Is this wholesome or scumbag?
I don't see how it could be scumbag. Fear of sharks != fear of people in very obvious and unrealistic shark costumes. People who are afraid of ghosts don't have panic attacks from seeing people in ghost costumes on Halloween.
Well, it could go either way depending on the severity and recency of the irrational fear...
But, to me at least, the teacher seems to be genuienly smiling with his eyes in the selfie.
Exposure therapy can work well with certain fears and traumas that are ... less severe, and more distant in time and space, introduced in a safe environment.
Arguably, the cutesy/cartoonish nature of the hammerhead costumes may also help, and if the kids/students aren't literally swarming and attacking him, but are instead acting completely normal, non threateningly?
That can help to establish that at least depictions of hammerheads are not immediately threatening or dangerous... the only domain it would make sense to be worried about them is where they may actually be present.
He does say 'irrational' fear and it was during an ice breaker, I'd take it as wholesome since it wouldn't have been a really serious situation when it was revealed.
Possibility different if they had brought in real hammerhead sharks. Also, if he'd been attacked by a hammerhead shark, but being an irrational fear I'm guessing not.
It's certainly a repost.
I can't see this working the same way if he'd said he had an irrational fear of clowns.
Let me get this straight. A bunch of college kids learned their professor’s phobia, and they thought they could … try exposure therapy on him, I’m guessing?
Without his consent?
Or the guidance of a licensed professional?
Or are they making fun of him, for some reason?
… and that is “wholesome”?
They are lucky their professor was a good sport about it. For some people, this could be dangerous, no matter how cute the costumes are. And now these students are going to walk away from this thinking it was a good idea.
How many might reference this moment in the future while downplaying somebody else’s fear?
How many will think that because this went over well with this professor, that they can pull a similar stunt with someone else who has a phobia?
I’m glad everything worked out well here, but I fail to see what’s supposed to be wholesome about this. Not everyone is capable of tolerating something related to their phobia, and doing this at his workplace without any prior warning is cruel. But mostly, I worry about the message this sends to the students.
There are enough “armchair psychologists” out there with no training, who think they know how to cure random strangers. People with mental health issues, including phobias, already have to deal with people who downplay their experiences all the time. This stunt carries the same energy as “Everyone makes up allergies just to feel special, so I’m adding peanuts anyway.” Like this guy’s phobia can’t be serious, so it’s okay to casually force him to face it.
And I know I might get downvoted for it, but I just can’t agree with that idea.
I think you are reading way too much into it. A person in a shark costume is not the same as being in the water with actual sharks.
I also want to highlight that this professor wouldn’t post pictures of this stunt with himself smiling if it was an issue for him.
Yes, this professor reacted well. That’s not relevant to my point. There are tons of people who would not react well if ambushed by a room full of people who may or may not be making fun of their psychological issue.
These students are also having this behavior reinforced by this positive attention. Is it truly “reading way too much into it” to consider what unintended harm this can cause down the road?
Is it too much to consider how people who struggle with serious mental health issues, such as phobias, could react disastrously poorly to even a “cutesy” stunt like this?
Is it too much to think how lucky these students were to have a professor that DID react positively?
If looking at this situation through an ethical lens is “reading too much into” it, then I guess I read too much.
For what its worth, I agree with you.
We don't have the full context from just this image...
But actually yes, in all seriousness... it could have been the case that this would have sent him into a high anxiety panic state.
It seems ludicrous to a lot of people... but there absolutely are people with extremely severe, oddly specific fear triggers that will send them into a complete breakdown.
In my other comment I said 'this can work out well' and 'he seems to be genuienly smiling to me'...
But I qualified how 'exposure therapy' type stuff can work, in certain situations, for certain people.
It can also horrendously backfire.
I could be reading his face wrong.
And the other points you bring up that this does generally promote a trivialization of phobias in general... not great.
Probably should have actually consulted a psych professional, probably should have gotten prior consent.
holee assburgers bro.
calm tf down...
It's just a prank bro
