Do you break into a cold sweat or feel sick at the sight of blood? This is one of the strong and common phobias - hemophobia. Fear of blood prevents many people from being calm about medical procedures, and prevents some from making a career in medicine, since a doctor with a fear of blood is more nonsense than the norm. Medical professionals know how to get rid of this fear.
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Symptoms
The main symptom of this phobia is the obsessive fear of getting cancer and dying from it. It is common to pay increased attention to one’s internal sensations; any discomfort provokes the thought that this is a manifestation of cancer. Much attention is also paid to searching for information about cancer on the Internet and available literature.
Often unnecessary examinations and tests are carried out to exclude cancer; at the initial stages, good research results and the doctor’s conclusions about the absence of oncology calm down for a while and remove the influx of fears. But, over time, the conviction that cancer has begun grows stronger and cannot be dissuaded.
Isolated cancerophobia is rare; in this case, they speak of cancerophobia syndrome. Most often, obsessive fears of cancer are accompanied by other phobias, increased anxiety, asthenic phenomena, and vegetative-vascular dystonia (VSD).
Cancerophobia can be observed as one of the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic attacks, neurasthenia, depression, schizotypal disorders, consequences of organic damage to the nervous system, psychosomatic diseases and other diseases.
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.
Cancer and cancerophobia
Cancer
- one of the severe forms of cancer. It has a malignant course and a poor prognosis if the disease is detected late. One of the leading causes of death in old age. According to statistics, the incidence of oncological diseases and cancer in particular in people suffering from cancerophobia is several times lower than in the general population.
This can be explained by several reasons
Firstly, people prone to phobias are usually physically healthy people and therefore diseases of internal organs are observed less frequently in them.
Secondly, due to fear for their health, they are distinguished by frequent (more than necessary) visits to doctors, examinations and tests, and therefore all their existing diseases are detected at an early stage, which allows for timely application of medical measures.
Thirdly, carcinophobes, due to their tendency to causeless anxiety, have well-developed vegetative centers that promote good capillary blood flow and, accordingly, high endurance of the body, which also determines good physical health.
How to protect yourself from cancer?
The most universal and proven method is medical examination. Regular and preventive observation by a doctor allows you to identify any disease in the early stages, cancer - at the stage of a precancerous condition. When the disease is just beginning, it is easier to cope with it.
For cancer patients, this rule becomes an obsession. They are ready, on their own initiative, to take tests for tumor markers (blood indicators indicating cancer) an infinite number of times, undergo examinations and consultations with oncologists.
How to get rid of the fear of getting cancer?
In mild cases, a consultation with a doctor is sufficient, at which it is enough to convince the patient that he does not have cancer or even a predisposition to it. It is very important if the doctor points out high anxiety and teaches how to cope with this anxiety.
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.
Treatment of cancerophobia
In more severe and long-lasting cases of cancerophobia, dissuading oneself is not enough. Treatment required. The first step is a consultation with a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. During the consultation, the doctor will clarify the condition and, if necessary, prescribe therapy. The following techniques are recommended that have a therapeutic effect for obsessive fear of getting cancer:
- Psychotherapy. The most effective are cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic directions. The former teach you how to manage your anxiety, the latter help you get rid of your phobia by identifying the unconscious causes of fear.
- Biofeedback therapy. Advanced technology that combines elements of psychotherapy and computer technology. Helps reduce anxiety and fear-related thinking disorders.
- Pharmacotherapy. Some antidepressants and antipsychotics have an antiphobic effect and are used in courses. Tranquilizers can quickly relieve symptoms of fear and panic.
- Physiotherapy: electro-sleep, electro-analgesia. By reducing overexcitation of the subcortical structures of the brain, it reduces the severity of anxiety.
About hypochondria (excessive concern for one's health), which often accompanies cancerophobia, see HERE. You can read about other phobias HERE.
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.
The reason for the development of hemophobia
The root of the fear of the sight of blood lies deep in the human psyche.
Therefore, no amount of persuasion to stop being afraid helps. In order to change a condition, you need to understand the reasons for its occurrence. The training “System-vector psychology” by Yuri Burlan reveals the unconscious mechanisms of our psyche. With its help, you can look into the darkest corners of the soul to understand where our fears and obsessive thoughts come from. People with phobias have a lot in common. These are emotional people who often have wet eyes. They are sensitive to beauty and aesthetics. They love cinema, theater, art. They try to avoid sad emotions that lead to strong feelings, for example, films about war. People who have a visual vector are capable of a wide range of emotions: from worrying about themselves to deep and sincere love and care for others.
The very first, basic emotion that has developed evolutionarily in people with a visual vector is the fear of death. The root of all phobias is fear for your life. That's why the sight of blood makes me feel so bad. After all, this is the main reason for the interruption of life: death from wounds, bites, and so on. This is an anchor that subconsciously causes panic fear and all subsequent symptoms. Ignorance of the laws of the psyche does not exempt one from the consequences.
How to overcome the fear of blood
The main methods of treatment include various breathing techniques, immersion in your fear, and living it. Having an idea of the innate mental properties and unconscious mechanisms of influence on a person, one can understand why this does not work.
The main reason for the manifestation of fear in visual people is strong concentration on oneself. Therefore, such methods are ineffective. They concentrate a person on emotions, forcing them to focus even more on themselves. To remove fears from your life, you need to understand how to implement the visual vector. How to go from horrifying fear for your life to developing a sense of compassion for another.
Answers can be obtained at the training “System-vector psychology” by Yuri Burlan. These are not empty words, but supported by the results of people who were able to assess the quality of life without phobias.
“Firstly, at one moment I realized that all my fears and anxieties, which had tormented me for a very long time, were gone. There were often worries and panics out of the blue without objective reasons, and uncertainty about the future. All this disappeared without a trace and has not returned to me for the last 2.5 years. Fears have generally become a funny phenomenon. Now I don’t understand how it is possible to experience fears? No, well, of course I did not become a fearless hero who at any moment is ready to leave the trench with his bare chest and throw himself at a machine gun, no, of course. But all the irrational fears that interfere with life have gone away, for example: fear of the dark, fear of enclosed spaces, fear of insects and animals, and all the other thousand phobias. Previously, as a child, I was very afraid of horror films, I even saw some red eyes of the terminator in the dark. Until the training, I was very scared by horror films. Now it’s even somehow funny to watch them, when next to you you see a visual girl, how she sways on her fears while watching horror films, but somehow it doesn’t affect you at all. I was afraid of the sight of blood as a child, sometimes I could faint during blood tests. Today I donate blood rather indifferently.”
“It turns out that fears and anxiety “live in the throat.” And when they leave, it becomes easier to breathe. For years I suffered from causeless anxiety, which often fell upon me. Psychologists helped me, but it was as if one hundredth part went away, and then the fears came again. My rational mind gave a logical explanation for half of my fears. But what good are these explanations if there is no normal life. And causeless anxiety in the evenings. By the middle of the course, I began to notice that I began to breathe freely. The clamps are gone. And by the end of the course, I suddenly suddenly noticed that anxiety and fears had left me. No, it happens, of course, that these states come back again, but somehow easily and superficially. And even bewilderment arises, why am I afraid of anything at all.” Diana Nurgalieva
Do not put off until later a life without fears and worries. Come for your results, let your days be filled only with joyful memories. You can sign up for the training here!
Causes of hemophobia
The fear of the sight of blood has no real basis. Very rarely there are cases of hemophobia in which it began to develop in the form of panic fear after undergoing unsuccessful medical procedures in which the patient was faced with the sight of his own blood. In the vast majority of cases, there is no apparent reason for this condition.
People with fine nervous organization and a creative mindset suffer mainly. These are impressionable people who are able to empathize with other people. Therefore, most often hemophobia manifests itself at the sight of not only one’s own, but also someone else’s blood.
The main reason is genetic or hereditary fear, which was transmitted to modern man from his distant ancestors, who lived in an era of complete absence of basic medical knowledge. Then any injury accompanied by even slight bleeding could lead to death due to blood loss or secondary infection. Therefore, instinctively, the fear of the sight of blood causes panic and irrational fear.
