Is Shark Phobia Dangerous?

[TMHeimer]

. Most are scared of you, and will flee if you confront them.

Most....

 

[The Chairman]

People doing that was really silly

Of course it was silly. Phobias are silly to those who don't suffer from them... they can be debilitating to those who do. In my defense, there was a wreck just off shore (100 yds?) at Ponce Inlet that was reportedly from Jean Ribault's fleet that was sunk in 1565. It's almost always covered with sand, but since it was exposed, we decided to dive it. As I was inspecting what appeared to be a part of the keel, I got rolled by a shark. You see, the wreck was right by the drop off into the inlet. I believe the shark swam up and simply ran into my tank, tumbling me off the wreck. I'm not sure who was more surprised by it and the only thing injured was my dignity. But I was still kind of freaked when I saw Jaws the next week and always found an excuse to not get into the water.

FWIW, since they've put in the jetties, I haven't heard any more news about the wreck being exposed. Kind of sad.

 

[TMHeimer]

I see what you're saying. I guess a particular situation can't trigger a phobia you didn't know you had. But of course you got over it, whereas I will always fear spiders and my wife snakes, so again I guess we need a professional's definition of a true phobia.

 

[lerpy]

This. Over the last month or so there has been a facebook post circulating around my area. A guy took some pictures of a sand tiger that he caught and then proceeded to call it a "beast" and basically not to get in the water because they are going to attack us. From the photos he was obviously bottom fishing one of the inshore artificial reefs. I found myself extremely aggrevated and went on the defensive.
So to counteract that I posted video footage of me diving with one. I explained that though the gnarly teeth make them look scary, they are pretty docile sharks. A lot of people travel to our little corner of the country just for the opportunity to dive with them, so they are also good for our local economy.

Given your location I am guessing you are very familiar with the sand tigers, I have heard they are very docile. Have yet to dive with them though, a couple of my buddies from the DC area have dove many times with Olympus, and have been back and forth the past couple of weeks there. Keep telling me I have to make the trip, which I want to do. This work thing interferes with my diving thought.

 

[diver 85]

She (seriously) needs to consider taking up knitting.......

 

[diver 85]

Yea, I fear sharks. Uneasy swimming in surf. No interest in surfing (trolling)
Diving is different, at least in good vis! If your lucky enough to see one and not spook it you shouldn't feel threatened.
Aside from medical issues, panic must be the number one killer of divers. Surviving any event underwater requires rational thought. My wife is prone to anxiety and knows herself that diving is out. Your wife is right, panic is the danger not the shark, equipment failure, downcurrents, uncontrolled assent, etc...all are non-events when training is followed.
Consider taking your OW locally and get really comfortable underwater together. Buoyancy is most sensitive nearer the surface so the pool is a great place to practice. Air share, trim, propulsion...
And watch the utube vids of those phsyco dive guides feeding and handling tigers for the tourists.

Here's what we saw on that dive out of Beqa Lagoon, Fiji---a 14ft'er & 18ft'er 'visited us that day.......

(more @ this link...Beqa Lagoon, Fiji Oct. 2010 Shark Dive)

14 ft. Tiger shark...Beqa Lagoon, Fiji by GEAUXtiger, on Flickr

Schott Beckham's pic of one of the Tiger Shark by GEAUXtiger, on Flickr

18 ft Tiger Shark..Beqa Lagoon, Fiji by GEAUXtiger, on Flickr

 

[Buliwyf]

I used to have an irrational fear of twisted metal in the water. Even got weirded out to snorkel close to docks, bridge support, and such. Snorkeling all the way around the Dry Tortugas fort/island and was perfectly fine until a twisted rebar looking remnant of the fort or a ship or something appeared out of nowhere.

I think I got that fear from the perfectly rational knowledge to know to stay away from water inlets in pools and waterparks when I was a kid. Now I'm over it. Scuba has so many terrifying things about it. Weird that people get hung up on sharks, and not on their lungs liquefying and shooting out of their nose.

I used to be scared of shallow water over coral as well, now I prefer it as long as I have positively buoyant snorkeling fins (Sewing Nova full foots) , as it's almost as good as diving.

Do you have any aquariums nearby? More experience easing into weirder situations snorkeling helped a ton. Some aquariums even hand catch a nurse shark and walk around with it. The silly stingray petting tanks are a start in the right direction.

Oh, and:

SCUBA7 - Shark Shield

It has an on/off switch so you don't miff everyone by scaring every decent ray and fish away.

Personally, the streamlined freee diving model makes more sense to me:

It's just an antennae on your ankle that you drag.

 

[Se']

Hey guys,
Thanks for all the answers and comments, I have read the thread with my wife and she enjoyed receiving so many advices.
Finally, we decided to go. She is trying to “desensitize” herself reading a lot about sharks and watching videos. Sometimes it seems to work, sometime not that much... One night she had nightmares and couldn’t sleep because she watched shark videos in the evening!
Anyway, it seems it is pretty unlikely to meet sharks in Bonaire, and hopefully the diving experience will help her overcome her phobia.
We also put together a “contingency plan” in case she has a panic attack. In this way I will already know what I am supposed to do (and won’t have to figure it out at the moment) and she will understand what I am doing.
I’ll keep you posted...

 

[TMHeimer]

Buliwyf, Yes, don't at all like twisted metal, and I've seen enough of that. But not like SPIDERS, or to a lesser extent Spider Crabs.

 

[DDI]

Spider Crab's are definitely scarier than Sharks. You should see our great Spider Crab migration in Melbourne, sends chills down your spine ( so does does the water temp ). It is good to see you have discussed this thread with her Se'.