Selachophobia (Specific Phobia in General)

Member Name: taker4376

Product:	Specific Phobia in General
Date:	28/01/09 (272 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Little chance of being attacked by a shark as you will avoid water like the plague

Disadvantages: Fear, stress, terror, panic

Most people are afraid of something in their lives and for many people this can develop into a phobia. We've all heard of arachnaphobia or claustraphobia but have you heard of Selachophobia? This is what I have.

I've not been diagnosed with it by a doctor or anything but considering my fear is pretty irrational I'm convinced that I have it.

So what is selachophobia?
Selachophobia is the fear of sharks. Now most sane people will be afriad of sharks on some level. You know it is a dangerous animal and that there have been attacks on humans but you dont let this fear stop you doing anything as you can rationally think about the fact that a shark attack is rare and you know that in certain waters there is a highly unlikely chance of sharks even being present.

But such arguments will not work with me. I am unable to be rational about sharks. Now I've not always been this way. Strangely it is only in the past few years that I have come to be a selachophobiac. Whats even stranger is the fact that, as far as I am consciously aware, nothing has happened to precipitate this behaviour. I used to be happy to go into the sea, I'ld always ask mum if there was any sharks, she'ld tell me not to be silly and so I'ld go in the sea. I was able to watch the Jaws movies and shark documentaries and was happy to see sharks in an aquarium. But no longer.

I know I have an irrational fear but this doesnt mean that I can help it. I can try telling myself that I am being irrational but the fear is still there as is the racing pulse. You are considered to have a phobia if you have feelings of anxiety when confronted with the object of your phobia, and if the fear prevents you from doing certain things in life. This is certainly true of me. The past few times I have been on an aeroplane I have started to panic. Now this isnt because I am afraid of flying, it is because I am afraid that if the plane was to crash and it was over water then there is a possibility that we would all be eaten by sharks. I dont like going in deep water, especially if its not clear as I am terrified of anything that could be lurking that I couldnt see.

Even so when on holiday with my friend I have twice been in situations which I would never do again. The first was I agreed to go on a jet ski, this was fine as long as I was driving but then my friend wanted a go and i had to rely on her. After a couple of minutes I could no longer cling on to her and I felt myself falling. Time stood still.... As I flew through the air and closed my eyes the one thing I can remember thinking before I hit the water was "OMG what if there is a shark." I remember treading water, very scared and waiting to be rescued. Now surely the fact that I wasnt attacked by a shark at this point would lead me to think "You see you are being silly, nothing happened to you, you were fine" but the thought of what I did makes my pulse race and what I really think was "how stupid were you, what on earth were you thinking?." A similar thing happened on our next holiday, we went on a boat to look at turtles in Zante. During which you could stop off and have a swim. My friend wanted to, so i swallowed my fear and went in with her. We even swam through a dark cave. When I think about this now it terrifies me that I did it. Again I dont think "well done you, you had an ok time and experience and you didnt get eaten"

When in France, in the house we were renting's swimming pool, I freaked out. I had an image of a shark coming through the plumbing and I had to get out of the pool. Now you can not tell me that is rational lol. Especially as the pool was on top of a mountain! But still I have fear that a shark will come through and into pools, it doesnt help after watching James Bond Thunderball lol. I have avoided aquariams for years. I went to the Deep in Hull and had to rush through the shark area a few years ago and havent been to one since. If a shark comes on T.V I cant watch, I have to turn over or go out of the room. Quite annoyingly my brother is always watching documentaries and so they can come up quite alot. Last year there was an advert for a documentary channel that featured a shark and every time it came on I had to look away and my heart would race. Even pictures of sharks freak me out and does talking about them. I often have nightmares about sharks and being chased by them, espcially when I am stressed. I avoid boats and water as much as I can, even if i know the water is highly safe. I could never ever go on a cruise, in case it sank and we were all eaten by sharks. When I see people on T.V going into the water I think "You crazy person, what on earth are you thinking there could be a shark in there!" and when I hear about shark attacks I'm pretty unsympathetic as I think its their own fault for even thinking about going into the water in the first place.

So there you go, now you know what a selachophobiac is and how it can make you slightly crazy lol. I cant tell you how much I get teased about this. My brother and his girlfriend think its hilarious to talk about sharks to wind me up. This usually results in a nightmare and most people think I'm a little bit insane, especially when I tell them about the flying and the swimming pool lol.

Summary: Sharks are scary