stuck between the boat and the coral, she almost stepped on the sea urchins but were glad that we were able to bring her up. We had a lot of cuts, me on my feet and legs that i’m still having a hard time to walk properly, while my friend has a huge cut on her back side and hands that still aches, and torn shorts to remember that day. I won’t go snorkeling for a while.
Evan says
I definitely have it. I’ve never had a panic attack or anything but then again I’ve never seen the ocean let alone been in it. I’ve only been to Lake Michigan and a few other lakes and rivers. I swam across a small lake once and it was so murky I could barely see the bottom through even three feet. My fear didn’t really kick in until I went out far and I swam under a little bit feet first trying to touch the bottom until the water around my feet was freezing, like tens of degrees different from the water by my head.
It strikes in the most irrational of places, like at the pool when I have to close my eyes while going under (if I have goggles it’s fine) I am sort of like “what if I just teleported to the middle of the ocean? How would I even tell?”; and when I take cold showers my mind drifts to the Arctic or Antarctic Ocean (the scariest ones of all in my opinion) and it’s a struggle to either sort of check back in and not let my mind drift or let it drift to some cold place on land like Siberia or the Great Plains in winter.
The hardest movies for me to watch are ones where people are lost at sea, particularly in a stormy sea with big waves, like Castaway or especially Life of Pi where you could see a giant ship sinking thousands of feet down. Sometimes I force myself to play GTA 5 and go far out at sea, go into first person, then dive in and when I do that I cringe HARD.
I’m not sure where it stemmed from because again I’ve never even been in the ocean nor far out in any large body of water. In that way it’s sort of like my intense arachnophobia (to the point where if footage of a spider pops up on TV unexpectedly I cringe so hard I can hear my ears contract) even though I’ve never knowingly been bit by a spider.
Kuba Nizinski says
i have no problem if i can see or touch the bottom of some water bodies. The problem is out in the open ocean.
Rae LeStrange says
I have read through the comments. I have this phobia. I was getting anxiety just readin about what the phobia was. I have fear of deep, dark water that I cant see the bottom of because i dont know what is below me. Small bodies and vast. I fear deep clear water that I can see the bottom of because I can see what is below me. Seeing rotting logs, moss, seaweed, etc puts my anxiety into overload. Pictures of sunken ships, sharks, octopi, eels, ugly or otherwise scary fish, make my stomach do flip flops. The thought of going in water past my thighs is too much for me to handle. Not even swimming pools with a deep end. I can and have handled being on a boat, but only because the driver of the boat knew my fears and didn’t act like a nutcase. The thought of drop offs just twists my brain. Swimming when there is waves is NOT an option because I actually fear (even though it’s not logical because I it just lake huron) that a wave will come up and a shark or something will be in it and I’ll die. I got the courage to watch Open Water and Open Water 2…I swear I almost had a heart attack watching both. I went on a roller-coaster at Wonderland and it went over a small body of water, thought i was going to die. (And I LOVE roller-coasters). I remember being in the bath as a kid and went under the water to rinse the shampoo from my hair and as soon as I went under I thought of everything that could live under any body of water and had an anxiety attack. Literally. Showering is fine, I can go fishing and have no problem. OH another BIG cause of anxiety is going to the docs in my town where the freight liner ships doc, at night, seeing them just floating in the water and being so close to them, sends me into serious panic attacks.
I was like this as a kid, I learned to love water, then it started again when I was about 18… from the time I was 9 years old until I was 18 I was totally fine with swimming in the water at the beach again ND I was OK with swimming in pools from about age 5 til 18. Then all of again sudden one day I was swimming WAY too far from the shore with my sister and had a sudden burst of anxiety, tried to touch bottom, couldn’t. Tried to see bottom and all I could see was the tips of seaweed and even that was a good 15 feet below me. I started having a panic attack attack and my sister had to pull me out of the water. I haven’t been attacked blessed to go in past my thighs ever since. I’m now 25.
anon says
My fear of the ocean is more based on where we go and what happens after we die. It makes me feel how small I am, smaller than a drop of water, and I don’t want to dissolve into the ocean (or universe) because the energies that give me my own particular individualized consciousness may never come back together again… and I just love the world and people so much I can’t bear the thought of ceasing to exist…
Jacob Brown says
Wow that was deep… almost as deep as the ocean
prettypurplepanda says
So here’s the catch. I actually went on a cruise when I was younger and I was fine. Now, the sheer thought of being near large lakes, oceans or even swimming pools is terrifying. I cannot even walk through an aquarium.
Isabelle Walton says
I am terrified of under water in lakes, seas, rivers, oceans, ponds, puddles (e.t.c) If I go in a boat which I can just about handle, and it has clear water and I can see the bottom I have a panic attack. I can’t watch or see any image or video of open water or under water. It is an extreme, extreme fear. I need help. Serious help.
i am a uni-dragon says
I was wondering why i am scared of the ocean but im only scared of the thought of the bottom not going on a boat. It makes me tremble just thinking or looking at a picture of the bottom of the ocean, its to do with getting trapped or encountering sea creatures.
Caitlin says
I am not scared of pools because I can see the bottom and the water is clear, but I am absolutely horrified of lakes and oceans. My family has a lake house and I cannot get in. I don’t go on the boat, either, because I’m scared to get in the water. I’m mainly scared of the fish in the lake, rather than the actually water, but I also am afraid of the fact that I can’t see or touch the bottom.
Perta Raru says
I have had a huge fear of the ocean since I was 7 because that was when I heard about stone fish and lion fish. I want to keep my fear a secret though
Jacob Brown says
Your secret is safe here.
Emma Woodle says
I can not go above my waist in the ocean or I will literally have a panic attack. The thought of a drop of, or deep water, or just not being able to see the bottom makes me so nervous. I live in North Carolina which had an increase in shark attacks last summer, and we were at the beach and everyone had to get out because there was a shark in the water and I literally almost threw up. I’m OK with lakes and rivers, but the sheer vastness of the ocean terrifies me.
Adalena Hilliard says
I am doing a research report on Thalassophobia and you can find a way to get rid of the phobia… Just believe that you can do it :-)
i am a uni-dragon says
yeah ikr once my dad took me too the beach and he took me in the ocean i felt the sea weed and the i freaked scared that i was gonna go in too far and there would be a drop and i would drown
Erika says
As a kid I never liked boats, the ocean, deep pools, or really big pools though I could see the bottom, dark water, large tanks, aquariums or “sea type rooms” like at the museum of natural history. I don’t like to look at any large sea creatures, big boats, ships, cruise liners, pictures of the titanic, any sunken ship, whales, free willy, Sea world, the Shark from Nemo… pretty much any of that. Although, I am able to watch the shark from Nemo now and have seen Titanic before 2x, all my life to this point I have had nightmares about the ocean or pools. I’ve had dreams where I’m taking a shower and the bottom of the tub disappears and I’m in the ocean. I’ve dreamt about winding up in some underwater school that I can’t escape. I’ve dreamt about being on a seat that is in the air at amusement parks and fairs and all of a sudden it stops over an orca tank and I fall in. I’ve had some of the worst dreams about tanks and oceans… I never got hurt in any of the dreams but the anxiety from each situation was enough to send me into a panic attack in my dream. On my honeymoon I went to Jamaica and was brave enough to attempt snorkeling and even a catamaran cruise to the caves and even jumped off the boat. The water was like black and my chest hurt so much and I was pretty sure I was going to die but I wanted to be a good sport for my husband. That was some major progress. That was 8 yrs ago though. Not planning on doing that again anytime soon. I just had a dream this week about being in a dark tank with some whales… that sucked. Hope everyone gets released from the evil mental and emotional bondage of fear in Jesus name Amen.
Kate and Brielle Wright says
I don’t know if I have this phobia. I’m not scared of the ocean- I think… I love surfing, and collecting seashells and jumping over waves, etc. (My sister and I are fourteen, she has this problem too). However, I’m scared of sharks and squids and my ABSOLUTE worst fear is going too far out and not being able to feel the sand. I hate the thought of the ocean drop off, I can’t even think about it.
And now, I’m going to Topsail for a week. It’s a beautiful place, good for surfing and shelling, but it’s on the list of most shark attacked areas in the world. I’m scared I’ll let this get in the way of my fun.
Eva says
I’m pretty sure I have this phobia. I’ve been reading through the comments just to see if anyone had the same feelings that I did. I don’t think anyone did. Everyone handles it and feels differently. I’m gonna leave how I feel about it here because it might help someone relate. I’m not afraid to go to the beach with someone, but I could never go alone. It’s too much, I can’t handle it. I’m tiny compared to the vastness of the ocean, I’m nothing compared to it. Laying on the sand and watching the water, sometimes I find it relaxing. Some people here, they say (the ones I saw) that they weren’t afraid of the creatures or they were afraid of the creatures but they could handle being on a boat or something. I can’t handle that either. If I see a picture of a sea animal I get really hot and scared. If it’s a little fish I can handle it better but a whale or a shark or even an eel. When I see a picture of the ocean, just the plain ocean my anxiety triggers. It builds up so fast, I feel myself loosing control and my hands get sweaty, my breathing gets heavy and I have to look away because I can’t look at it. When I was searching “thalassophobia” on Google, you probably know that pictures of the ocean are going to come up, and I’m trying to act strong and sh*t I clicked on Google Images, that was a mistake. That’s how I know that I’m pretty sure I have that. I have talked about this with some people but some of them made fun of me because of it. They said it was a stupid phobia because “oh who’s scared of the ocean? it’s not going to eat you” oh okay then, that makes me feel SO much better. I tried to explain that it’s a lot more than that and they just wouldn’t listen so I gave up. It’s a real phobia and it’s not a “stupid one”. I’m sorry for any mistakes here but English is not my native language so…
jen says
I have this phobia. lets just say don’t show me pictures or videos or else I’ll get scared
i am a uni-dragon says
when i look of pictures of the bottom of the ocean or vids it just freaks me out my friends think im nuts though
sebastian says
yes me too
Moriah says
I understand! I attempt so hard to go into the ocean but I cant. When I put my toes in, I freak out. I couldn’t go knee deep even if my life depended on it. I’m also scared of lakes. Sadly, I can’t swim in them without having a panic attack. I try my best to overcome it. I act strong and jump in and then I freak out and I scream and kick. I’m sure my fear was triggered when my babysitter left me in the bathtub and i almost drowned. My parents remember me loving baths and the next day I would cry and run away for no reason. I actually do remember being under the water and it scared me. I actually love watching ocean Scifi movies, I just wish I could adventure the ocean but my phobia comes in the way.
ChicaChickenXD says
I’m just like that…
Alpha says
Our experiences have similarities.. And it sucks
Jacob Brown says
1. That first part is exactly how I feel it.
2. Your English is 10/10 perfect.
Nicole says
I believe I have this phobia. I love to swim in pools, and sometimes in rivers, but the moment I get to go to the beach, I never get in. Once my family forced me to go in and I was paralyzed and couldn’t move and I started to scream “get me out” and they would just laugh and say its not a big deal. I tried to float cause I couldn’t bear the feeling of the ocean floor under my feet. My sister had to carry me on her back. I told her to get me out and she just said to me “stop being so dramatic”. When I finally got out, I started to cry a little and upon my reaction they only said, “stop being such a wuss, look at those little kids playing in the sea, look at your sister, who is way younger having fun”. Don’t get me wrong, I like going to the beach, but only because of the view and the vibe, but I can’t deal with being inside the sea itself.
Levi says
I feel I have minor thalassophobia because I’m not afraid of the ocean, it’s how deep it is. I just don’t know what’s in it, it makes me feel so small and want to curl up and cry. And I always think “OMG there are so many things in the ocean so much bigger than me”. It makes think of all the possibilities. Most ocean floors are deeper than mt everest is tall..
Kate and Brielle Wright says
Same!
i am a uni-dragon says
yes i feel your pain
Carol says
Exactly, I got you. I feel that too but I always try to force myself and to go a little bit further but I know its very scary and I couldn’t go deeper.
Christina says
I definitely have thalassaphobia. Sharks, octopuses and ESPECIALLY whales scare the the sh** outta me! Just thinking & talking about it makes me feel like I’m going to faint, but seeing it on screen, underwater, in pics and videos, makes my heart skip a beat. Nothing scares me more than this. 😫
Jarrod says
I kinda have this phobia, I’m fine with swimming pools and rivers and I went snorkeling a while back and I was fine but being out in the middle of the ocean with land out of sight and not knowing what’s underneath me, just makes me terrified of the ocean.
i am a uni-dragon says
This phobias mainly about the sea and super deep water full of varies of creatures we havent discovered yet or also ones we have. I love swimming pools but the sea just scares the s..t out of me
Matt says
I’m pretty sure I have this. The thought of anything under the surface of the ocean scares the living daylights out of me, yet I have a really bizarre love and obsession with boats and any other seafaring vessel. I love being on boats, yet I’m still scared of the ocean. I can’t help but feel that my life is a bit of a contradiction.
Alex says
It is not contradictory. I could not have described my relation to the ocean/open waters better. I love going on boat and fishing trips, I am even euphoric when I am on a boat, watching my mates fish and I have the deep drive to go into the water and swim. As soon as I leave to boat ladder and I am surrounded by deep blue water my lungs start to contract and when I look down into the nothingness I get a sting from my heart and a high pitch sound in my ears. I am afraid of death. Still I love the ocean, its mysteries and stories and I want do dive and discover stuff so badly – yet I can’t since my brain does not allow it.
mike says
I have this. I love being in the ocean though. I just like to be able to see what’s under the water. So murky lakes/ponds/rivers/etc, I don’t want to be in. I like fishing, but I don’t like touching fish. It isn’t just living things though. It is also plants and such. Slimy, gross, stringy plants. It’s also like I get anxiety about something in the water watching me, but I can’t see it.
Abby says
Whenever I see a picture of the ocean I feel uneasy and a bit dizzy to the point where I have to look away. Sometimes in my dreams if I’m at the beach or something and I go into the water, I’ll panic and immediately get out.
Gryphon says
I get this, too! I can’t stand to look at pictures of deep water, or videos of people scuba diving. Not just oceans, but lakes, rivers, ponds, any deep body of water just makes me really uncomfortable. I don’t mind the creatures that live there – in fact, I find them fascinating. It’s the water, itself, that bothers me. I guess it’s the thought of having all that vast, empty space underneath me that’s scary, plus not being able to see the bottom.
Anon says
I am a scuba diving instructor who has (after 1500 dives and hundreds of hours in the deep) developed this phobia.
It is my job to take people diving however I find myself recently panicking, being short of breath, sweating, thinking I will die, and that the water will engulf me until I suffocate.
I have persisted to dive since this in order to try and overcome it and have managed to tame it so that I am happy in shallow water or in beautiful flat conditions. However, when choppy or no anchor line is used, or when the visibility is not very good, then I again pick up this nauseating feeling.
Any advice?
Brenda Jimenez says
I definitely have this phobia. I am greatly afraid of the darkness and vastness of the ocean. I hate not being able to see through water. The only water I could swim in is the type of water that I can see through clearly, like pool water. I can’t go to aquariums, especially if all I’m surrounded by is nothing but fish tanks. Fish don’t scare me, they are fascinating, but the vastness and the darkness of water scares me profoundly. When I am confronted by this, I have heavy breathing, I feel like I have a panic attack, I have to look away or close my eyes but most likely run away because when I close my eyes, I’ll imagine water. This is all so real and it is very frightening.
skyler says
I’m terrified of it. If I go in it I faint but a pool I’m fine.
Mir says
Got the same phobia as me.. haha hello from malaysia ;)
Parker Nguyen says
I’d been searching for this when I thought I really do fear the deep sea and big ocean creatures. Just even thinking of whales or being alone in the deep dark ocean scare me to death. Now I’ve found that I’m not the only one having this phobia. Thanks!
Kanika Garal says
I have this phobia and I just googled it to find the exact term for it. I can’t swim but I will jump in a swimming pool or river, but the ocean scares the hell out of me. Even pictures of the ocean, especially wide, crystal clear sea water where you can see the bottom of the water. It creeps me out and I don’t even know why. And my father is a navy officer and only gets posted to places surrounded by sea. Imagine my plight.
Paige says
I’m pretty sure this phobia affects me. I went to Florida last year and I was fine going in the ocean to swim in shallow water. But then we went on a dolphin tour boat. We sat at the front of the boat and the waves were huge. I felt like we were going to sink and images of drowning were in my head. I started shaking and crying uncontrollably. I felt sick. Let’s just say I won’t be going out on the ocean any time soon.
Honey says
I have this phobia, my symptoms are:
Nervousness, shaking, slight numbness, and movie reels of death and drowning are played in my mind.
I’m going to the beach and I don’t know what to do.