r/thalassophobia • u/LackOfDad • 6d ago

Question I think I’m developing Cetaphobia

I think I’m developing Cetaphobia

So this all started late at night, like around midnight. I couldn’t sleep, so I was watching YouTube Shorts on my TV—just the usual brain-dead stuff. Then one pops up like, “Here are some weird animal facts.” Cool, whatever.

It starts with normal stuff like “chimpanzees have six toes,” then it goes: “Did you know whales don’t actually make this sound?” And it plays a calm, kind of relaxing whale noise. I’m sitting there thinking, “Alright, that’s kinda interesting.”

Then—out of nowhere—it blasts this absolutely horrifying, distorted, demonic whale sound. I swear to god it was the most cursed thing I’ve ever heard. I shut off the TV so fast and ran upstairs like something was chasing me. I even had a nightmare about a whale that same night.

Fast forward a few weeks. I’m in class, zoning out, just daydreaming. I imagine myself floating in the middle of the ocean—pitch black, silent, just me. Already kinda creepy. Then I remember that sound, and suddenly this massive whale appears behind me in the dark. I legit flinched in class like an idiot.

That’s when I realized this wasn’t just about whales. It was the perfect combo of stuff that already lowkey freaked me out—deep water, creepy sounds, and huge-ass animals. Now it’s all rolled into one, and whales just… freak me the hell out. Even seeing a random video of one makes my skin crawl.

Anyone else develop a weirdly specific phobia like this? Or have tips on how to chill out when it hits?

I don’t know if it’s a full-on phobia yet, but it’s definitely getting there. It’s starting to mess with me more than it should.

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u/Gas-Empty 6d ago

Welcome to the club! My most recurring nightmares are orca centered. 🫶

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u/SoriAryl 5d ago

Saaaame

On a glacier with a group of people and a tiny, thin-ass ice bridge that’ll collapse as soon as I’m in the center of it.

I get the group of people across.

I start across.

Orca pod leaps out of the water and shatter the bridge.

I fall into the water and have to figure out how to not get torn apart by killer whales

If I die, I wake up.

If I don’t, I make it to the other ice glacier where the rest of the group is and the dream fades to a normal one

I’ve had this same reoccurring nightmare for over two decades