Hemophobia is the fear of the sight of blood. This concept was first officially formulated by George Weinberg, a professor and psychiatrist in the USA. The name is associated with two terms - “hemo” - belonging to the blood, “phobos” - fear.
The main symptoms are:
- phobia when donating or transfusion;
- panic at the sight of wounds and scratches;
- fear of seeing violent scenes, images and films.
Phobic disorders put people, at the sight of red liquid, into a depressive state that brings hellish torment. A small drop of blood can make a person take involuntary postures and put him into a stupor. The disease is inexplicable and not understood, since there are no real reasons for its occurrence.
According to experts, blood phobia cannot be controlled and cannot be overcome due to weak willpower. Panic attacks involve reckless and stupid behavior. The patient, having reached a satisfactory state, cannot explain his behavior.
Hemophobia makes life difficult for a person and deprives him of medical procedures, such as blood transfusions, injections, surgical interventions, and going to the traumatology department. Fear constrains, and the patient does not promptly go to a medical institution for routine medical care. His inner world is filled with fear.
Causes of fear of blood
The onset of symptoms is noted in childhood. It appears much less frequently in adults. Since genetic predisposition has not been confirmed, there is an opinion that fear is transmitted from parents. This is due to the fact that they adopt the habits of adults.
Causes:
- traumatic event;
- unsuccessful surgery;
- death of a loved one;
- information from the media from the crime scene.
Overly impressionable people can become victims. One drop leads to associations of crime, death or cruelty.
The procedure for donating blood and treating a wound are postponed in some cases, as the doctor evaluates the harm and benefits in case of fear of hemophobia. One of the significant reasons for the emergence of a fear of blood is increased attention to negative experiences. “I’m afraid to donate blood from a vein” is a common phrase from patients. A person is constantly in anticipation of “bad things”, or is looking for non-existent illnesses in himself.
According to psychiatrists, the increase in the number of cases occurs during the period when abundant scenes of violence appeared on television. An anancaste person has her own opinion that an accident can happen to a person at any moment, and he bleeds to death.
Overcoming your fear, and, therefore, stopping being afraid of blood is the best medicine in treating the disease.
Types of phobias
There are many types (more than 100). One of the most common types of illness is social phobia. It involves having a constant feeling of fear of being in an awkward situation in the presence of other people. Social phobes are afraid of public speaking and are embarrassed by strange glances from passers-by on the street. Characteristic signs of the disease are increased sweating and redness (blush) of the face. As the pathology progresses, such people can completely withdraw into themselves and try to spend more time at home alone. Many patients are afraid to do basic things, for example, answer phone calls from unfamiliar numbers.
In second place is aerophobia (fear of flying). Some people do not tolerate flying very well, panicking even before the flight begins. Hysteria at the mere sight of an airplane and increased heart rate are symptoms of the disease. In third place is claustrophobia (fear of closed spaces). When entering an enclosed space (for example, an elevator), a person is overcome by discomfort, his breathing becomes difficult, and a feeling of lack of oxygen appears.
There are some fears that are specific to different genders. For example, females are often diagnosed with musophobia (fear of mice), arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and apitophobia (fear of bees and gadflies). According to statistics, such fears are much less common among males. However, they often suffer from odontiatophobia (fear of dentists). In addition to them, the list of popular phobias for both sexes includes:
- acrophobia (intense fear of heights);
- Agarophobia (intense fear of open space);
- hemophobia (intense fear of the sight of blood);
- thanatophobia (fear of death);
- achluophobia (fear of the dark);
- autophobia - fear of loneliness.
Manifestations of hemophobia in humans
Fear of blood is expressed in varying degrees. Mild forms bring less fear. As for serious medical interventions, they are carried out under the strict supervision of a doctor. In some cases, patients avoid visiting medical offices and hospitals. Because they have a fear of seeing blood or losing their own. A panic attack can begin even if the patient sees a small amount of red liquid.
Signs of an attack:
- pale skin;
- cardiopalmus;
- trembling of the arms and legs occurs;
- frequent and intermittent breathing;
- shortness of breath or suffocation;
- increased blood pressure.
Often attacks occur not so much from the sight, but from the thought and sensation of the smell of blood. Sweating, nausea and chills increase. A person cannot stand on his feet and needs a horizontal body position. The chest is filled with discomfort and compression. Often attacks are accompanied by loss of consciousness, uncontrolled behavior and unreasonable actions.
Additional Information! A person suffering from hemophobia will not be able to take adequate action in the event of an accident. He is unable to treat the wound or stop the bleeding, as he will become a victim of paralyzing fear.
First aid for a hemophobe
As you know, fainting is the worst result of hemophobia. If a person has lost consciousness, he must first be brought to his senses. In this case, the victim should be placed on a hard surface and, if possible, raise his legs. The smell of ammonia will bring the body back to normal.
If the condition is pre-fainting, the sufferer should be seated horizontally, with the head lowered between the legs. It is important to provide a flow of fresh air and, if possible, give the person cold water and take him to wash his face.
The methods described above will help the hematophobe come to his senses. However, if such a person feels unwell, he should do a few squats, push-ups or bends. These actions will improve blood circulation and your health will improve significantly.
How to get rid of the fear of blood
Hemophobia is difficult to cure. Only a psychiatrist can provide effective treatment if the cause is a traumatic situation. The doctor reduces the level of its significance and develops the patient’s psychological stability.
There are 3 methods used to treat fear of blood:
- psychological;
- medicinal;
- independent.
If the issue of treating hemophobia is being decided, then it interferes with a healthy life and the situation is out of control. The best method of combating the disease is considered to be frequent contact with a frightening element. An example would be interns and first-year surgeons who, as a result of practical training, get used to the sight of blood and are not afraid of it. This is real practice that really works. But psychotherapeutic methods are more reliable.
Note! Before donating blood or other traumatic situations, the patient is recommended to inform the medical staff about his illness. They, in turn, will be able to provide timely help and psychological support. Since in an emergency situation the patient will not stop thinking about blood and will not be able to respond to words.
With the help of psychotherapy
An effective method in the fight against homophobia is CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy). The patient tunes in to a positive wave, under the guidance of a psychotherapist. Gradually develops and consolidates an attitude to overcome fear. The procedures include meditation and breathing exercises. They help the patient calm down before and after blood is taken.
Situational anxiety is relieved through relaxation. Resistance to a frightening object is developed through the use of special psychotherapeutic techniques. According to experts, this method activates the mechanism that is responsible for adaptation and causes addiction to the type of frightening factor, and blocks the feeling of fear. Psychoanalysis and hypnosis are also used.
Hypnosis can really help a patient develop adequate reactions to the sight of blood. The process is aimed at developing skills to manage emotions in a stressful situation. Hypnosuggestive treatment develops complete psychological stability. A person is not afraid of blood or its signs.
Hypnosis is considered the most effective treatment technique. Eliminates the causes and symptoms of fear. Numerous scientific researches and successes have been achieved with positive results thanks to hypnosis. Severe cases require medication intervention. The dosage is selected by the attending physician.
If you suffer from such an ailment as fear of blood, on our website you can answer for yourself the reasons for its occurrence. A home environment, silence and comfort contribute to a better disclosure of spiritual impulses to oneself. Virtual communication with professional psychologists will help you set priorities in life and it will become clear how to act in situations related to blood phobia.
Medication
Medicines begin to fight the disease if the disease progresses and becomes the development of other mental disorders.
In this case, the following is prescribed:
- antidepressants;
- tranquilizers;
- sedatives;
- sleeping pills.
Pharmaceutical drugs stabilize the psycho-emotional status and eliminate nervous tension. This treatment is carried out in short courses and is prescribed for severe sympathoadrenal crises.
Important!
You should not use or prescribe medications yourself. You should consult a doctor. Since all of the above drugs have contraindications.
On one's own
Often, patients are interested in how to stop being afraid of blood without drug intervention. In the treatment of hemophobia, self-medication is practiced. This method is meditation. A system of self-development and self-knowledge.
Has the following qualities:
- strengthens well-being;
- normalizes mental state;
- improves physical health.
A person conducting meditation sessions withdraws from the outside world for a while and concentrates his thinking on his problem. Most importantly, the patient will be able to do this himself. By repeating the same installation for several weeks, you can get rid of the problem. For example, a mantra with the words “I am not afraid of blood” will take root in the subconscious, and over time, healing will occur.
Etiology
The current understanding of malignant tumors in society looks something like this:
- Cancer is always death.
- Cancer appears out of nowhere, it is impossible to prevent it, the fight against it is futile.
- The treatment offered by modern medicine - surgical methods, chemotherapy, radiation therapy - is always very difficult to tolerate, accompanied by unpleasant side effects and rarely leads to recovery.
- All other diseases are curable. At least they do not inevitably lead to death.
Scientific information about the achievements of modern oncology is inaccessible to the population, and even uninteresting. But on the shelves of bookstores and on the Internet, at the disposal of those interested, there are a lot of opuses on this issue. Their authors know why cancer occurs and how to treat it, thereby hinting that doctors are powerless here and cannot do anything. There is a lot of information available to patients about cancer, but little of it corresponds to current scientific understanding. As a result, people do not know basic things about cancer, and the irrationality of fear has become so widespread that a cancer patient is perceived by others almost as a leper. I personally have repeatedly encountered the misconception that cancer is contagious.
The ubiquitous advertising of “unique” preparations made from various cartilages and roots, which are supposedly capable of curing both cancer and other diseases, also contributes to the spread of cancerophobia. Its recipients subconsciously form the idea that traditional medicine is not able to cope with cancer. It is also widely believed that in fact there is a universal cure for cancer, but doctors and pharmacists, fearing a decrease in their income, hide it. The accepted approach to informing patients - hiding the diagnosis until the last minute and maintaining their hope for recovery - also contributes to worsening the atmosphere of cancerophobia in society. Thanks to him, everyone knows about thousands of deaths, but at the same time they do not know about millions of cures.
By the way, in 2005, WHO recognized that silence about cancer is harmful, and fears that medical education of the population can lead to the development of cancerophobia are unfounded.
The current state of oncology is such that it can help a small number of lucky people whose tumor was detected at an early stage. Alas, cancer often manifests itself when the game is already obviously lost, and it is impossible to cure the sick person. Therefore, the main problem of modern oncology is the timely diagnosis of tumor diseases.
Pathogenesis
The fear of death is present in the life of any person as a manifestation of the instinct of self-preservation. Everyone sooner or later thinks about death and its probable causes. Of course, the possibility of getting cancer does not make anyone happy, but still, cancerophobia as a disorder does not develop in everyone, but only in individuals with certain psychological characteristics. Natalya Ermakova in her article “In the grip of cancerophobia”* describes several types of people at risk of developing this type of fear.
- The person feels unwell, and numerous examinations do not reveal any diseases that could explain his poor health. There are indeed many cases of cancer, the media constantly report that one or another famous person (or an ordinary person) died from this disease, and everyone is always surrounded by cancer patients. Therefore, a person develops and gradually strengthens the idea that he has cancer.
- Those who have a family history of cancer are also susceptible to cancerophobia. Their risk of developing cancer is indeed higher than that of everyone else, but the likelihood of developing the disease is by no means one hundred percent.
- Another option is a personal history of cancer. The treatment was once successfully carried out, but the person continues to live with the thought that something was missed, abandoned, or not completed.
To this list I would also add the fears of doctors, whose cancer phobia illustrates the truth “Many knowledge - many sorrows.”
According to my observations, people aged 30-40 years who have not achieved great success in professional and family life are more often susceptible to cancerophobia. Cancerophobes are characterized by a high level of anxiety, usually in combination with hidden depression. The latter does not manifest itself as a clear decrease in mood; its symptoms look like somatic problems - various dysfunctions and vague pain. Since such symptoms cannot be treated with traditional means, patients begin to abuse analgesics, which do not solve the problem of chronic pain, but cause addiction. The symptoms that persist, despite all the tricks, ultimately form in the patient the idea that he has a serious incurable disease.
Those suffering from chronic pain syndrome due to degenerative and chronic diseases, the consequences of trauma, also often experience depressive disorders, and may develop a pathological fear of cancer.
Many people suffering from cancerophobia are aware of their disorder, but cannot cope with it. Very often they need professional psychological and even psychiatric help.
In addition to anxiety, cancerophobes have one more common feature: they are all suggestible and leader-dependent, therefore they often unconditionally believe various charlatan gurus and are consumers of dietary supplements advertised as means of preventing and treating cancer, and frankly dangerous drugs like vituride - a mixture of sublimate with grape wine.
According to the results of a study by the RBC agency. research, the volume of the Russian market of dietary supplements in 2011 was about $1.5-2.3 billion. And if the love for dietary supplements mainly harms the wallet and does not have a significant impact on health, then the passion for urine therapy or ingesting hydrogen peroxide clearly benefits the body doesn't bring. Recovery using such methods, as a rule, does not eliminate cancerophobia. On the contrary, people become dependent on alternative medicine and real health problems that arise are treated using their favorite methods with predictable results.
