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Is being scared of fish weird?

I am a teenager and I have always been a little scared of fish. But for some reason this past week my fear has been major. I went in a pet store with my dad and little brother and wouldn't go in the aquarium part. After standing outside for a few minutes one of the cashiers looked at me with disgust asking me what I was scared of. When I replyed the fish she got mad. Untill i got intimidated and went into the fish part. I clung onto my dad and started hyperventilating. I then couldn't take it anymore walked out of the store and burst into tears. Then today my step mom showed me a video of deep sea fish that were undiscovered until they washed up on shore because of a tsunami. I saw the pictures and had a panic attack. Worse than yesterday. I then talked to my boyfriend and him thinking it was a joke started laughing. My best friend called me and proceded to calm me down. I was shaking uncontrollably. Couldn't breathe. And was crying. My boyfriend later apologized but that's not the point. The point is. Pictures sent me into that state. Is that crazy? Should I see someone? Only serious answers please. And also. I'm not scared of spiders or anything so.. Yeah...

Public Comments

1. Yes, its weird. I think fish are cool.... they breathe through their gills :)
2. Not really. Many people are afraid of different things, some people even have a fear of long words ( The word to explain what they have is very long heh.. ) Anyways. Different people have different fears, don't worry about this fear. It's not stupid or anything, it's normal to be afraid of something. This is not a common one, but it does not mean there is anything wrong.
3. It's certainly not the weirdest phobia i've ever heard of. There are people who are terrified of armchairs, or even things that are on the right hand side of them :S Deep see fish are creepy, I agree with you there. I'd just try and never put yourself in a position to be near fish ever again. Don't go scuba diving or anything and you'll be fine. You may grow out of it, i was terrified of water i couldn't see through untill i was about 10. In another 10 years you might have no problem with fish
4. there are so many phobias out there, dont worry, this one isn't so weird. I wouldnt say i fear fish, but i certainly hate swiming with them, and the first time i went snorkeling... i had a panic attack. but i stayed in the water. and as time went on, i got used to it. the best treatment of a phobia is exposure therapy. slowly expose yourself to fish, from a safe comfortable place, and expose yourself to them more and more, and understand your fear is real, but irrational. think about why that is and how it is irrational. soon enough, you will overcome your fear.
5. not if ur a worm!!!
6. oh my god, you're exactly like me i've been scared of fish (and birds) for 7 years now i think the reason that you feel like your fear has been major this past week is probably due to other stresses in your life? i'm finally seeing a pyschologist about my phobias of fish and birds after totally breaking down just looking at a picture of a fish (i had to, for an english assignment haha) and decided that i wanted help my fears were escalated because due to a lot of stress/anxiety that week in general (exams) i can totally relate to you not going to aquariums and bursting into tears i totally avoid aquariums, fish tanks and everything. i even avoid family dinners at restaurants because i burst into tears when the table next to us order fish or whatever. i can't even eat fish because it just makes me physically sick (even if it's like fish and chips) it's embarrassing haha. you most likely have a phobia of fish too. all your symptoms such as the hyperventilating etc. point to this. it's exactly like how i act when i see fish/birds. i'd advise you to talk to your doctor about it if it's really starting to affect your life! and i can totally relate to people thinking it's a joke ): lots of people don't understand why i'm scared of fish/birds. i suppose people think being scared of fish is weird. it's not really a 'conventional' fear i guess you could say, like spiders or heights, so you'll get lots of people who just think you're overreacting lots of family members still don't get that i can't eat fish/see fish (e.g. my grandma preparing fish for dinner. i had a panic attack after seeing it ugh) but no, i don't think you're crazy. people are scared of all kinds of things see your gp to get a referral to a psychologist if you think you need to! if it's just been this past week, then maybe it's because of stress/anxiety in general you may be feeling that's heightened your fear. if it's controllable normally, then there's no great need to see anybody. but i don't know to what extent your fear of fish is affecting your life so it's up to you do decide whether you want to see a psychologist or not (: though all your physical symptoms such as the shaking, crying, hyperventilating etc. show that your fear's pretty serious i've been avoiding fish and birds and even going to extremes to do so for the last 7 years and it's been just ugh. my psychologist is planning on starting graduated exposure therapy with me when she's going to start exposing me to elements of my phobia, like feathers and stuff (because of my phobia of birds) to gradually get over the majority of my fear. this will be what happens if you decide to see someone about your phobia of fish (: i'm not completely sure what the exposure therapy will be like for fish yet because my psychologist is currently just concentrating on my phobia of birds and some other anxieties so yeah. but graduated exposure therapy will be what you go through and your psychologist will talk to you about the plan he/she has in mind for this (: sorry for the long answer. i got totally carried away haha but i can totally relate to what you're going through. good luck with whatever you choose to do and i hope you manage your fears (:
7. If the fish you are scared of have the ability to eat you, then your fear is well justified. Otherwise, yes it is weird and irrational.