There are phobias related to places or spaces. If some are afraid of heights, others are afraid of closed spaces. And also those place that for some are paradise and for others hell, as is the case of fear of the sea when you suffer from thalassophobia. If you are terrified of going to the beach or you cannot enjoy a relaxing moment listening to the waves of the sea, you may have thalassophobia. We tell you everything.
What is thalassophobia?
Thalassophobia is the fear of the sea and oceans. It may be related to hydrophobia or an uncontrolled fear of water, but not always. Sometimes it appears independently and has nothing to do with the water in the sea, but with the vastness of the oceans. In any case, it is a very limiting disorder.
People with thalassophobia cannot go to the beach because they feel that they are exposing themselves to great danger. It may seem that avoiding the sea is not a problem, but what if you live in a coastal area? Just listening to the sound of the sea can cause an anxiety attack. Swimming in the sea, taking a walk along the shore or traveling by boat are activities that are not within the reach of people with thalassophobia.
Symptoms of thalassophobia
Faced with the prospect of having to be near the sea, a person with thalassophobia activates all their resources in the face of danger. Fear and anxiety appear uncontrollably because you are not really in a dangerous situation, but the mind understands it that way. It all starts with a certain anticipatory nervousness.
Then come the sweats, the, the feeling of unreality, shortness of breath, maybe tremors. And all this can lead to a panic attack if that person does not get what he needs at that time, which is either fleeing or avoiding. Can you always avoid being near the sea? It may not be difficult for some people, but the fact that a phobia exists is reason enough to seriously consider treatment.
Causes of thalassophobia
Phobia of the sea develops. Such an attractive place for the vast majority of people and that thalassophobia turns into a real hell. The cause can be found in a previous anxiety disorder that causes irrational and excessive fear to arise in the face of the most surprising stimulus.
Although we can also go to the rescued traumatic experience, so common in cases of phobias. If a person has experienced an event with a great emotional charge on the beach or during a boat trip, for example, his mind will associate the sea with danger forever. Forever? Not necessarily if the appropriate treatment is sought.
Thalassophobia treatment
And the appropriate treatment must be determined by a professional psychologist. The use of drugs for a while to treat some phobias is not ruled out, but without a doubt the most effective is cognitive behavioral therapy. This therapy works on distorted thinking that considers the sea to be a place full of dangers in order to change phobic behavior.
Accompanying cognitive behavioral therapy, other help resources can and should go, such as relaxation to reduce the anxiety component present in all phobias. And the techniques of gradual exposure in the imagination are also useful at first, that is, imagine yourself walking along the beach trying to feel positive emotions free of fear.