Have you ever felt very scared or panicked when you saw blood? It could be that you have a phobia of blood. So, what causes it and how to fix it? Let's find out in the following review.
A phobia is an excessive fear of a certain object, place, situation, or animal. There are various kinds of phobias, one of which is the phobia of blood.
Blood phobia is known as hemophobia or hematophobia. This phobia includes a specific type of phobia which is characterized by extreme fear or anxiety when seeing blood, either their own blood, other people's, animals, and even blood in the form of images or shows on television.
If the phobia is severe enough, people with hemophobia can faint at the sight of blood.
Symptoms of Blood Phobia
Blood phobia is a type of mental disorder. Usually people who have a phobia of blood also suffer from a phobia of needles (trypanophobia).
In hemophobia, symptoms can be triggered simply by seeing blood, either directly or indirectly, for example when viewing photos or videos showing blood.
Some people with blood phobia can even feel symptoms just by imagining blood or certain medical procedures, such as blood tests or surgery.
When seeing or thinking about things related to blood, people with a phobia of blood may show some of the following symptoms:
- Body shaking and sweating
- Excessive anxiety or panic
- The body feels weak all of a sudden
- Heart beating fast
- Breathing fast or feeling heavy
- Chest pain
- Faint
- Nausea and vomiting
A person can be confirmed to have a phobia of blood if the symptoms that appear when seeing the blood persist for more than 6 months.
The Impact of Blood Phobia on the Sufferers' Daily Life
Blood phobia and needle phobia are unique phobias. While most phobias cause heart rate and blood pressure to increase, blood phobia and needle phobia are just the opposite.
This type of phobia can sometimes cause a decrease in heart rate and blood pressure, often causing the sufferer to faint. This condition is known as vasovagal syncope, which is an overreaction of the body to things that trigger fainting, such as seeing blood.
Some people with a phobia of blood are usually afraid of going to the general practitioner or dentist. The impact is varied and different for each person. In severe conditions, people with hemophobia can experience depression and limit their activities because of an excessive fear of blood.
However, people with blood phobia are actually aware that their fear is excessive. However, most of them were powerless to control it.
Meanwhile, children who suffer from blood phobia usually show symptoms, such as tantrums, crying, and avoiding and refusing to see anything related to blood by hiding or hugging those closest to them.
Blood Phobia Risk Factors
Hematophobia often appears in childhood, which is around the age of 10-13 years. This phobia usually appears together with other phobias, such as agoraphobia, trypanophobia (fear of needles) mysophobia (fear of germs), and certain animal phobias, such as cynophobia(fear of dogs).
In addition, there are several factors that can increase a person's risk of having a blood phobia, including:
- heredity factor.
- Parenting patterns, for example having parents who are too protective.
- A history of psychological trauma, such as having had an accident or seeing an accident that caused profuse bleeding.
Handling Blood Phobia
Almost every type of phobia can be treated and cured, and blood phobia is no exception. Handling blood phobia can be done in the following ways:
1. Psychotherapy
People with blood phobia usually need to undergo psychotherapy. One form of psychotherapy that is effective for overcoming blood phobia is cognitive behavioral therapy.
This therapy aims to help patients change their perspective and attitude towards a problem, in this case is an excessive fear of blood. Thus, the patient can control his fear at the sight of blood.
2. Relaxation therapy
This type of psychotherapy focuses on relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga. Relaxation therapy aims to deal with stress, anxiety, and other symptoms that appear when you see blood.
3. Use of drugs
In some cases of blood phobia, especially those that cause severe symptoms, the doctor will give drugs to overcome excessive anxiety. This action aims to make the patient calmer and focus on other treatment processes.
Some types of drugs that are usually given by doctors to treat blood phobia are sedatives to treat anxiety and antidepressant drugs.
4. Self-exposure therapy (desensitization)
This therapy is done gradually by involving the object that causes fear, namely blood. However, this therapy can only be done when the patient has begun to show improvement in symptoms when he sees blood.
In this therapy, the patient will be asked to undergo a test by looking at the blood several times from pictures or films. That way, it is hoped that the anxiety and fear can gradually decrease and disappear completely.
In addition to the methods above, there are other treatment methods that can be used to overcome blood phobia, one of which is hypnotherapy. However, this technique should be done under the supervision of a doctor.
You are advised to immediately consult a psychologist or psychiatrist if you begin to feel symptoms of blood phobia, especially if these symptoms begin to limit your activities.