I Have Ichthyophobia
When I was in elementary school and middle school, all I wanted was to be a marine biologist. I found the ocean and the creatures living in it so fascinating. At some point though, my mom pointed out that I couldn't swim, so I wouldn't make a very good marine biologist. Once I realized that, my focus shifted to other things in my life.
It wasn't until high school that swimming things made me feel very uneasy. I can swim now, so the inability to swim isn't much of an excuse for the phobia, but it's pretty intense. If I'm flipping through the channels on TV and an ocean documentary comes on, I will jump and not be able to look at the TV until the channel is changed. It's gradually expanded, too, to other things that I associate with the ocean or animals in it. The sound of scuba gear, or that gurgling noise cameras make when underwater, makes me panic. If I catch a glimpse out of my eye of something that looks like the color of the ocean (you know that pure blue when you're watching something from underwater?), my heart will start to race until I'm sure that that's not what it is. And I have reoccuring dreams of being trapped in a giant maze of aquariums.
It's kind of an embarrassing thing to be afraid of. There have been times when I've hated being afraid of fish, because it's so unusual that people can't understand it. One time, my boyfriend and I were watching TV together, when a commercial came on for that piranha movie they had out not too long ago? A fish leapt out of the water and I screamed bloody murder and shut my eyes tight. He started laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world (and I don't blame him, I guess my reaction was pretty funny), until he saw how hard I was breathing, and then he tried to soothe me.
I know the reaction is a little ridiculous, but it's not something I can control. Anyone else have ichthyophobia? Any other irrational, intense fear?
It wasn't until high school that swimming things made me feel very uneasy. I can swim now, so the inability to swim isn't much of an excuse for the phobia, but it's pretty intense. If I'm flipping through the channels on TV and an ocean documentary comes on, I will jump and not be able to look at the TV until the channel is changed. It's gradually expanded, too, to other things that I associate with the ocean or animals in it. The sound of scuba gear, or that gurgling noise cameras make when underwater, makes me panic. If I catch a glimpse out of my eye of something that looks like the color of the ocean (you know that pure blue when you're watching something from underwater?), my heart will start to race until I'm sure that that's not what it is. And I have reoccuring dreams of being trapped in a giant maze of aquariums.
It's kind of an embarrassing thing to be afraid of. There have been times when I've hated being afraid of fish, because it's so unusual that people can't understand it. One time, my boyfriend and I were watching TV together, when a commercial came on for that piranha movie they had out not too long ago? A fish leapt out of the water and I screamed bloody murder and shut my eyes tight. He started laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world (and I don't blame him, I guess my reaction was pretty funny), until he saw how hard I was breathing, and then he tried to soothe me.
I know the reaction is a little ridiculous, but it's not something I can control. Anyone else have ichthyophobia? Any other irrational, intense fear?
Age:
18-21
