Selachophobia (fear of sharks): symptoms, causes and treatment

A specific phobia in which the fear of sharks becomes irrational and extreme.

If we think of some of the most fearsome predators of the seas and oceans, probably the first creature that comes to mind is the shark.

It is one of the most lethal and effective predators in the aquatic environment, and has thrived for millions of years. There are many legends and myths that tell us about its powerful jaws and its fame as a man-eater, something that has permeated our society and has made us fear it to a certain extent.

But although it is not strange that there is uneasiness and fear in the presence of these creatures (after all, they are large predators), for some the mere possibility that there may be something that reminds them or even seeing them in photographs can lead to the onset of anxiety crises. We are talking about selacophobia or extreme fear of sharks..

Selacophobia as a specific phobia

It receives the name of selacophobia the phobia or panic to the sharks or sharks.. As a phobia that supposes the existence of an irrational or excessive fear in relation to the potential danger that can suppose the appearance or existence of a concrete stimulus. This fear generates a high level of anxiety that tends to cause physiological, cognitive and emotional symptoms.

Symptoms

The dread generated by the possible presence of the stimulus, or of any element associated with it, can provoke tachycardias, hyperventilation, hypersweating and in some cases it could generate anxiety crises (in which thoughts of loss of control of one's own body, of dying or of suffering a cardiac arrest could appear).

Likewise, this fear and/or the anticipation that the stimulus may appear generates the need to escape from the stimulus that makes us think of sharks. need to escape from the stimulus that makes one think of sharks, or to avoid at all costs any situation or environment in which the feared stimulus may appear.or to avoid at all costs any situation or environment in which there may be a risk of the feared stimulus appearing.

In the case of selacophobia, the fear of sharks is part of the specific phobias linked to animals, and in fact could be considered a subspecification of ichthyophobia or fish phobia. Thus, the subject with this problem will feel an intense fear of the sight of sharks, whether directly in nature or through films or even photographs.

It should be taken into account that it is a phobia that has to do with animals and in this case a dangerous one, so the existence of certain anxiety in their presence may be natural. However, the phobic reaction in the case of selacophobia is excessive or is maintained in situations where there is no real danger. in situations where there is no real danger of sharks appearing. that sharks may appear.

Affect generated by selacophobia

Although contact with sharks is not frequent in everyday life and for most people, selacophobia can have important repercussions in the person's daily life, especially with regard to theespecially when it comes to enjoying leisure in aquatic environments or when it comes to hindering the development of certain professions.

The fear of this type of animal causes people to avoid not only the sharks themselves (which are difficult to encounter on a daily basis), but this fear can be generalized to include associated stimuli, such as fin movements on the surface of the water, jaws or teeth that resemble those of a shark or even the sight or idea of walking along the coast, going to the beach, bathing or sunbathing near the water or even in some cases seeing bathers or even a surfboard.

On a professional level, subjects such as marine biologists or lifeguards may find their abilities severely limited by the fear of having to deal with sharks. Surfers and swimmers may end up developing a generalized fear of the water by association with the risk of being attacked.

In this sense, a phobia that may appear to be associated with selachophobia or ichthyophobia is thalassophobia, or phobia of the ocean or of swimming in large bodies of water. In this case the link would be given by the fact that it would be in this context that real contact with sharks would be possible, which makes it very significant and anxiogenic for the subject with selacophobia. Likewise, the presence of shark panic may contribute to increase the fear generated by large expanses of water for subjects with thalassophobia.

Causes of shark fear

The causes of selachophobia are not completely known, although there are many there are multiple hypotheses and ideas about itIt is considered that there is not a single originating cause but that this fear comes from an accumulation of factors.

One hypothesis is Seligman's priming theory, which stipulates that some phobias have a phylogenetically inherited component. phylogenetically inherited component that makes it easier for us to fear certain stimuli.

This theory is often associated with the fear of spiders, snakes or insects, since our ancestors had to learn that some of these creatures were dangerous and could cause death. Those who avoided them would probably have a better chance of survival, so the tendency to avoid them could be easily transmitted.

The same is true of sharks. Although they are not as aggressive as the literature and movies depict them as being and the number of deaths they cause is relatively low, the truth is that they are really powerful predators with lethal potential. When our ancestors began to sail the seas and oceans, encountering these animals could mean death, so fear may have spread in the same way.

Another factor to take into account is the way they attack their prey: sharks usually attack from below, from the depths, so that many of their prey cannot see the attack coming. The surprise and uncertainty of being stalked may increase the level of fear generated by approaching environments where these animals may exist.

In addition, another possible explanation or factor to take into account is the existence of a traumatic event involving sharks. These may include having suffered an attack or having witnessed one, having seen a death caused by a shark or the circumstantial association of one of these beings with a moment of great Pain or suffering.

In this sense, the role of the the role of cinema should also be taken into account (in fact there was an upturn in this type of phobia due to the Jaws movies) and novel literature, where the figure of these beings is portrayed as murderers who seek to devour human flesh (an exaggerated and erroneous figure, since most of them do not attack humans except by mistake).

Exposure to this type of films and documents can provoke a learning or association between the shark and death or pain, which can be fixed in a cognitive schema that awakens with some type of stressful event.

Treatment

Selacophobia is a condition that fortunately can be successfully treated in therapy. Phobias are usually treated by exposure therapy or systematic desensitization. by means of therapy of exposure or systematic desensitizationwhich are based on exposure to the phobic stimulus until the anxiety is reduced by itself or by habituation to perform a behavior incompatible with it.

Both techniques involve the subject facing the phobic stimulus, albeit gradually, and seek not so much the elimination of anxiety and fear as the achievement of the ability to manage it successfully (something that may eventually lead to its disappearance).

To this end, a hierarchy of stimuli that generate different levels of anxiety is established, which are negotiated between therapist and patient and then ordered according to the level of anxiety generated by each of them. Gradually and starting with those that generate a medium level of anxiety, the subject will be confronted with stimuli that generate different levels of anxiety, the subject will be confronted with increasingly anxious stimuli. (to move from one stimulus to another the subject must report at least two consecutive occasions the reduction of anxiety to minimal or non-existent levels).

This type of exposure can be complex to carry out in vivo, something that could complicate the treatment. Even so, it is possible to carry out exposures to situations such as walking along the shore of the beach, swimming or sailing in the sea or even going to an aquarium to see these animals.

In addition to this, nowadays technological development has made it possible to generate immersive and interactive environments by means of immersive and interactive environments through the use of virtual reality, which can help greatlyThis can be of great help in treating selacophobia or other phobias whose phobic stimulus is difficult to access. Sometimes imaginative exposure is also used, and even hypnosis is sometimes useful.

Another relevant type of therapy in these cases is cognitive behavioral therapy, specifically cognitive restructuring. This can be used to treat the set of maladaptive or dysfunctional cognitions, fears, expectations and beliefs that may generate or maintain the fear.

Situations that may have created the fear should also be treated, especially if we are dealing with a traumatic event experienced by the subject. Information regarding the danger of sharks and existing myths about them should also be discussed.

Relaxation techniques can be useful to learn to control anxiety levels, as well as being used as an incompatible response to anxiety in systematic desensitization. Finally, if necessary, anxiolytic drugs can be used to reduce anxiety in situations that generate excessive levels of anxiety.

Bibliographical references:

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fifth edition. DSM-V. Masson, Barcelona.