Thalassophobia

Thalassophobia is the persistent and intense fear of deep bodies of water, such as the ocean, seas or lakes, and should not be confused with the related but distinct aquaphobia, the fear of water itself. It can include fears of being in deep water, of the vastness of the sea, of sea waves, of aquatic animals, or of being a great distance from land; researchers have proposed that the fear is partly a human evolutionary response and have also linked it to the symbolic association of the sea's vastness with one's own deep unconscious. Treatment, most effective when given during childhood when the fear generally peaks, may combine therapy with anti-anxiety medication.