Is it normal to fear vastness?

I have this strange fear of swimming down a few feet into either an ocean or pool and then looking around me and not seeing anything. I have no idea how this fear came to be but I noticed my uneasiness when I was surfing the internet and I came upon a picture of a girl some 15 to 20 feet underwater and it was just her and the ocean. You couldn't see fish, coral, or even the occasional sensationalized shark. Instantly my heart started to beat fast, my hands started to sweat, and I had to click out of that picture. I just shrugged it off and moved on with life until last summer my friend invited me to her pool. She started to swim underwater and I was jealous that she could do that. So I started trying until I was able to. It got late and the light in the pool dimmed. It wasn't 100% dark but it was dark enough to make it seem like I was in the ocean somewhere. I don't have a problem with vastness outside the ocean and if I see a picture of someone underwater with a fish or two it doesn't bother me. Rivers and lakes don't scare me. I don't mind if the water is muddy. It bothers me that I can see I'm alone in underwater. Above the water, no problem. Under it, we have a huge problem. I have tried in vain to find a name for this but I have come up short. Which makes me wonder if this is normal.

Voting Results
78% Normal
Based on 58 votes (45 yes)
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Comments ( 18 )
  • Short4Words

    I have the exact same thing with space pretty much.

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  • thegypsysailor

    About half way between San Francisco and Hawaii, we ran out of wind and I thought I'd take advantage of the super calm conditions and take a swim. The ocean there is about 5 MILES deep and a lot of thoughts of what might be lurking below me were running through my head, after all, I had just gone from the top of the food chain as human aboard a boat to the bottom; a tiny creature swimming in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
    At about 100 feet from the boat, I opened my eyes underwater and there below me was a huge (I mean huge) shadow!
    Those watching me from the boat later said that no Olympic swimmer had anything on me as I swam back to the boat in terror.
    As I neared the boat, I once again looked down to see if the behemoth below had noticed me, only to realize that what I had seen was the shadow of the boat!
    I felt a fool, but to this day, I do not like swimming if I can't see the bottom.

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    • Here where I live there are black dolphins that purposely knock people over and end up getting too rough. Its really close to shore when it happens too. Usually early in the morning when they feed.

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  • myboyfriendsbitch

    I think it's pretty normal. It's like the point of no return. Your story makes me think of being at a large outdoor concert, close to the stage, music so loud it's in my brain, looking back knowing there is no way I'm getting out of there. It gives me a brief feeling of panic, but you've just got to embrace it and see the beauty in it. Then you can feel how you should, like you are a tiny part of something big.

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    • I came

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  • realrealist

    I have that feeling with the ocean but the vastness of space actually brings about an inner peace, go figure.

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  • NotStrangeBird

    Go scuba diving offshore in some nice clear water during the day.

    Bring your mandatory dive buddy so you won't be alone. You can go in groups even, with guides armed for the occasional sensationalized shark.

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    • slightlylucid

      Omg that made me shake until you said bring a buddy. Like....I got goosebumps!

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  • awesomeadvice88

    Agoraphobia - the fear of open spaces
    Hydrophobia - the fear of water
    Agdrophobia - fear of open spaces in water maybe?
    Nah I think it has a different name but you get the gist, there is a name for all fears and phobias! However fears and phobias are different, they are sometimes misplaced and thought of as the same thing, but a fear is irrational, for example 'I fear dust' phobias however are somewhat still irrational but occur due to bad previous experiences! For example you are willing to go swimming in the sea knowing if you dive and it is empty and wide you will become scared so yes this is a fear, only way to overcome it is to dive with lots of people, not many people, no people but animals, no people few animals, no peopl no animals, and continue to progress but only when your ready! My personal example was I used to be afraid of the deep end of swimming pools however each time I'd go in the pool I'd try to get deeper, my fear arose from not being able to tread water until my current girlfriend of 3 years explainedand demonstrated how easy it was and I eventually worked my way up to the deep end which in the end turned out to be irrational also because life guards patrolled the pools regularly!

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  • hairyfairy

    I`m creeped out by deep water too, I`ll only swim in swimming pools, not in the sea.

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  • Terence_the_viking

    Oh noes you is swimming in mucky waters get out of there before its too late.

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  • Avant-Garde

    It sounds like you have a combination of Agoraphobia and Thalassophobia.

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    • It's sound like you may be too good lookin.

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      • Avant-Garde

        All that from my way with words?! The denizens of Hades can't even get their hands off of me and my stylish coat.

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  • I don't swim in lakes because there is a risk of getting a brain parasite that can kill you within a week or two. A kid who was surfing at the beach down the street made the local news and had to be life flighted to the mainland after getting bitten by a sand shark. I came too hard and cried once.

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  • I love it.

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    • **slips into depression**begins thinking dark thoughts**

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      • Cheer up, the ocean is your friend.

        Unless you can't swim.

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