(Also known as Selachophobia) The fear of sharks or Galeophobia comes from the Greek word “Galeos” which stands for small sharks or dogfish and the word “Phobos” meaning fear.
With most media portraying sharks as 'man-eaters', 'blood thirsty', or 'monsters' it's not hard to understand why so many people fear this boneless fish.
Movies like Jaws (1975), Dark Tide (2012), Deep Blue Sea (1999), The Meg (2018), Megalodon (2018) etc. have contributed to misinformation around sharks and turned them into enemies when in reality sharks play a vital role in our oceans.
You can explore more articles on our blog about why we need sharks! For now, let's dive into overcoming a fear of sharks.
For some, their Galeophobia is so severe that they refrain from going on outings remotely connected to sharks including: attending zoos or aquariums, theme parks, beaches, rivers, ponds; they may refuse to swim in public swimming pools despite the fact that sharks would not survive there.
Symptoms:
Elevated heart rate
Shortness of breath or chest pains
Trembling or sweating profusely
Feeling nauseated
Deep mental anguish, dizziness and fainting
In some cases, the impact of this intense fear can cause an individual to faint, experience panic or anxiety attacks at the image or the word 'shark'.
Ways to overcome your shark fears:
Learn more about sharks and the role they play in the ocean.
Often people fear what they do not understand. In learning about which sharks are which, where sharks live, understanding how they hunt or that they target weak or aging prey, even in knowing over half of all shark species don't grow any larger than 3ft. generally puts a lot of fears to rest.
Additionally, the more you learn about diving safety and common sense while around marine wildlife will help diminish the level of fear. Learning how to swim or utilizing breathing techniques to calm yourself in times of stress can also help in overcoming fears.
Face your fear and dive in- go shark diving!
Some people would rather face fears head-on and going out on an ocean tour or shark dive trip can break them of their phobia and replace it with admiration or appreciation of this amazing animal!
Doing research into reputable scuba diving shops, or how to go shark diving in your area can also help you learn more about conservation, animal behaviors or other helpful facts that you may not have found during a few online searches. Some aquariums offer unique experiences to qualified guests that can dive in their exhibits if being in the open ocean is too much to handle. You can also check with your local marine-focused organizations that can double as a way to volunteer and get more exposure to the ocean or marine life.
Hypnosis/Hypnotherapy can help discover where the fear stems from.
Did your research in shark facts and stats about how car accidents or falling coconuts account for more human deaths annually than shark attacks not help ease your mind?
Sometimes a fear has little to do with facts but is born from a strong emotional reaction from either a real-life incident or even a fictional event as seen in a horror movie. For the phobias that go deeper or don't let up after learning about the subject, talking to a psychoanalyst or hypnotherapist can help discover the root(s) of the fear.
Hypnosis helps neutralize you to the fearful idea you have of sharks; it is effective for fears and phobias because at its core, hypnotherapy is about deep relaxation. Pairing this state of mind and body with the idea of the feared object 'retrains' the unconscious mind so it can respond calmly in future.
Don't let the fear keep you from taking the opportunity to enjoy the ocean.
The sea holds many mysterious and is a main component of travel and critical in the survival of life on our planet. After all- No blue, No green. Don't let the fear of sharks hold you back from experiencing all the wonders both above and below the water.
By following common sense water safety tips like never swimming alone, never going out in murky water or in the dark where visibility is poor, etc. a person can enjoy the true nature of sharks or other wildlife that can lead to once in a lifetime moments.
We're here to help!
To learn more about sharks and read up on safety tips take a look around our shark blog! Here you can learn about specific sharks, meet SharkFluencers, even take action to help save them, even find shark pages to follow on social media to help give you more tips and sharky facts.
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