Table of contents:
- Why would anyone be afraid of blood?
- What are the symptoms?
- Who is at risk for hematophobia?
- Then, how is the treatment?
- Cognitive therapy and relaxation
- Taking medication
Blood is very important for human life. Its functions are very diverse, such as supplying oxygen and food nutrients throughout the body so that the organs of the body can work normally. In addition, blood also circulates hormones and fights infection. When you fall or get a scratch, the injured skin will bleed. Even though it was only a small wound, there were some people who were very afraid when they saw blood. So, what is the cause? Come on, I know the reason why there are people who are very afraid of the following blood.
Why would anyone be afraid of blood?
Fear of blood is a type of phobia known as hemophobia. This term is taken from the Greek "haima" which means blood and "phobos" which means fear. In addition, hemophobia is also known as hematophobia.
This condition causes a person to feel anxious, nauseous, and can even pass out when he sees blood. Whether the blood comes out of his body, other people, animals, even from movies or pictures.
What are the symptoms?
All phobias have similar physical and emotional symptoms. Although it varies from person to person, the symptoms that generally occur in people with hemophobia are:
- Difficulty breathing
- Rapid heartbeat followed by chest pain
- Shaking body, dizziness, nausea and sweating
- Feelings of extreme anxiety or panic
- Loss of control and hallucinations
- Loss of consciousness
- Feeling scared and helpless
In some cases, hemotoophobia also causes a vasovagal response. This condition indicates that your blood pressure and heart rate have decreased. This is a unique symptom of hemophobia that is not common with other phobias.
Meanwhile, children who are afraid of blood usually show symptoms, such as tantrums, crying, trying hard to hide or sticking to other people for safety, and refusing to see blood-related things.
Who is at risk for hematophobia?
Hemophobia is a specific phobia that often occurs in childhood, around 10 to 13 years of age. This extreme fear usually also appears with psychoneurotic disorders, such as agoraphobia, animal phobia, trypanophobia (fear of needles), misophobia (fear of germs) and panic attacks.
Apart from having a psychoneurotic disorder, fear of blood is more likely to occur in people with the following conditions:
- Heredity or being raised by parents and caregivers who are overly anxious or overly protective
- Experiencing trauma such as an accident that causes profuse bleeding or death
Then, how is the treatment?
Symptoms of fear of snakes can be mild or severe. So, the treatment will be adjusted according to the severity of the symptoms. However, generally this extreme fear can be overcome in several ways, such as:
Cognitive therapy and relaxation
Controlling fear with blood can be done with therapy. The trick is to replace your negative thoughts on blood into positive thoughts. That way, as long as you see blood, you will likely be able to control yourself from your fear. You may need to take a blood test several times from a picture or film to get used to it.
Apart from fear, hemaphobia also makes you anxious. You can overcome this anxiety with relaxation therapy. Namely, practicing breathing so that breathing can be better, stress and anxiety can be reduced, and the mind becomes clearer.
Taking medication
Apart from therapy, another way to deal with hemophobia is taking medication. The doctor will give you antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs, as well as other drugs that can help your condition get better.
