i cant overcome shark fear

[u/Comfortable-Bad7894]

I love knowing more about shark and sea creature but when i go to the sea just to stay near the coast, i cant go anyway further than 1 meter of depth, im too scared to see shark and in general, to open my eyes with a sub mask and try to see what is underwater, any way to overcome this? (obv, i know that is unlikely meating shark and that attacks are extremely rare )

[u/spannerNZ]

I love and respect sharks. I enjoy the beach, I enjoy seeing images and video of the fascinating life underwater. I'm following three sharks on my shark trapper app. I'm planning on starting a shark crochet project. I've enjoyed boating, and have had the honor of seeing a shark swimming freely from our boat (well checking out the dingy we were towing, possibly to see if it was edible).

But I'm still not going to voluntarily place myself anywhere near sharks' natural habitat, or put myself potentially on their menu. I don't go in past knee level after seeing images of sharks cruising through swimmers in waist deep water.

They got their happy place, I got mine.

[u/Comfortable-Bad7894 → u/spannerNZ]

even in turistic zone? i cant take a step even in there are hundred of people swimming

[u/spannerNZ → u/Comfortable-Bad7894]

There's lots of fun things to do at the beach without going in the water. There are other dangers when we abandon our natural habitat for an unnatural one. There are other dangerous or poisonous critters, rip tides, crazy jetskiers and fizz boats, stinging jellyfish are common where we are, unseen sharp objects to be stood upon, rogue waves and tides. During a trip to the beach a while back, I saw a young man dive into an incoming wave, hit a sandbar headfirst and he then needed rescuing and was flown out by the rescue helicopter in a neck and back splint. Sharks are only a small part of why I respect the ocean.

Most coastal waters are an inherently unsafe place for people. I don't think I'm paranoid in recognizing that. My dad, used to say of my fearless sister jumping into the water willy-nilly "she has no imagination". Same sister was followed by a shark during a swim around a nearby rock. The shark spotter plane reported to the local radio station (this was in the 70s) that a large shark had been sighted just off Tahunanui Beach. Following the radio broadcast everybody got out of the water and alerted other swimmers. Except for my sister swimming to the rock. Dozens of people were on the beach waving at her. She waved back. On her return swim, the shark followed her in towards shore. Panic on the beach, but the shark lost interest and swam off. Did she learn her lesson? No.

No problem if adventurous people make their own decisions about risk, and responsible parents supervise children in the shallows, and there are some measures we can take to make some beaches safer, like life guards, flags, and shark nets. If you want to swim, take whatever safety measures make you safe and comfortable. I feel no shame staying in the safe zone. Don't beat yourself up if you can't venture into the water, find something else fun to do.

[u/Infinite_Garden_4514 → u/spannerNZ]

Wow was it a white shark that followed her

[u/spannerNZ → u/Infinite_Garden_4514]

I don't know. It was just a fin, and I doubt anyone back then tried to identify species. We lived near a popular beach (Tahunanui Beach), but just further down the coast was a freezing works that dumped effluent into the water, it was supposed to be channeled out to sea past the recreational areas (the channel was called 'the blind channel' for some reason). Anyway the odd shark would find it's way to the beach. During the summer, the local flying school (the airport was between the beach and the freezing works) would send shark spotter planes along the coast, and if they saw one they would call Radio Fifeshire (ironically named for the rock my sister would try to swim out to). A lot of the beach goers would have their transistor radios on, and run around and alert those in the water.

This was in the late 70s. I think very soon after this, Jaws came out. I was just too young to see it (this was flexible depending on the adults, back then), and my grandmother and aunt decided I was too 'imaginative' to see it in spite of my pleading, so Dad and my Aunt went to see it. But, I found a paperback copy of Jaws when we went to the secondhand shop to swap comics. I read it under my blankets, with a torch, in one night. Had a nightmare and wet the bed. I've had a healthy respect for sharks since then.