How I developed my phobia – Thalassophobia
I imagined a big white shark or a whale is below me whenever I am on a ship. It is ready to devour everyone on the ship. I like snorkelling but I dislike watching my feet floating in the middle of the water, I feel heavy and I am afraid something scary will appear in the deep blue sea as I am enjoying the beautiful corals. I will never swim faster than them, I will definitely die if it were to open its’ mouth at me.
Thalassophobia refers to the phobia of sea water, the emptiness of the sea and the uncertainty of the sea. In order to make sure I really have Thalassophobia, I went to google and searched photos of the deep sea. Apparently, I can’t scroll more than 10 photos, it was horrible. I quickly exit the page and had to listen to Lany’s songs to calm myself down. My heart beats faster whenever I come across a picture of the sea. Seeing a picture is enough to scare me. My legs feel light, as if I am at the deep blue sea and I am not standing on anything. These photos appeared once in a while in my social media and I will get anxious for a few minutes before I am calm down again.
I always know I am afraid of the sea but up until recently only I study that this phobia was developed because of a movie I watched when I was younger. It was Finding Nemo. I remembered watching Finding Nemo when I was younger. I liked the first few minutes of the movie when both clown fish were playing in the coral. Then, the atmosphere became quiet and dark. That’s because there is a “hunter fish” was staring at his prey from far away. His stares were cold and cautious. In a lighting speed, he swam to both the clown fish and their family breaks apart.
Everyone loves Finding Nemo and it was rated as one of the highest rating film ever since it was out. However, not for me. I hated that movie. Everyone was excited for Finding Dory when it came out in 2016 but I was not one of them. The poster scared me. The poster was well drawn, the graphic and the gradient colour. Nonetheless, my focus was on the endless deep blue sea, almost dark area of the sea.
I wonder what I can do to treat my Thalassophobia. Then I came across a post mentioned how Cognitive Behavioural Theory (CBT) can help to reduce the anxiety. Virtual experience also allows an individual to face their fears in a safe environment. But then, I am not ready. I guess it will take me a lot of courage to try a virtual experience before I am ready to face it. Until then, I just want to avoid seeing those photos.
