I've had an irrational fear of whales ever since I can remember. This summer, i'm going to Wales for 5 days and i've been pursuaded into going on a sea safari. I'm sort of shitting myself because i'm terrified that we'll have an encounter with a whale ..

An incident happened when I was in Peru about 4 years ago on a sea safari, and there was a dead whale on the beach and I just about died. x_x Yes, I was scared of it even if it was dead. Pretty sad, right?

Does anyone have any ideas on how to conquer my fear of them? They're so massive and terrifying. ;_;

If any of you have a fear that you'd like to get over, we could all suggest ways of getting over them. Unfortunately some fears just never go away, but it's worth a try. xD -hopes this is not the case with my whale scenario-

whoa, whales, that's odd :) (well at least you can usually avoid them right?)

Maybe you could start with watching pictures and move on to like, whale documentaries? Idk, it's not like there are whales at zoos, otherwise I imagine it would be great to try to face it that way - observe at a distance and not on the ocean :P

I have a great fear of blood, especially blood samples and needles really. I faint and throw up, it's great mess every time I need a check-up. It's got worse lately though, my mum was defrosting raw meat in the fridge in a leaky plastic bag so there was watery blood all over and I tried to clean it up and got all dizzy -_- This has never happened before...

People say if you face your fears, they disappear. This isn't completely true, but when I got six teeth taken out at the dentist, I'm now not as scared. Sure, I get tense and shaky, but nowhere near as bad I was. And I was terrified of injections. I got one, and now I don't cower everytime I see one.

That said, I don't think you're gonna see a whale in Wales (lol). It would be rare, and it'll be far away. They're very gentle creatures if I remember rightly. Just trust yourself, you can do it!

Whales in Wales ;)

I have no idea how to get over that fear though o_0 Maybe if you see them from a distance during the safari you can get used to how they look and stuff?

Sometimes it's just having the courage to go in spite of your fear. Just like soldiers who go to war are scared but they go anyway to defend their country. Find your reason to go (it might be just to get over your fear) and then be brave. This trip may not get rid of your fear but it will be one more step toward it. And remember to have fun!

I'd suggest documentaries, listening to whale songs, though as some others have mentioned if you do see one it will likely be from a far off distance and you'll be on a boat. :)

I have a paralyzing fear of house fires. I spend a good hour each night unplugging and rechecking everything that could possibly cause a fire.

Yeah, I agree - take it in steps. Start with cartoon, and take it from there. I also think you definately should have someone supportive along that you trust to help you through the situation.

I have a phobia of reptiles, and recently I was able to sleep in a room with a snake in it (while she was in her cage, of course).. but yes, that was a massive accomplishment for me. I was also able to look into a cage, which was a big deal, since I had originally avoided going over to this person's house, and into that room because of the snake. Grant it, I never saw her, but the fact that I looked into her cage, and spent the night in that room is a HUGE deal. My friends heard and they were very impressed XD

But yeah, when I'm at a zoo, I avoid the parts I know will have any reptiles, and if there may be a chance of one, I'll send someone ahead of me to scope out the situation. When I go to aquariums, I kind of discreetly scope it out, and then walk with my back to whatever it is, or pointedly turn my head.

i don't think you'll be cured, but it'll be slightly better if you try to get help :( from experience

edit: typo

LOLWHAT.

unless you are sebastian the crab this is the most irrational fear ever. i guess you could just rationalize that the likelihood of you seeing a whale is extremely small, so there's nothing to be afraid of.

It'd be funnier if you had an irrational fear of Wales ;D

But anyway, I think you should look up and familiarise yourself with whales that you might encounter in that area - so you know what you'll be dealing with. And you could always drag yourself down to the Natural History museum and look at all the whale models/bones etc to try and get used to them...but keeping in mind that the ones you might encounter are harmless and probably no where near as intimidating as the ones on show. That's IF you encounter any at all...which is unlikely :)