Hello there! I am looking for some advice! I have a bit of a confession– I have a crippling phobia of sharks. Like, “cannot be in a swimming pool, sometimes even bathtubs scare me” fear of sharks (I wish I was exaggerating). I hate that I’m so scared because sharks are SO stigmatized and vilified, dangerously so. So asking for myself and the benefit of others: Do you have any advice as to how to desensitize oneself to sharks and water? How did you come to love sharks? Thank you so much! 🦈❤

gentlesharks:

The first thing to remember is that its okay to have a phobia of sharks. I myself have a bad phobia of deep water. 

I was about 6 years old when I first discovered sharks were a real animal. They looked scary and big and dangerous, but after spending all my time in the school library reading every shark book I could find, they didn’t seem so scary anymore. Some people who are scared of sharks don’t know that much about them, knowledge helped me love sharks. (it also made everyone in the classroom tease me for liking them lmfao)

The best way I find to desensitize yourself from something is to learn about it and research it. But don’t beat yourself up about being scared of sharks, it doesn’t make you a bad person in the slightest. Acknowledging that sharks aren’t villains and acknowledging your phobia is enough.

Another thing to remember is that ALL sharks (over 400 kinds) have different personalities. Some people see a Great White and assume that every other shark behaves the same, but that’s not the truth.

What I love about running this blog is it gives a chance for people scared of sharks to enjoy them and learn about them. A good place on our blog to find cool facts is our info tag! 🦈

Honestly, you don’t need to love sharks. You can continue being terrified of them. You just need to acknowledge that they aren’t evil, they are a vital part of the ecosystem, and they deserve to exist as much as anything else.