What is hemophobia, why are they afraid of blood, the mechanism of development, the reasons and manifestations of such fear, ways of dealing with it. Hemophobia is an obsessive panic fear at the sight of blood not only of one's own, but of someone else's and even of animals, when it becomes bad, the head turns, the face turns pale, the heartbeat begins, the body trembles and weakens. In this state, an attack of hysteria and even fainting may occur.
Description and mechanism of development of hemophobia
Fear of the sight of blood - one's own, someone else's, or animals - is inherent in many people. Some suffer from hemophobia (hematophobia) since childhood, while others manifest it already in adulthood. Everyone, I think, can remember a case when someone from their acquaintances cut, for example, a finger and at the sight of a blooming blood suddenly became pale, rolled his eyes with an exclamation "oh, I feel bad!" Sometimes even courageous-looking men can "crash" to the ground and lose consciousness. Why is this happening, what's the matter? In our very turbulent time, large physical and psychological stress weaken the body's defenses, the autonomic nervous system is inhibited. This leads to the emergence of all sorts of phobias, including such as fear of blood.
As a result of numerous studies, scientists have established that the mechanism of the appearance and development of hemophobia, in fact, like any other phobia, lies in the psyche. It can be natural and acquired in the process of life. Fear of blood from childhood, when one of its kind faints - this is hereditary or true hemophobia. And when bleeding causes disgust or becomes alarming, one should talk about acquired - false hematophobia. Tsar Nicholas II suffered like this, very worried about his son Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia - poor blood clotting. These two types of fear of blood can differ in their manifestations:
- When they are afraid of the very kind of "bloodletting". Can be your own or someone else's, animal.
- Fear of losing your blood. For example, fear of surgery, because there will be a lot of bleeding. This is associated with death.
Everyone is afraid of blood, to varying degrees, of course. Medical procedures do not give pleasure to anyone, but there is an understanding that it is necessary. And no matter how “bloody” they seem, people do them because they care about their health. However, this is a common common sense fear. It should not be confused with a state of panic, even at the sight of a drop of red liquid. This is already a real hemophobia, and such a person is a true hemophobia.
It's important to know! Hemophobia is a serious illness and it is necessary to understand its causes in order to establish the roots of such fear.
Causes of the fear of blood
The causes of hematophobia are associated with the psyche and the autonomic nervous system. Disorders in their activities can be from birth, but not necessarily, fear of blood often arises already in adulthood. Let's consider all the causes of hemophobia in detail.
Congenital causes of fear of blood are poorly understood, but they should include the following:
- Genetic predisposition … One of the hypotheses of psychiatrists. Associated with the instinct of self-preservation. In ancient times, when a person was ignorant of medicine, he was afraid of getting any wound. Even a small loss of blood could lead to death.
- Pathology of the psyche … Abnormal development of the fetus in the womb. Mental abnormalities in parents, for example, schizophrenia, manic psychosis. They were afraid of blood, this fear was passed on to the child.
- Deviations in the development of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) … It controls all the many functions of the body, in particular, blood circulation. Failure in the correct formation of the ANS in the fetus can lead to the development of a phobia in a born child - fear of blood.
Hematophobia acquired in the course of life is characterized by a much wider range of causes. These include:
- Childhood situation … For example, a child fell and broke his nose. The combination of severe pain and profuse bleeding is etched into my memory. This is how the fear of blood appeared - hemophobia. Wrong behavior of parents can also serve as a reason when, for example, they scare all the time: "Don't run, don't jump, don't climb high, otherwise you will fall, break, lose a lot of blood and die!"
- Fear at the sight of your blood … Let's say a person is afraid to take a blood test. Such people hide all piercing and cutting objects at home. They prefer not to cut bread with a knife, but to break it.
- Fear of the blood of other people or animals … Such fear is often provoked by the media when they show "bloody" films: severed arms and legs, blood splashes in all directions. It becomes bad for a person to look at all this. Fear of such a profuse "hemorrhage" is developed. In some cases, it can arise at the thought of pain, and not at the sight of the blood itself. This is due to the peculiarities of the psyche and the nervous system. Such people are impressionable and capable of compassion, they experience someone else's grief as their own.
- Unsuccessful medical manipulation … Let's say a nurse injects a vein several times to draw blood. It hurt, there was a fear of being tested.
- Heavy operation … Great bleeding when life was on the brink of death.
- Serious injury … It was accompanied by significant blood loss. The man began to suffer from an obsessive condition - a fear of blood.
It's important to know! Any cause of hemophobia is a health disorder. Depending on the degree of the disease, it is necessary to undergo treatment with a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Manifestations of hemophobia in humans
Symptoms of hemophobia are usually pronounced and, if not hereditary, depend on age. With a tactile or visual appearance, blood can be mild to severe. It depends on the neglect of the phobia. For the mild stage of hemophobia, nervousness is characteristic, when at the words that they should take a blood test, for example, from a vein, a person turns pale, begins to walk restlessly, the pulse quickens, the pressure rises, the heart pounds, the tremor engulfs the whole body, cold sweat breaks through, the muscles tense, nausea appears.
In severe cases, fear of blood can manifest itself with the following symptoms:
- Apparent smell or taste of blood … There is not even a drop anywhere, but the patient sees it everywhere, he even feels its smell and taste.
- Horror … Even with a small amount of blood seen, a violent reaction occurs when a person is unable to control his feelings and actions. Loss of consciousness may occur.
- Fear of medical procedures where blood is possible … Refuses all injections and vaccinations.
- Fear of films with scenes of violence … Movies, television and video films with endless bloody scenes inspire genuine fear, can lead to hysteria.
- Fear of getting hurt … There will be blood, which is scary for a hemophobe.
- There are no piercing or cutting objects in the house … All because of the same fear of accidentally cutting yourself.
Symptoms may or may not be predictable. For example, if a person reacts violently to a message that they will take a blood test and resist, this is an unpredictable symptom. When everything is outwardly calm, only pallor appears in the face, for example, this is an expected (predictable) reaction.
People with a pathological fear of blood do not like the color red. Vegetables and fruits of this color, for example, carrots or tomatoes, juices, various kinds of jams and jams, cause them anxiety. Even realizing that they are doing harm to their health, they try to avoid doctors until the last moment. But if they are already in the hospital, they do not run away from it, but they experience their fear on the spot. This is a distinctive feature of the behavior of a person suffering from hemophobia from patients with other fears.
It's important to know! If two or more of these symptoms are observed, this is already a reason to consult a doctor.
Ways to Deal with Fear of Blood
Hemophobia is much easier to treat than other types of fear. If the fear of blood is not pathological, you can eliminate your fear yourself. All methods that are used to combat phobias on your own are suitable here. Let's consider several such techniques.
Independent actions for hemophobia
Significant psychological help will be provided by conversations with their loved ones, those who are not afraid of blood and understand the problem, do not laugh at it. This is a serious help in overcoming your "blood" fear. People who have suffered a trauma with a lot of blood loss, but who have recovered, have become completely healthy and self-confident, will also help get rid of hemophobia. Talking to them will help you tune in to the "anti-blood" wave. This will reduce anxiety when, for example, you need to donate blood from a finger or vein. The best independent way to get rid of hemophobia is meditation - an ancient system of self-development and self-knowledge. It is good because it strengthens the general well-being: it has a positive effect on mental and physical health. The meditator “disconnects” from the outside world and withdraws into himself, concentrates all his thoughts on his “sore”. Periodic repetition of the same phrase (mantra) will reinforce the desired attitude and help to avoid the problem. For example, if you repeatedly repeat “I'm not afraid of the sight of blood,” this message will be fixed in the subconscious and will cause a corresponding behavioral reaction. The fear will disappear. It's important to know! Any fear can be cured, you just need to really want it.
Psychotherapy to combat fear of blood
If we are talking about the treatment of hemophobia, it means that the fear of blood has gone far, interferes with a healthy life. In this case, you need to consult a psychologist. After reviewing the medical history, he will prescribe the appropriate psychotherapeutic procedures that will help get rid of the phobia. The most successful way to cure hemophobia is through constant contact with blood. For example, many first-year medical students are afraid of her, but as a result of practical training in their last year, they do not fear her. But this practice is not realistic for most hemophobes. Therefore, common psychotherapeutic techniques are used in the treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in combating hematophobia. Together with the psychotherapist, the patient will be able to tune in to a positive wave, will be able to develop and consolidate in the subconscious the mindset to overcome his fear of blood. Another successful technique, gestalt therapy, will also tell you how to get rid of hemophobia. Its meaning is that it focuses on the correction of emotions. When the patient realizes that his negative emotions interfere with leading a healthy lifestyle (in our case, this is the fear of blood), he will change his attitude and behavior towards them. The phobia will be overcome. These two techniques are aimed at realizing your fear and developing a negative attitude towards it. The doctor only helps the patient, corrects his thoughts in the right direction. The third technique, hypnotherapy, excludes the patient's participation in the struggle with his complex. In a state of hypnotic sleep, he is told that he is not a hemophobe and that his fear is in vain. This attitude is fixed in the subconscious, the patient, waking up from the "spell" of the hypnologist, looks at his phobia with different eyes.
Psychologists have developed a special set of exercises to combat various kinds of phobias. Having mastered such health-improving gymnastics under the supervision of the attending physician, it is necessary to continue training at home. This will help get rid of your fear of blood. A set of health-improving exercises in the treatment of hematophobia:
- Control over all muscle groups … Alternately tensing certain muscle groups, for example, arms or legs, try squatting, energetically spreading your arms to the sides, and doing bends. Do as many of these exercises as possible and focus on doing them. Such energetic gymnastics distracts from the anxiety state, for example, an attack of panic fear, helps to calm down and not to lose consciousness. At the same time, blood flow to various parts of the body is normalized, which has a beneficial effect on the state of the entire body.
- Breath control … A very important exercise. Health largely depends on its correct implementation. It consists in saturating the lungs with oxygen. There are many different techniques on how to breathe correctly. Best of all is breathing exercises according to the yoga system, when full breathing is performed.
We present to your attention a variant of breathing exercises:
- Lower breathing. When inhaling, the upper abdomen is pulled up to the ribs (3 sec.).
- The average. From the bottom, we go to the middle, when the inhalation expands the ribs (2 sec.).
- Top. The upper part of the chest expands. Shoulders rise slightly and move back (1 sec.).
- Pause. Holding your breath for 6 seconds.
- Exhale completely. Concentrate on the air exhaled through the open mouth. The lips are stretched out with a tube. (6 sec.).
- Another pause. Lasts 6 seconds.
One such cycle takes 30 seconds. Repeat the exercise at least 10 times. All cells of the body are saturated with oxygen, the general well-being rises, all kinds of fears go away.
It's important to know! It is possible to independently try to overcome your fear of blood only if the phobia has not crossed the threshold of "permissible" - it has not become a pathology.
Treatment of pathological hemophobia in a hospital
In the case when hemophobia has a pathological nature, for example, complicated by schizophrenia, the help of a psychiatrist is required. It consists in referral to a psychiatric hospital, where you need to undergo a course of drug treatment. Patients are prescribed antipsychotics - potent sedatives. They act as a sleeping pill, relieve muscle spasms and improve memory. When combined with the necessary medical procedures, this treatment can take from one to three months. Continuous supportive medication at home is required after discharge from the hospital.
How to overcome the fear of blood - watch the video:
Hemophobia is not uncommon among humans. Both small and large are susceptible to it. For those who suffer from it, it interferes with a normal life. There is no need to laugh at such a "strangeness" as the fear of blood, one who suffers from such a fear must be helped. And there are many ways to get rid of hemophobia. He who seeks will surely find.
