As many of you might know, especially if you know me, I have a phobia of sharks. Now many of you are thinking "Phobia? Doesn't that just mean you're afraid of them?"
Well, the answer to that would be "no". A phobia is different from a fear. Generally, a fear only bothers you when you encounter the object, i.e. if you're afraid of spiders, you'll generally only panic when one is near you and in a place where you might come in contact with it.
A phobia, however, is much worse. The dictionary defines it as "A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous."
That is why I have a phobia of sharks and not a fear. It is completely irrational. If I'm in the water and someone says "shark", I get out and won't go back in...period. If I see fish jump, I'm out. If I see dolphins jump, out. Birds dive, out. Step on a crab, out. If I see a boat that I decide is too close to shore, I assume they're fishing...which means blood...which means sharks, and I'm out. Playing Tomb Raider II, which had sharks, freaked me out and I was barely able to finish it. I avoid ponds, lakes, rivers, streams - any body of water where I can't see everything in it (pools and wavepools are okay) - yes, I know there aren't any sharks in freshwater, but the point is that I can't see what is there. It bothers me. It freaks me out. I can't watch Jaws straight through, beginning to end. I have to pause it for a while, or just skip parts. Strangely enough Deep Blue Sea is one of my favorite movies, and it's about really, really big sharks. However, they are genetically altered and I tell myself (simply because believing it eases my conscience) that the government doesn't allow genetic manipulation. Jaws, on the other hand, could actually happen.
Anyway, the point of this whole rant is this picture:
.
Obviously, it looks like a shark. It isn't (look at the dorsal and tail fins). I saw it and I freaked. No, I actually did freak. It scared the crap out of me.
THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T GO IN THE WATER
Yeah, so that was it.
Bye.
Well, the answer to that would be "no". A phobia is different from a fear. Generally, a fear only bothers you when you encounter the object, i.e. if you're afraid of spiders, you'll generally only panic when one is near you and in a place where you might come in contact with it.
A phobia, however, is much worse. The dictionary defines it as "A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous."
That is why I have a phobia of sharks and not a fear. It is completely irrational. If I'm in the water and someone says "shark", I get out and won't go back in...period. If I see fish jump, I'm out. If I see dolphins jump, out. Birds dive, out. Step on a crab, out. If I see a boat that I decide is too close to shore, I assume they're fishing...which means blood...which means sharks, and I'm out. Playing Tomb Raider II, which had sharks, freaked me out and I was barely able to finish it. I avoid ponds, lakes, rivers, streams - any body of water where I can't see everything in it (pools and wavepools are okay) - yes, I know there aren't any sharks in freshwater, but the point is that I can't see what is there. It bothers me. It freaks me out. I can't watch Jaws straight through, beginning to end. I have to pause it for a while, or just skip parts. Strangely enough Deep Blue Sea is one of my favorite movies, and it's about really, really big sharks. However, they are genetically altered and I tell myself (simply because believing it eases my conscience) that the government doesn't allow genetic manipulation. Jaws, on the other hand, could actually happen.
Anyway, the point of this whole rant is this picture:
.
Obviously, it looks like a shark. It isn't (look at the dorsal and tail fins). I saw it and I freaked. No, I actually did freak. It scared the crap out of me.
THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T GO IN THE WATER
Yeah, so that was it.
Bye.
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