​Thalassophobia Is A Genuine Phobia And We Pretty Much All Have It

We've all got our fears - admittedly some of them are more common than others, but that's okay. The whole trypophobia thing gets me every time, while some of my other friends simply don't understand it.

But there's one we probably all have, despite the fact most of us have never heard of it until now.

Thalassophobia is the fear of the sea or of sea travel, but can also involve any bodies of deep, dark water - and what may lurk beneath the surface.

The term derives from the Greek words 'thalassa' (sea) and 'phobos' (fear), and can mean different things to different people.

Imagine dangling your legs off the edge of a small boat and letting your feet dip into the sea. If you're even remotely worried about a shark jumping up out of the water and latching onto your toes - well, that's thalassophobia for you.

via GIPHY

Ocean sinkholes. Tidal waves. Underwater caves. Your feet touching all of those furry, slimy rocks at the bottom of a massive lake.

There's even a Reddit thread for it (of course there is), where people who have the fear can bond together and support each other over what it is that creeps them out about the deep sea.

In the thread, Redditors have shared photos and videos of everything from someone working underwater on a ship's rudder and whales breaching right next to a boat through to underwater restaurants and dolphins swimming beneath surfers.

Others delved into just what is was that triggered their fear, with one explaining: "For me I think it was Finding Nemo, the scene where Marlin and Dory encounter the whale. The distant silhouette of the whale paired with the whale's eerie song just creeped me the hell out. The wide, never ending expense of the murky water that could be hiding anything, with no place to seek refuge or shelter..."

Another added: "Nemo definitely was a contributor, the scene with the light bulb fish, (can't remember name) put into perspective what is down there that we know of and the unknown aspect creeps me out."

Someone else wrote: "I watched a Nat Geographic documentary about aquatic animals when I was young and saw creepy fish like the Angler Fish, Monkfish and Stone fish which creeped the hell outta me."

You're not alone, guys.

Topics: Water, News, Sea, Community

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman