Is Shark Phobia Dangerous?

[Se']

Hi all,
I am planning a diving holiday in Bonaire with my wife, we will take our OW certification a maybe do a few dives.
This holiday was her idea, actually, but now she is having second thoughts since she has a real phobia of sharks. Now, she has read lots of stuff and she knows the risk is infinitesimal, so she is not having second thoughts because she fears (irrationally) that she will be bitten by a shark. What she fears (rationally), is to have a panic attack if she actually see one, and that this may lead her to do something actually dangerous like uncontrolled fast ascension.
Has anyone experience of diving with shark phobia?

 

[Fogest]

It is one thing to see a shark when on the surface and and another to see ones while swimming with them. Movies like JAWS make them seem really scary, and especially scary from the surface as you don't know what is happening.

But when swimming with them it is a different story. It could be a problem if she is scared of them and doesn't think she could control her emotions, but it sounds like she also may be with you and you may be able to give her a little comfort if you are calm in a situation where you see a shark. If there is a situation where you may be near sharks it may be best to stay at a shallower depth so that if she resorts to ascending then there is less risk of harm to her or her dive buddy.

It's a risk for sure, but if this is something she really wants to do then she should try to slowly conquer her fear of sharks. Her first time seeing a shark underwater will likely be scary, but hopefully it happens in a safe setting where she is near the surface and with a trusted dive buddy, and ideally with a divemaster.

 

[boulderjohn]

I know you are using the term "phobia" a bit loosely, but there is a significant difference between a true phobia and a fear. It is much easier to overcome a fear than a true phobia--the latter may require the help of a therapist.

The main thing that helps people overcome a fear is experience. If you experience something that you fear enough times to see it as a regular experience, then that fear will go away on its own. That is tough to do with sharks. Not only can't you experience it before diving, due largely to overhunting, it is even hard to experience them while you are diving. There are places where you are likely to see them, but Bonaire is not one of them. If you were to go to a place like Ambergris Cay in Belize, for existence, there are dive sites where harmless nurse sharks are in abundance, and a new diver can dive with them until shark boredom sets in.

My best guess on what to do is continued education in advance on the topic. Saturate her with information about how very, very, very rare it is for divers (not talking about spear fishers) to have unpleasant experiences with sharks. Especially make sure she understands that almost all shark attacks occur on the surface, where the shark mistakes the individual for normal prey (like sea lions, turtles, etc.) That means the safest place to be is down deep with the shark, where it can see what you are and understand that you are not on the menu.

 

[Rilelen]

I agree that the biggest danger isn't from a shark, it's from potential panic. If she's super concerned, you might look into short-term counseling for her before the trip - exposure therapy is incredibly effective at treating phobias and doesn't take very many sessions either. It's one of the things that modern psychology does really, really well. Your insurance may even cover it!

If that's not an option, you might even consider one of the many very good scientifically-based self-help books - exposure therapy has been largely "manualized", which means that it's understood well enough that it can be condensed down into easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions (i.e., as in an instrucitonal manual, thus "manualized"). One upside of that is that it's straightforward enough that your wife might be able to do it herself, or at least give it a shot.

One thing that's suggested (which you might want to do anyway) is to decide ahead of time on what you will do if your wife encounters a shark. That could be an immediate signal to you to start an ascent, or it could be for her to swim over and hold hands with you and count to twenty - whatever the plan is, having one in place before you dive will give her a gameplan for what to do if/when the scary thing happens, and that in itself helps reduce panic.

On another note - from what I've heard, Bonaire isn't a big shark destination, so the likelihood of running into one there is probably less than in other places!

 

[TMHeimer]

Sounds like good advice on one of my favourite subjects. While I don't have that phobia (mine is spiders, ever spider crabs to a lesser degree and none of these are BIG where I dive), I am unusual in that I don't go out of my way seeking to see sharks (and in 590 dives yet haven't seen one). In low (or good) viz I am always aware of what is around me that may be dangerous and/or big). My thought is if I ever do see one I would slowly make my way out of there and out of the water ASAP. We'll see if that happens when the time comes.... Yeah, everyone will say the danger is minuscual, but so is dying from any spider, or going on a plane, walking under a coconut tree, etc. My guess would be that any kind of professional help for this phobia may not help, but what do I know. Just take it slow and enjoy the dive. Going to areas where sharks have not been sighted often may be mentally good for her. As above, no bolting to the surface--Aside from that being extremely dangerous, I read that the surface is the worst place to be for shark attacks... swimmers, surfers, etc.--divers---yes, they are on the surface at times also. Maybe others have better advice. Well yeah, already better advice right above before I finished my post. It is a popular topic.

 

[oly5050user]

Seen a lot of sharks , never had an problem with any.
That said the chance of seeing a shark of any kind off Bonaire is so remote that she should not even entertain any idea of seeing one.
Only sites that there is a tiny chance of seeing one is on the east coast where none of the resort operators go to due to rough conditions there. Been to Bonaire over 30 times , have over 600 dives there , and only saw a nurse shark 1 time there. You want sharks go to Nassau or any Bahamas based resort.

 

[Scubadeep1]

Just a suggestion, you might want to do a search on YouTube or the like and save a few videos that are NOT of shark attacks and that show divers diving with sharks and not having any issues with them and that they are just part of the marine system and the Sharks don't even care they are there. Just a thought to maybe ease her un easiness. That is what I have found that is the misconception of many non divers, they think the marine life looks at us as food or an unknown prediter and what I have found is divers are just part of the surroundings, and fish and other marine life just go on with their daily life like we aren't even there.

 

[TMHeimer]

Unless you encounter one that is very old or is not mentally sound, thus unable to consume it's usual prey. These , I've heard can be the ones that come close to shore is search of swimmers. But again, the % in that is probably even a million times less than an attack by a normal one.

 

[drbill]

I don't remember seeing a single shark diving in Bonaire. Probably nothing to worry about. She may not want to go to the Bahamas, Tahiti, Palau, the Maldives, etc., etc.

 

[Coztick]

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.