Fear of blood - hematophobia

In no way should one confuse with a phobia the usual disgust or dislike that many people experience when they see objects or phenomena. It's not a secret for anyone that with a single kind of blood, some start turning right away, and there are some who begin to feel sick, but that does not mean that a person is a hematophobe. Experts believe that disgust is a normal reaction, but its absence is a deviation and requires the attention of specialists. Thus, our body responds with a special reaction when seeing an unpleasant image. Particular attention should be paid when the sensations take an uncontrollable form, you need to undergo the necessary treatment.

Symptoms of hematopathy

Hematophobia is characterized by a very intrusive condition, which has a strong fear of seeing blood. This happens not only when the blood is on its own body, but also when a person sees a different kind of injuries and cuts in other people. For example, if the hematophobe was in place of an accident that led to the victims, then at the sight of the blood, it may become faint and the medical team, in addition to assisting the victims, will have to provide help and hematophobia. Such a situation can occur not only with those who look weak, but also with those who are strong enough and healthy as a bull. In the easiest cases, the patient remains conscious, but all the symptoms of terrible fear do not go anywhere. These symptoms include blanching of the face, shaking hands and feet, increasing heart rate. The respiratory act is performed with difficulty, blood pressure may increase or fall. And at first glance, the fear of blood seems a trivial problem, but, unfortunately, this is not so.

Symptoms of hematophobia have their own specific features, which can relate to other phobias related to medicine: fear of injections, fear of the hospital, and fear of medical workers. Their essence lies in the fact that a person suffering from hematophobia does not try to escape from a dangerous object in his opinion. It is very rare to notice a panic without any reason, which borders on recklessness. A person who has a sharp drop in blood pressure and has hematophobia can easily faint at the sight of blood. There's nothing to be done, internal mechanisms work properly.

Scientists have conducted a series of experiments, the results of which led to the conclusion that the intensity of fear is almost the same, both at the sight of their blood, and at the sight of an outsider. This phenomenon has one feature that the hematophobe, after seeing the blood of another person, can turn away and not participate in helping him, he will only be able to call someone to help and on this his actions will end. But if the blood is not someone else's, but their own, emotions will be much brighter, since time is needed to solve the problem and there is no way to escape somewhere.

What causes hematophobia?

When trying to answer the question: why people are afraid of blood, there are several answers. Researchers in the first place put the genetic factor, that is, a residual sense of fear at the sight of blood, which is inherent in our distant ancestors. That is, all this fear of blood came from ancient times. At the heart of this fear is the trauma of his body. Knowledge in medicine from our distant ancestors was not very extensive, moreover, such a concept as medical aid did not exist at all.

Researchers do not exclude the possibility that the cause of hematophobia can become fear, consisting in the previous experience. For example, a person was given an ordinary shot and after that he lost all feelings, where the guarantee that this will not happen next time. There are hematophobia, in which the feeling of fear is so strong that even with a serious threat to the body, they completely refuse the help of medical workers. According to the above example, one can draw unequivocal conclusions that such a pathology is a very big problem in the life of the patient, it simply prevents him from adapting. In this regard, in order to feel free and comfortable, it is necessary to perform the appropriate treatment.

How to get rid of hematophobia

There are situations when a person exaggerates the seriousness of his illness, and his phobia is not of such a global scale that he imagined himself. For example, a person decided to donate blood from a finger, but he thinks that instead of a few milliliters of it, a whole liter of blood is pumped out. What to do in this case? Be sure to notify the doctor, tell him about the phobia so that he can assess the condition of his patient. In addition, in order to be afraid of manipulations related to blood, you can ask about the procedure of those people who have already passed it. Thanks to this, you can avoid unnecessary worries about the fear of blood.

It should be emphasized that not every phobia is easily treated. And in order to completely eliminate some of the fears, it takes a very long time - from several months to several years. Fortunately, the problem of fear of blood can be solved in a short time. Doctors advise hematophobes to engage in certain exercises that help very well to overcome their fear.

For example, muscle tension has a very positive effect. People who suffer from hematophobia may experience a drop in pressure, and then a loss of consciousness. At the moment when there is an exacerbation of a phobia, if a person keeps his muscles in a tone and performs any movements of the limbs, there is stimulation of blood circulation, and fainting does not occur.

If we consider this phobia in more detail, it becomes clear that a person is actually not afraid of the blood itself, but of the procedure that is associated with it. A very simple example: staging an injection can be the cause of the appearance of blood, which means that this very injection will awaken this awful factor. If, with all the desire, a person can not overcome the fear of blood, then do not waste time, it's best to hurry to turn to the help of a professional. With fear of blood, psychologists use cognitive-behavioral therapy, it consists in the fact that the patient is exposed to his fear in certain quantities. At the beginning of this treatment the patient is asked to pronounce the word blood, and in the end already show him real blood. Many people consider this type of treatment to be the most productive.