Unravel the mystery of Hemophobia, a fear that grips many across the globe. Delve into its causes, symptoms, and potential treatments, shedding light on this often misunderstood condition. A journey into the human psyche awaits.
Hemophobia is an irrational fear of blood
It falls under the category of “specific phobia” with the specifier of blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia in the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
- Physical symptoms of hemophobia include trouble breathing, dizziness, lightheadedness, and hot or cold flashes.
- Emotional symptoms include extreme feelings of anxiety or panic, detachment from self, and feeling like you’ve lost control.
Medication
Talk to your doctor about your fear of blood, especially if it’s starting to take over your life or making you skip routine health exams.
- Seeking help sooner rather than later may make treatment easier in the long run.
- While there’s certainly a genetic component to phobia, some of fear is learned behavior from others.
Children
Specific phobias often first arise in childhood, between the ages of 10 and 13.
- The average age of onset for hemophobia is 9.3 years for males and 7.5 years for females
- Hemophobia may also occur in combination with other psychoneurotic disorders
- Additional risk factors include Genetics, Anxious Parent or caregiver, Trauma, and Stressful or traumatic events
Applied Tension
Tense muscles in the arms, torso, and legs for timed intervals until your face feels flushed when you’re exposed to the trigger, which in this case would be blood.
- In one older study, participants who tried this technique were able to watch a half hour video of a surgery without fainting.
