Fear of fish

Fear of fish is a persistent, excessive fear of fish that can cause distress or avoidance and is classified as a specific phobia.

Connect

Classical conditioning: A learning process in which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response after pairing with another stimulus. A frightening encounter with a fish can create an enduring fear association.
Anxiety disorder: A mental disorder involving excessive fear or anxiety that impairs functioning. The phobia belongs to the broader family of anxiety disorders.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: The American Psychiatric Association's classification and diagnostic manual for mental disorders. Its criteria place specific phobias within a clinical diagnostic framework.
Aquaphobia: A persistent, excessive fear of water or bodies of water. It concerns the surrounding water, not necessarily the fish within it.
Avoidance coping: A response to distress that involves escaping or steering clear of its perceived source. Avoiding fish may bring short-term relief while preserving the fear.
Fear: An emotional response to perceived danger that prepares an organism to respond. The phobia is an excessive, persistent form of a normal protective emotion.
International Classification of Diseases: The World Health Organization's international system for classifying diseases and health conditions. It provides another framework for diagnosing phobic anxiety disorders.
Thalassophobia: A persistent fear of deep or large bodies of water, especially the open sea. Its feared setting is the sea rather than fish as animals.
Exposure therapy: A behavioral treatment that reduces fear through planned, repeated contact with feared cues. Gradual contact with fish-related cues is a common treatment approach.
Fish: Aquatic vertebrates that typically breathe through gills and have fins. Fish are the feared stimulus, though species and situations may vary.