Selachophobia

   Tweet   

---

What is Selachophobia?

Selachophobia - Fear of sharks.

How Selachophobia is developed?

Studies of historical writings, particularly those of the doctors and scientists of Ancient Greece and Rome, reveal that animal phobias have afflicted mankind for a very long time and references continue to be made occasionally throughout the succeeding centuries. However, animal phobias only began to attract serious scientific and medical attention in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and they continue to be the subject of study and debate at the present time.

As with all cases of phobia, avoidance is a key feature of animal phobias but the extent to which this interferes with normal life very much depends upon the prevalence of the feared subject. For example, a snake phobic living in Britain is probably only slightly inconvenienced by his phobia. Native wild snakes are rarely seen in Britain, even by country dwellers, and although the keeping of reptiles as pets has become increasingly popular, it is relatively easy to avoid chance encounters with snakes. Mice and bats are more commonly seen but even they are more likely to be an occasional, rather than an everyday experience for most people.

However, sharks are certainly not frequently encountered, and it can be envisaged that trying to avoid chance meetings with any of these could not significantly affect normal life. As has been discussed elsewhere, avoidance behaviour (safety behaviour at its most extreme) preserves the person from the highly unpleasant experience of fear but it also prevents any possibility of challenging or curing the phobia.

---

Phobia of different kinds
Gynophobia Glossophobia Genophobia Haphephobia Heliophobia Hemaphobia Hexakosioihexe kontahexaphobia Hippopotomonstro sesquippedaliophobia Hydrophobia Hypnophobia Russophobia Scopophobia Paraskavedek atriaphobia Ichthyophobia Judeophobia Lachanophobia Lygophobia Mysophobia Monophobia Musophobia Necrophobia Neophobia Nyctophobia Ophidiophobia Ornithophobia Osmophobia Pyrophobia	Papaphobia Pathophobia Pediophobia Peladophobia Pentheraphobia Phalacrophobia Phasmophobia Philophobia Phobophobia Photophobia Phonophobia Pogonophobia Polyphobia Selachophobia Sinophobia Taphephobi Technophobia Thanatophobia Theophobia Tocophobia Toxiphobia Triskaidekaphobia Trypanophobia Xanthophobia Xenophobia Zemmiphobia Zoophobia

---