How to Treat Galeophobia
Galeophobia is a fear of sharks, from the Greek "galeos" meaning shark and "phobia" meaning fear. It is a specific phobia, as opposed to social phobias or agoraphobia, and like all phobias, the fear must be intense, irrational and persistent to be considered a true clinical phobia. The following steps will help you treat this common phobia.
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Instructions
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Diagnose galeophobia by establishing that the fear is out of proportion to the real or perceived threat from the shark and not the result of another mental disorder. A sufferer of galeophobia will be anxious even if he is not in the water.
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Realize that galeophobia may be caused in part by the depiction of sharks in films as intelligent and vengeful. Some sharks, like the Bull shark, have a demonstrated tolerance for fresh water and may be found in rivers and lakes. The choice of sharks as the phobic object may be logical because some of them represent a real danger. On the other hand, the selection of a shark as the phobic object may be symbolic or random.
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Find out more about the specific phobic object. The majority of sharks are not dangerous to humans and account for a statistically insignificant number of human fatalities, so some basic education may reduce the extent of the phobia.
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Accept that problems that take years to develop will likely take years to resolve through professional help. The underlying cause of a clinical phobia will seldom resolve itself. Desensitization therapy, more formally known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most common treatment and is successful 75 percent of the time, according to National Institute of Mental Health. Other treatments include insight, implosion and supportive therapy, drugs, hypnotic regression, modeling and reframing.
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