Thalassophobia (fear of the sea or ocean): symptoms, causes and treatment

An anxiety disorder that can greatly affect the quality of life of those who live near the sea.

Although the human being is an animal species adapted to terrestrial life, the seas and oceans are very present, the seas and oceans are very present in our lives..

The simple fact that most of the surface of our planet is covered by sea water means that we have to adapt to the presence of these large liquid surfaces, large masses that can be used for navigation and to find natural resources, but that in certain contexts can be a threat.

In this article we will talk about the facet of the ocean that we experience with more sense of danger and anxiety: thalassophobia.

What is thalassophobia?

The concept of thalassophobia refers to a specific type of phobia in which the thing that produces extreme fear is the ocean or sea. that which produces an extreme fear is the ocean or sea.. That is to say, a person experiencing this mental disorder will feel terror and great anxiety by the simple exposure to this environment, sometimes even if he or she is not really close to it and is simply watching a video in which this immense body of water appears.

Since this is a phobia, that level of discomfort must be clinically significant (meaning that there is impairment). (meaning that there is a clear and evident impairment of your quality of life that prevents you from doing many things and often leads to suffering) and appears in contexts where the ocean or sea does not pose a reasonable or objective danger.

Obviously, if we are about to fall through the keel of a ship we will surely feel terror, but people with thalassophobia feel in a similar way simply by contemplating the ocean or a similar body of water. As the anxiety disorder that thalassophobia is, its mechanisms go beyond rationality.

Symptoms

As we have seen, thalassophobia is a specific phobia that appears when the subject is exposed to stimuli that he/she interprets as a sign that there is an ocean or sea nearby (or when he/she directly sees these bodies of water). Otherwise, its differences with the rest of phobias of this type disappear, which means that the symptoms are typical of these anxiety disorders and that only that which triggers them varies.

In summary, it can be said that the main symptoms of thalassophobia are the following: tachycardia, sweating, tremors, catastrophic thoughts, stress crises, loss of control over one's movements, and a great sense of danger.loss of control over one's own movements, and a great sense of danger.

At the neurobiological level, this unjustified state of alertness involves the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares the person to react to the slightest stimulus and predisposes the behavioral reaction of flight.

At the behavioral level, the person tends to react in two waysBy fleeing in an uncontrolled and almost automatic manner, and by avoiding exposure to the phobic stimulus in order to prevent the onset of these anxiety attacks in the real or fictitious presence of the ocean.

Causes

As with other phobias, there is no clear cause of thalassophobia, but rather a multiplicity of factors that can lead to its occurrence.

In the first place, we must consider the possibility of having lived traumatic experiences. These are experiences in which a very unpleasant emotional imprint is associated with a variety of stimuli which, when perceived which, when perceived, can trigger in real time the experience of a physiological and emotional state similar to what was felt in the original traumatic experience.

For example, having nearly drowned, or having lost a loved one in this way, may predispose one to experience this anxiety disorder. In addition, the Biological aspect must be taken into account, and more specifically the genetic predispositions to react with large amounts of anxiety. in situations in which it is felt that there is or will be a loss of control. In phobias, one of the most common stress mechanisms has to do with the expectation of suffering an anxiety crisis, which generates a self-fulfilling prophecy loop effect and that unpleasant experience that was feared and expected becomes a reality.

Differences with other similar anxiety disorders.

There are two phobias that resemble thalassophobia: bathophobia, or fear of the deep, and hydrophobia, or fear of water. Although in practice it is very common that the stimuli that trigger them are almost the same, there are nuances to be taken into account.

Thalassophobia occurs in the real or imaginary presence of seas and oceans, i.e., bodies of water that normally extend to the horizon, and that we can feel very close even though we are miles away from its shore.. The fear is of these bodies of water themselves, regardless of their depth.

In hydrophobia, on the other hand, the fear is of water, which can appear far away from the seas and oceans: for example, in caves, restaurants, swimming pools, faucets, lakes, etc.

In bathophobia, it is the notion of depth that generates terror.. That is, the sensation that there is a mass of matter of precarious stability that separates us from the bottom of an abyss. This experience can appear in the sea, but also in the snow, in the sand or even in a ball pool.

• Article related: "Batophobia: (fear to the depth): symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment".

Treatment

Fortunately, thalassophobia has a good prognosis most of the time, as specific phobias respond very well to psychological treatment. After several sessions and some activities to be carried out autonomously, most cases of this kind of anxiety disorders give way to a relatively rapid improvement, to the point where the level of anxiety caused by the phobic stimulus ceases to be clinically significant.

One of the techniques most commonly used by psychologists to treat thalassophobia is exposureThis consists of exposing the subject to that which frightens him/her in a controlled manner, and having set a series of objectives. As progress is made, the difficulty of these experiences increases, which in most cases occur under the direct supervision of the mental health professional.

It is possible to work using real landscapes where there is sea or ocean, or simulations experienced through virtual reality goggles, although at the beginning it is also common to use only the imagination.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Robert Jean Campbell (2009). Campbell's Psychiatric Dictionary (en inglés). Oxford University Press. pp. 375.
• Snyder, Kari (2003). "Attack of the Water Monster". Boating. New York: Hachette Filipacchi Media. 76 (4): 44.
• Robert Jean Campbell (2009). Campbell's Psychiatric Dictionary. Oxford University Press. pp. 375.