This Online Group Posts Pics Of Massive Things That Are A Big ‘Nope’ For People With Megalophobia
People can be afraid of many things, from darkness to spiders, to you name it. Some of these fears are totally irrational, others come from our childhoods and creep in well into our adult lives. One of such bizarre fears is megalophobia.
Think of large objects like huge cruise ships, animals, skyscrapers, underwater structures, and even statues. Now imagine how’d they look if they were bigger. If the thought of it makes your hair stand on your arm, you may also have some traits of megalophobia.
And this subreddit named r/Megalophobia puts a test on your fear of large objects because it offers one hell of a collection. “A place to post images of all things large, particularly ones that are "triggers" for those with megalophobia,” says their description and 340k devoted members are nodding their heads. Scroll down and upvote the most triggering images below!
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The Kelpies, Scotland, During Thunderstorm
This Underwater “Waterfall” Is Giving Me Anxiety
that moment when you don't have megalophobia but you do have thalassophobia (fear of deep dark water). Lmao kinda awkward.
Astronaut Bruce Mccandless II Floats Untethered Away From The Safety Of The Space Shuttle, With Nothing But His Manned Maneuvering Unit Keeping Him Alive. The First Person In History To Do So
To find out more about megalophobia, which is a fear of large objects, Bored Panda reached out to Francis Merson, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Paris Psychology Centre who happily shared his expertise on the phobia.
"Megalophobia is a fear of anything really, really big – from skyscrapers to jumbo jets,” Francis explained and added that “phobias generally have their roots in our evolutionary history, reflecting phenomena that posed a real danger to our ancestors.”
“The classic examples are phobias of heights, snakes, spiders, etc. And Megalophobia is no exception to this trend,” Francis explained.
Redwood Trees
I love everything about it, the tree, the car, the lady chillin'..
This Is Just One Picture
It took me a minute to realize it was not actually two photos, then another minute to process it.
To anyone else being curious: it's the Pasha Bulker. It ran aground on the shore of Nobbys Beach in Newcastle, NSW, due to a storm , so that's why those people aren't running for their lives.
lol, I was just typing that question, thanks for the info.
Load More Replies...The close-up gives you the sensation of the enormity, but this picture helped me contextualize it -- thanks.
Load More Replies...Sure, the ship is big but this is a photographic illusion using a telephoto lens. If you were standing in that same spot, that whole scene would not look like that photo.
Its still that close to the building. Weather you zoom in or not
Load More Replies...I'm from Newcastle and everyone here remembers the Pasha. Was a tourist attraction for a few days until they righted it. Big storm too.
Was at Williamtown when it got beached. Even knowing what to expect didn’t prepare you to see it did it?
Load More Replies...This could give me nightmares. That behemoth was on the ocean behind the building?
Stuck on the beach. Captain thought he knew better than the harbour guys who told him to get his rear 2k out to sea with the storm coming. He ended up stuck on the beach looking stupid and added to that old saying that his people can’t drive
Load More Replies...Everyone talking about size of the ship and I am here thinking "yeah, that's impressive but what about that crashing wave on side of the ship?" Almost as tall at the ship, that is something truly to be afraid of.
My uncle used to work on the supertankers in the 70's as ships engineer. They had a lift in the engine room to get from top to bottom and it was a good long walk from stem to stern.
I remember going to have a look and even in real life it was hard to process what we were looking at. The scale seemed all wrong and made you feel uncomfortable.
For reference https://visitnewcastle.com.au/blog/a-look-back-on-the-pasha-bulker-ship-happens will show you from a different perspective. It occurred when a massive storm hit. There was major flooding everywhere. I drove into see and you think the photo is mind blowing! It was amazing. They were able to get it off the beach with no serious damage. It was there for a few days. The crew was rescued by helicopter which was even more amazing.
There are several live cams on youtube where you can watch shipping around the world. Personally I like watching the footers (1000 foot long lakers) coming along the canal into Duluth or the barges on the mississippi going through locks.
Check out St Lawrence Seaway. I was in awe of the ships passing in the distance
Load More Replies...Not quite as intimidating as a Saturn V, but still a bit like watching a 15-story building casually surf onto the beach!
imagine how many black slaves can be fit on that boat. RAPE TIME!!!!!!!!!
Took me a minute to figure out. My brain still doesn't want to accept what I'm seeing.
As an artist/illustrator, it's extremely strange for me to comprehend, because the perspective of the buildings almost seem to contradict the perspective of the ship and water (I feel like we should see more of the roof, but it's probably because it's slanted; and also the camera lens).
Oh YES! The Pasha Bulker. I live in Newcastle where this happened. Got some great photos. The Chinese Captain and Maylasian first officer refused to heed the warning to go 2k out to sea with the storm coming. There are always at least 20 bulk carriers parked waiting to come in to load up on coal and grain. These geniuses ended up parked on the beach.
Optical illusion created by telephoto lens. Similar to landscape photos where oversized full moon appears above the horizon.
Nope. Huge ships (especially cruises) really do make me physically sick. Horrible O_o
Nooooooo!!!!once I realized what I was actually looking at!! No ma’am!!
The part that really blows my mind here is the light post in the bottom right is usually taller than the average person so seeing the comparison of the post to the rest just shows you how small we are in comparison 😱
It's run aground, you can see the entire bulbous bow (the wedge shape at the bottom of the front)
Load More Replies...There's still something off about it. The bow of the boat faces straight forward while the rest is off at an angle?
Mt Fuji As Seen From A Nearby Town
Francis argues that in a state of nature, “things that are larger are often more dangerous: insects are afraid of lizards, who are afraid of birds, who are afraid of humans, who are afraid of tigers. Large inanimate objects are also heavy and can crush you. In megalophobia, this primal fear of bigness is projected on the large objects of everyday life.”
The clinical psychologist said that if you find yourself “trembling and wanting to run away in the presence of an elephant at the zoo, or at the foot of a mountain, this could potentially be a sign you have megalophobia.”
It Was Foggy In My Town The Other Day And I Captured This Terrifying Scene
Iceberg Passing A House In Greenland
A Full-Sized School Bus Next To Haul Trucks
Went to a mine in Moranbah, Australia. These things are IMMENSE, so are the mining cranes.
When asked how do we know if a person who feels uneasy next to large objects really has megalophobia, Francis said that it manifests as an “intense anxiety that is out of proportion to the actual danger over a period of at least six months.” This is because “megalophobia falls under the category of a Specific Phobia – an intense fear of a specific type of stimulus.” Only if it corresponds to the kind of disproportionate extreme anxiety which lasts for long periods, it can be qualified “as a full-blown mental disorder.”
That Small Dot Is Mercury In Front Of Sun. Definitely Unsettling
It's not unsettling, we need that very large, hot, bright thing. Alas, In the UK we only get to see it a couple of times a year, if lucky.
Anyone Going On Vacation To Japan Soon? Want To Visit The Godzilla Museum?
A Bridge In Vietnam
Moreover, Francis added that in the case of megalophobia, “you would also have to either be avoiding large objects altogether or tolerating them with extreme distress. And this pattern would need to be causing interference in your everyday life.” Therefore, “feeling a bit queasy when gazing up at the Empire State Building is pretty normal. It’s when large objects freak you out so much that you can’t work, go on vacation, or otherwise function normally that we might begin talking about a Specific Phobia,” the clinical psychologist explained.
Whale Spine
Dam
It Is The Tallest Statue Of Nyoirin Kannon In The World, And The Tallest Statue Of A Goddess In Japan
When asked whether there are treatments for megalophobia, Francis said that “specific phobias generally respond well to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and particularly to a component called Graduated Exposure.” He added that “in the case of Megalophobia, this would involve gradually confronting larger and larger objects, and learning that you can cope at each step along the way.”
We also wondered whether exposure therapy is successful in treating megalophobia. Francis explained that it’s definitely considered as a first-line of treatment for phobias. “This means it’s the treatment with the strongest evidence to suggest it works, with some exposure studies reporting an 80-90% response rate (which is really high).”
Visually, Japanese Spider Crabs Really Are The Stuff Of Nightmares
'Fortunately facehuggers evolved longer legs, thereby making it harder to be impregnated with a xenomorph.'
This One Is Very Unsettling
Sequoia In A Coniferous Forest
Some giant sequoias in California forests/parks have just had their trunks wrapped with fire resistant blankets to try to save them from the wildfires here.
“However, because exposure involves getting people to do precisely the things that scare the crap out of them, there can be a fairly high drop-out rate,” he said. Therefore having a therapist you can trust to guide you through the process is key and can really help, according to Francis. “And if you stick with exposure, it’s the most powerful way there is to conquer your fears,” he added.
“So you might start with looking at pictures of tall buildings, then standing outside a large shopping mall, and gradually moving up the scale to mountains or skyscrapers. It’s like learning to swim by starting at the shallow end and very gradually going deeper.”
Francis concluded that if it feels like megalophobia is a problem for you, there’s no need to let it mess with your life. “Effective treatments are out there,” he assured.
This Is How Big Anchor Chains Are. It Makes Sense But Dang
Mola Mola: The World's Largest Bony Fish
This Saltwater Crocodile
To me, this is human hubris in a snapshot: instead of respecting the croc and leaving it alone, we treat it as a sideshow and get our kicks out of how close we are to danger, but apparently protected. What's really hurting us is our own massive arrogance.
Lochaber, Scotland 2021 By Mhg Photography
Italian Sculptor Lorenzo Quinn’s Massive New Sculpture
Trees Occasionally Beach Themselves In The Search For Food
I snort laughed at this one oh step into my parlour said the driftwood to the tiny man. LOL 🤣. )0(
The Size Of This Tornado Compared To The Wind Turbines
The Dragon's Eye Stone Mine In The UK
Saturn Rising Behind The Moon
King Albert's Tower. Person At The Base For Scale
A Waterspout In Florida
Always Forget How Massive These Supercarriers That America Builds Actually Are
On my device, the paddler looks a little like Bea Arthur from The Golden Girls.
Abandoned Movie Prop In A Mausoleum. Poland
Tokyo Flood Tunnels
Had To Search Up If It Was Real
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!! Australia, put that thing back where it came from or so help me!! (Oh, it's from Australia... than... have a nice day down there.)
Well Yes, But Actually No *shiver*
What I would pay to be able to read the minds of other drivers as you drove that down the highway.
The View From This Apartment In Dubai
Terrifying
So I Herd U Like Salt Mines...
Mt. St Helens Eruption, 1980
Creeping Up
A Mountain Of Timber. All Stacked & Unstacked By Hand
Massive Building
The Sheer Scale Of An Open Pit Diamond Mine Compared To The Surrounding Town
Diamonds as ornamentation need to be a thing of the past. I know diamonds are still needed for machinery, but the process is so destructive, they should at least be phased out of the jewelry industry.
Girl Poses Next To A F1 Tornado A Mile Away
Big Sand Dune
2000+ Metre Tsunami Looking Mountain In Kazbeghi
This Huge Road
Imagine the stress of moving from the outside lane to the inside lane.
This Abandoned Power Plant
This Picture Of The Empire State Building From Nj Gives Me A Weird Feeling
It Really Gives It A Sense Of Its Scale. Look At Those Itty Bitty People. (Statue Of Unity, If You Haven't Seen It. Nearly 600' Tall)
Bagger 288, The World's Largest Land Vehicle
Note: this post originally had 91 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Most of these are perfect examples of why we've completely effed up the planet.
I knew I got a weird feeling in my stomach when I would see things like this but I never realized there was a name for it. I'm more fascinated than phobic by most of those images but it doesn't erase the almost sick feeling,
Load More Replies...I never had any problems with gigantic objects or structures. Houston, we have a problem.
I loved those. Sometimes could have been more info about where they were taken thou?
I have this phobia. But I'm okay with looking at half of these pictures. I know if I was there in Japan with that giant statue, I would past out!! I cannot look at spider crabs. Anything I perceive to be bigger than it should be, I can't handle. I KNOW ships are big. And I know skyscrapers are big. But it's the other stuff that freaks me out!
I don't get phobia feelings but it made me realise how small and unimportent we are looking at the huge thing nature (and universe) created without us involved - beautiful yet so terrifying
I already knew I had a little bit of megalophobia but i didn't know it was that bad :)
I have this and it's really bad, at first I just thought I was scared of giant teddies.
I think my stomach is in my feet now and my anxiety is running rampant. So I too must have Megalophobia. Yikes!!!!
I always just thought it was because I'm short but I had goose pimples all through looking at this!
It's Art, even the Buddha. Not your thing I guess.
Load More Replies...Most of these are perfect examples of why we've completely effed up the planet.
I knew I got a weird feeling in my stomach when I would see things like this but I never realized there was a name for it. I'm more fascinated than phobic by most of those images but it doesn't erase the almost sick feeling,
Load More Replies...I never had any problems with gigantic objects or structures. Houston, we have a problem.
I loved those. Sometimes could have been more info about where they were taken thou?
I have this phobia. But I'm okay with looking at half of these pictures. I know if I was there in Japan with that giant statue, I would past out!! I cannot look at spider crabs. Anything I perceive to be bigger than it should be, I can't handle. I KNOW ships are big. And I know skyscrapers are big. But it's the other stuff that freaks me out!
I don't get phobia feelings but it made me realise how small and unimportent we are looking at the huge thing nature (and universe) created without us involved - beautiful yet so terrifying
I already knew I had a little bit of megalophobia but i didn't know it was that bad :)
I have this and it's really bad, at first I just thought I was scared of giant teddies.
I think my stomach is in my feet now and my anxiety is running rampant. So I too must have Megalophobia. Yikes!!!!
I always just thought it was because I'm short but I had goose pimples all through looking at this!
It's Art, even the Buddha. Not your thing I guess.
Load More Replies...