Thalassophobia Is An Actual Disorder, And These Photos Can Help Tell People If They Have It
Does the thought of the deep blue sea bring you out in a cold sweat? And would you feel just as terrified about floating around in the ocean, knowing all the while that practically anything could be underneath? Well, if your answer to either of these prospects is “yes,” then you may well be suffering from a condition called thalassophobia.
Everyone's afraid of something
During his inaugural speech, President Franklin D. Roosevelt told America, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Yet while there’s wisdom in Roosevelt’s words, virtually everyone is scared of something – whether that feeling of panic appears rational or not. And some phobias are pretty common: take arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, for instance.
Most common phobias
In fact, according to mental health website Verywell Mind, arachnophobia ranks among the most widely experienced fears. It must be said, though, that the condition involves more than just a dislike of spiders. Typically, the sight of one of the creatures makes arachnophobes either freeze or run in terror – even if they’re shown just a still image.
Coulrophobia is real
Fear of clowns, or coulrophobia, is likewise very real for its sufferers, who apparently include Johnny Depp and Daniel Radcliffe. And Depp is said to have mentioned the issue in an interview with The Courier Mail. There, he reportedly said of clowns, “It’s impossible – thanks to their painted-on smiles – to distinguish if they are happy or if they’re about to bite your face off.”
Deeper than social anxiety
However, while other common fears may not involve tangible targets, they are nevertheless debilitating for sufferers. For example, social anxiety disorder – or social phobia – is a particularly impactful condition that largely equates to a terror of public situations. This phobia can sometimes occur with such severity as to be present whenever a person is simply around others.
