Oceans are – by definition – big masses of water. There’s around 264 billion of gallons in the Atlantic alone. Which is a difficult number to visualize. And it’s not the only large ocean on our planet.

It’s not unusual to be afraid of big lakes or oceans – the official name for this fear is Thalassophobia.

And there are lots of perfectly good reasons to be afraid.

Sure, water is essential for our survival but it’s also possible to drown in it, large waves can appear (tsunamis being the biggest of these), currents can sweep us away, we know less about the ocean depths than we do about the moon. The list goes on.

But if you’re unfortunate enough to be struck by this fear, it can hold us back.

• Cruise ships are off limits – with the headlines about viruses spreading on these large boats, that might not be a bad thing. But if your partner wants to go on a cruise and your fears are stopping you from accepting the invitation, that’s not such good news.
• Beach holidays aren’t fun – beaches are normally next to the sea so unless your hotel has its own pools out of sight of the ocean, there are issues here.
• Flying can be a problem – a lot of flights cross oceans. So as well as the fear of flying that a lot of people have, you’ll need to make sure you’re in an aisle seat or have the window blind down so that you don’t get an inadvertent glimpse of the sea
• TV programs often show oceans – sometimes a beach scene is used to suggest tranquility. But if your fear is too embedded, the mere sight of the ocean on screen can be a problem. And even if the show you’re watching isn’t about the sea, there’s no guarantee that an advert won’t pop into it that features the ocean

So, what can you do to overcome your Thalassophobia?

Well, you’ve already done the first part by reading this far.

You’ve recognized you’ve got a problem. Which is the first step to getting it fixed.

Next – if you can – work out what exactly triggers your fear.

Like most phobias, there are various component parts to thalassophobia.

• Size – whilst the world is big, oceans (because they have nothing to interrupt the view) appear especially so. They carry on to the horizon and beyond. So their size and scale could be adding to your fear
• Unknown – we don’t know much about the oceans. The Mariana Trench is 7 miles deep and we’ve visited it a lot less often than we’ve been to the moon. We’re clueless about a lot of what the oceans hold so the unknown is a valid part of our fear.
• Danger – tsunamis are the least frequent tidal waves but when they strike, they can cause untold amounts of damage. But storms can crop up a lot more often – it’s estimated that there are over 3 million ship wrecks currently littering the ocean floor. And let’s do our best to forget about the Bermuda Triangle and its penchant for devouring ships and planes. And let’s definitely forget about sharks and other dangerous creatures.
• Currents – we need the oceans to move but currents can move an unsuspecting person well away from where they first started. You only have to look at surfing beginners walking their boards along the beach to where they first started to know that.

Which means our fears have a good foundation.

But – fortunately – most of those things are not things that happen to us every day, otherwise we wouldn’t be the dominant species on the planet.

It’s “simply” a matter of getting that idea through to your mind.

And the best way to do that is to use hypnosis to gradually wean your mind off its fear.

The speed of the process varies from person to person, depending on the level of their fear.

But with a few listens to the MP3, you should be able to look forward to joining your friends on the beach and even swimming in the ocean.

If that sounds like something that is at least worth trying, download your fear of the ocean track here and play it to yourself.