Beyoncé sang it best in her hit song Ego when she declared, “It’s just too big.” Anyone who is seriously scared of large things might very well relate. While it’s considered an irrational fear, it’s a very real part of life for those with megalophobia. Tall buildings, huge trucks, vast lakes and even gigantic animals can send them into a flat spin of anxiety. Or have them avoiding situations and places altogether.
Trigger warning: If you’re wondering whether you’re a megalophobe, the answer might just lie below. Bored Panda has put together a list of photos of freakishly big objects and living beings that people have spotted in the wild. They were posted by an online community called Megalophobia. It’s somewhat of a virtual support group for anyone with a fear of large things, and a safe space to test your triggers if you suspect you may suffer from the phobia.
We also take a look at the bigger picture… What are the causes, the symptoms, and how can you overcome it? You’ll find that info between the images.
#1 Mitsubishi Cement Plant : Kyushu, Japan
Image source: PhillyPhresh
If any of these images make you want to run for the smallest hill you can find, you might just have megalophobia. It’s a type of anxiety disorder in which a person experiences intense fear of large things.
Massive objects like large buildings, statues, vehicles and even living creatures can stir up fear and anxiety when a megalophobe merely thinks about them, or is around them. It’s for this reason that people with the disorder will often simply avoid situations or places that have large objects.
While researchers aren’t 100% sure of what exactly causes megalophobia, they believe it could have something to do with having negative or traumatic experiences involving a large object.
#2 Always Forget How Massive These Supercarriers That America Builds Actually Are
Image source: Flimsy-Sorbet-2497
#3 A Super Typhoon Is Approaching Vietnam And South China Today
Image source: PikjaHootHoot
Some of the symptoms of megalophobia include feeling intense fear and anxiety, experiencing a rapid heartbeat, having shortness of breath, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, and/or nauseous, and having a strong desire to escape the large object or situation.
Just because one or all of the images on this list freaked you out, it doesn’t mean you’re definitely a megalophobe. To confirm that, you’d need a diagnosis from a health professional, and according to the Cleveland Clinic’s experts, you typically have to have experienced persistent fear and anxiety of large objects for at least six months in order to be diagnosed with megalophobia.
#4 A Boat Under A Very Large Bridge
Image source: Amona-saleh1
#5 Rain Cloud Near The Beach
Image source: Pacocha-4355
#6 Sequoia National Park In California
Image source: According-Kale1952
Your doctor will most likely ask you a series of questions regarding your history, experiences and symptoms. They’d have to rule out any other physical or mental health conditions that could be causing your symptoms. And if you’re in the United States, they’ll use the criteria listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to confirm a diagnosis of megalophobia.
Cleveland Clinic’s site notes that generally, phobias have at least four criteria for diagnosis. The first is intense and unreasonable fear, meaning the fear of the object or situation is “persistent and out of proportion to an appropriate level of fear.”
#7 This Husky Next To A Wolf Looks Like A Puppy Next To Its Mom
Image source: Feisty_Resolve_9314
#8 “Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. A Large Butte, It Reaches 5112 Feet About Sea Level.”
Image source: asurementNo9398
#9 No Wonder Horses Can Run For A Long Time, Look At The Size Of Their Lungs
Image source: Pretend_Pension_7473
The next is what’s known as anticipatory anxiety. “An individual who has a phobia tends to dwell on or dread future situations or experiences that will involve the object or situation they are afraid of,” explains the clinic’s site.
Those diagnosed with a phobia will also exhibit avoidance. Basically, they’ll actively avoid the thing they fear and won’t put themselves in a situation where they might encounter it.
The fourth criterion one would have to meet to be diagnosed with a phobia is that it interferes with day-to-day activities. The fear they experience would have to limit their everyday life in some way.
#10 The Largest Leaf That’s Ever Been Found
Image source: Cuneo334
#11 Pyramids On The Horizon
Image source: pixel_nora
#12 A Mountain Shadow
Image source: Shah4566
Desensitization/exposure therapy, on the other hand, will put you face-to-face with the objects that trigger your fears, hopefully helping you to overcome them.
“If you have megalophobia and participate in exposure therapy, your therapist or psychologist may begin with talking about large objects. They may then gradually move on to showing you pictures of large objects,” explains the Cleveland Clinic site. “Next, they may have you look at and be near a large object in person. The process of exposure therapy is slow and gradual. Your therapist or psychologist will tailor the pace of the therapy to your needs.”
Then there’s also traditional talk therapy, or even group therapy.
#13 The Door Of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory In California, USA
Image source: Howell6577
#14 Antarctica Seen From Space
Image source: warrenkennethd
#15 Stavropol, Russia
Image source: GiganticGirlEnjoyer
“While it’s tempting to avoid the large objects that cause fear with your megalophobia, this strategy will only make it more difficult to cope with your condition in the long-term,” warns the Healthline site. “Instead of avoidance, it’s best to expose yourself to your fears little by little until your anxiety starts to improve.”
Relaxation can also help you to cope. So, if you encounter a large object and feel your anxiety start to rise, you could try some deep breathing and visualization to calm yourself down.
#16 Dragon Bamboo Compared To Normal Human
Image source: sidvaa
#17 That’s Not A Vampire, It’s A Golden-Crowned Flying Fox
Image source: g0ths0uls
#18 When Chicagos Willis Tower Had A Black Out
Image source: Material_Impact1298
Cleveland Clinic’s site reports that only about 10% to 25% of people who have a specific phobia seek treatment for their condition, and that’s because the rest choose to rather just avoid the object or situation that they fear. But experts warn against this…
#19 Volcanic Eruption From Space
Image source: Church3455
#20 Scimitar Canyon, Nahanni National Park
Image source: colapepsikinnie
#21 Infrared Photo Of Cyclone Storms At Jupiter’s North Pole
Image source: colapepsikinnie
“If you have megalophobia, avoiding situations that involve large objects can prevent you from enjoying certain things in life like traveling and can lower your overall quality of life,” cautions the site. “This is why it’s important to seek treatment. Everyone deserves a high quality of life.”
It adds that people who have a specific phobia and don’t seek treatment are twice as likely to develop an anxiety disorder and depression.
#22 The Hoover Dam Spillway Tunnel, Basically A Brutalism Hole
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#23 Alone In The Silence
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#24 The Mother Of All Leaves
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#25 NYC In 1933
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#26 Yosemite National Park
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#27 An Old Swedish Warship
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#28 Train Station In Nanjing, China
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#29 Giant Swords In Norway
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#30 Giant Cranes Being Delivered To Liverpool Docks
Image source: Flimsy-Sorbet-2497
#31 A Man Standing In The Lumberyard Of Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing, 1939
Image source: Hungry_Machine7245
#32 Tallest Statue In Africa
Image source: Impossible_Home7590
#33 Biggest Mountain In The Solar System, Mount Olympus Mons Of Mars, 22 Km Tall (13.6 Miles) And As Big As The State Of Arizona
Image source: Jenkins3345d
#34 The Chicxulub Asteroid That Impacted Earth 66 Million Years Ago And Wiped Out The Dinosaurs, Projected Against Downtown Manhattan
Image source: colapepsikinnie
#35 That Is A Very Large Parking Lot
Image source: Mysterious-Worth1968
#36 Ellison’s Cave Features The Deepest Unobstructed Pit In The Continental Us
Image source: colapepsikinnie
#37 F-22 And F-16 In Poland Over A Power Plant In Bełchatów
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#38 Aerial View Of A Train Yard
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#39 A Large Anubis Statue On Display
Image source: Necessary_UsualGirl
#40 Tire Graveyard Located In Kuwait
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#41 Alyosha Monument, Murmansk, Russia
Image source: Affectionate_Big8864
#42 Mt Taranaki In New Zealand. The Large Dark Green Circle Is A National Park
Image source: Thomas_7789
#43 A Unique View Of Los Angeles
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#44 Mt Fuji, Japan From Above
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#45 Los Angeles Sky Cowboys Of Ironworkers Local 433
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#46 Mont-Saint-Michel In Normandy France
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#47 London vs. Tokyo Actual Size
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#48 Archelon Is One Of The Largest Known Turtles, Which Lived During The Cretaceous Period
Image source: No_Dought_IamA_Girl
#49 A Girl Inside The Bucket Of A Huge Excavator
Image source: Townsend6657
#50 This Aurora Over Norway
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#51 The Size Of These Anchor Chains Is Definitely Unsettling
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#52 Leeza Soho Tower While Under Construction
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#53 Standing On The Edge Of A Giant Spillway. This Is A No From Me
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#54 It’s Not What You Think It Is
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#55 Imagine Seeing This Massive Face In The Clouds
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#56 Northrop Grumman’s Massive New Underwater Drone
Image source: Zealousideal-One9639
#57 Shanghai Tower, A 632-Meter-Tall Skyscraper In China
Image source: GiganticGirlEnjoyer
#58 The Albatross Is The Largest Bird That Can Go Years Without Landing
Image source: UnicornHorn1987
#59 From Dashcam Footage Of A Plane Crash
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#60 So Much Firepower In One Photo
Image source: GiganticGirlEnjoyer
#61 Russian Tsar Alexander’s Confusingly Large Bathtub
Image source: Carter7566
#62 Solar Farm In Chile; One Cell Pictured At The Bottom
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#63 Just A Spiral Fire Escape
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#64 The Aftermath Of An Earthquake In Kobe, Japan 1995
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#65 The Hindenberg Disaster
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#66 The Inside Of A Nuclear Cooling Tower
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#67 Visually, Japanese Spider Crabs Really Are The Stuff Of Nightmares
Image source: encasaboy
#68 A Leaf From A Plant That Can Be Found In The Amazon Rainforest
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#69 Shanghai China
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#70 The Slănic Salt Mine In Romania
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#71 Skeleton Coast In Namibia
Image source: BetIcy5249
#72 The Abandoned Goldin Finance 117 Building In Tianjin China Standing At A Height Of 597 Meters (1,957 Ft) 134 Stries It Is The Tallest Abandoned Building In The World
Image source: North-Guest8380
#73 Mysterious Giant Screw Washed Up At Port Talbot, West Glamorgan During The Late 80s
Image source: BetIcy5249
#74 Log Cabin Built In Portland, Oregon In 1938
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#75 Does This Count?
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#76 Man Made Mountain In Germany Because Of Mining
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#77 Nuclear Defense Pyramid Exploration
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#78 The Largest Submarines Ever Built, Typhoon-Class Soviet Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Missile Subs Displaced 48,000 Tonnes Submerged, Stretched 175m Long, Had Two Reactors, Triple Hulls, And Were Designed To Survive Under Arctic Ice With Unprecedented Crew Comfort
Image source: Upstairs_Drive_5602
#79 Stone Mountain, A Giant Granite Monolith Near Atlanta, Georgia Is About 514 Meters Above Sea Level
Image source: Same_Fig8883
#80 Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam Power Station Accident In Russia
Image source: BaronVonBroccoli
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