Mick Fanning 'still jumping at shadows' after shark attack

Australian surfer Mick Fanning says he is still spooked and recovering from his horror shark attack in South Africa four months ago.

The 34-year-old was competing in the final of the J-Bay Open on July 19th when a four-metre great white attacked him from behind.

While he miraculously escaped unscathed and returned to the water just weeks after the incident, he says he is still battling mental demons.

"The more you sit and think about it, the worse it gets," Fanning told Today.

"I feel like I see a lot more wildlife out in the water which is maybe a good and bad thing.

"(I'm) jumping at shadows like there's no tomorrow."

Fanning is one of six surfers still in contention to win this year's world title, leading the overall rankings just ahead of Brazilian Filipe Toledo with one event remaining.

He says keeping busy and focusing on the job at hand is helping him heal.

"Talking about it, you can deal with different emotions.. on a day to day sort of thing, the more I think about it, the more I’ll just go and do something to put it out of my mind," he said.

The season-ending Billabong Pipe Masters begin on December 8th.