Blood phobia, also known as hematophobia, is one of the fears that generates the greatest interest among the population. Because? Well, very simple. There are many people who do not like to see blood and, probably, if you are part of this group, surely you have ever wondered if you have hematophobia or not.
Given this, you should ask yourself three questions: Do the sensations that are generated in you when you see a drop of blood incapacitate you when it comes to leading a normal life? Does blood because you anguish and anxiety? Do you faint when you see it? If your answer to these questions is yes, we are sorry to tell you that you have hematophobia. However, just because you don’t like being in front of a wound does not mean that you have a phobia of blood.
A phobia occurs only in those cases in which the levels of stress and discomfort associated with some type of stimulus (in this case we are talking about blood, but it could be heights, holes, needles, cockroaches…) harm the quality of life of the person and prevent him from carrying out daily tasks naturally.
In short, the fear of blood is a psychological problem that in most cases requires intervention and treatment by a professional. This class of phobias can become a real difficulty in the day-to-day life of the patient, but the truth is that, generally, the symptoms can be mitigated to a point where they practically do not interfere with routine life.
In the following article we are going to explain what exactly hematophobia consists of, what its causes and symptoms are, and how it can be cured. Very attentive.
I am afraid of blood: What is hematophobia
- Hematophobia is defined as the fear of blood and all those contexts that are considered directly or indirectly related to it. This type of fear is incapacitating to lead a normal life and can appear both when seeing this substance and when imagining some type of situation in which it is present, such as a puncture or a wound that has formed a scab.
- In addition to being linked to the fear of blood, whether one’s own or that of others, hematophobia is also based on another aspect of panic: the horror of the symptoms that cause these crises. For this reason, the phobia of blood is largely based on the phenomenon known as ‘the fear of fear’, a characteristic that it shares with other types of phobias such as agoraphobia.
- Therefore, the fear of blood is more an irrational fear than a real one. What one flees from is not situations that generate physical pain or endanger our lives or that of someone around us, but rather what frightens people who suffer from hematophobia is the simple idea of blood flowing and spilling. the scene of a situation that they themselves perceive in their mind as potentially dangerous.
Causes of fear of blood
- The reasons why a person begins to suffer from this type of phobia are not exactly known, although in a large part of the cases, the fear of blood is related to a genetic cause. As has been verified, the fact of descending from a family in which someone suffers from hematophobia increases the chances of experiencing phobic episodes of this type sooner or later.
- It is also considered that hematophobia can develop as a result of past experiences, that is, through learning and memories. Taking into account that blood usually appears in painful or unpleasant contexts, it is not strange to say that hematophobia can arise as a result of a bad experience produced with this substance. In this way, the phobia of blood can be provoked by linking this stimulus with the pain caused by an accident or a health treatment, for example.
What are the symptoms of hematophobia?
What differentiates hematophobia from other types of phobias is that the crises that occur end up leading, in most cases, to fainting. The symptoms of this type of fear usually develop in two different phases. In the first place, in the presence of blood, the patient suffering from the phobia enters a state of alert which causes their heart rate to accelerate. Secondly, there is a sudden drop in blood pressure that causes fainting because not enough oxygen reaches the brain.
Other symptoms present in blood phobia are dizziness, panic attacks, anxiety, nausea and the feeling of deep disgust.
Blood phobia: can it be cured?
- Is there an effective treatment to put an end to hematophobia? The answer is yes. There are multiple treatments and strategies to deal with this type of fear. Of course, it is not worth just reading texts on the subject, hematophobia requires a live approach to fear and the performance of certain exercises, always under the assessment and supervision of a professional.
- Among the most useful and effective techniques when it comes to making hematophobia disappear is cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is based on gradual exposure to the phobic stimulus, in this case, blood.
- Throughout several sessions, the person diagnosed with hematophobia gradually exposes himself to situations that cause anxiety and restlessness, ranging from the mildest to those that involve much closer and direct contact with blood.
- Another of the most useful tools to cure the fear of blood is learning instructions which must be followed mentally in a sequential manner and that have to do with the implementation of various relaxation techniques and routines to approach what the phobia produces.
Put an end to your phobia, you will appreciate it
- The fear of blood can be more or less serious and can manifest itself in a more or less severe or annoying way, but in any case it implies difficulties related to day-to-day life and not so much with specific experiences. That is to say, if on a specific day you are going to have a blood test done and you faint, it does not mean that you have hematophobia, it may simply be a specific reaction. However, if the symptoms mentioned above are triggered in you whenever you have any kind of contact with blood, then you should be concerned.
- People who experience fear of blood avoid medical treatment and vaccinations at all costs, tend to deny help to injured people, avoid carrying out activities in which there is even a minimal probability of causing an injury (cooking, hiking…) Or, in the case of women, they even seriously consider the possibility of becoming pregnant as long as they do not have to face the moment of giving birth.
- As you can see, hematophobia can greatly affect the life of those who suffer from it, so it is worth going to a specialist, receiving care and a diagnosis that allows finding the right treatment to put an end to the problem forever.
And you? Are you afraid of blood or do you know someone who is?