Tuesday, July 21, 2020

FEAR OF BLOOD - Symptoms and Treatment for the Fear of Blood - Hemophobia, or fear of blood, is a common specific phobia. Most types of specific phobia cause heart rate and blood pressure to rise. Hemophobia and other blood-injection-injury phobias frequently cause a drop in blood pressure and heart rate. The sudden drop can lead to fainting, a relatively common response to the sight of blood. Anticipatory anxiety, in which you may experience a racing heart, shaking, and gastrointestinal distress, is common in the hours and days before an upcoming encounter with blood. Hemophobia is often related to other phobias. Trypanophobia, or fear of medical needles, is sometimes associated with hemophobia. Some people with a fear of blood also have other medical phobias, such as fears of doctors and dentists. The field of medicine is popularly associated with gruesome images of spilled blood, particularly in television and movies, which may help to perpetuate such phobias. Hemophobia may also be associated with health phobias including hypochondriasis and nosophobia. Bleeding is an indication that something is wrong with the body, and the sight of one’s own blood can be enough to trigger health anxiety. In those who experience mysophobia or fear of germs, the sight of someone else’s blood can trigger fears of catching a disease. In some cases, the fear of blood may be related to the fear of death.

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Fear of Blood
Symptoms and Treatment for the Fear of Blood
The fear of blood may be caused by a previous negative experience with blood. Those who have been through a traumatic injury or illness that caused a major loss of blood may be at increased risk. Hemophobia is often related to other phobias - some people with a fear of blood also have other medical phobias, such as fears of medical needles, doctors and dentists. Bleeding is an indication that something is wrong with the body, and the sight of one’s own blood can be enough to trigger health anxiety - in some cases, the fear of blood may be related to the fear of death
By Lisa Fritscher 
Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD 




Hemophobia, or fear of blood, is a common specific phobia.
The fear is categorized by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual as part of the subtype “blood-injection-injury” phobias.
This subtype, which also includes needle phobia, can cause symptoms that are not frequently seen in other types of specific phobias.
Symptoms
Most types of specific phobia cause heart rate and blood pressure to rise. Hemophobia and other blood-injection-injury phobias frequently cause a drop in blood pressure and heart rate.
The sudden drop can lead to fainting, a relatively common response to the sight of blood.
 Anticipatory anxiety, in which you may experience a racing heart, shaking, and gastrointestinal distress, is common in the hours and days before an upcoming encounter with blood.
Causes
Hemophobia is often related to other phobias. 
Trypanophobia, or fear of medical needles, is sometimes associated with hemophobia.
Some people with a fear of blood also have other medical phobias, such as fears of doctors and dentists.
The field of medicine is popularly associated with gruesome images of spilled blood, particularly in television and movies, which may help to perpetuate such phobias.
Hemophobia may also be associated with health phobias including hypochondriasis and nosophobia.
Bleeding is an indication that something is wrong with the body, and the sight of one’s own blood can be enough to trigger health anxiety.
In those who experience mysophobia or fear of germs, the sight of someone else’s blood can trigger fears of catching a disease.
In some cases, the fear of blood may be related to the fear of death.
Hemophobia may be caused by a previous negative experience with blood.
Those who have been through a traumatic injury or illness that caused a major loss of blood may be at increased risk.
However, hemophobia may be inherited or even be rooted in evolutionary factors.
Hemophobia in Popular Culture
Because the fear of blood is extremely common, it is frequently exploited in popular culture.
Horror movies and Halloween events prey on our natural aversion to blood, often featuring large quantities of fake blood in full Technicolor glory.
Of course, as the 1980s slasher genre proved, it is easy to become emotionally numb to such images, particularly for those who have a fear, but not a full-blown phobia.
Part of the reason that the shower scene in 1960s Psycho is still considered a masterpiece is the relative lack of gore.
The scene was shot in black and white, and the knife never actually pierces the skin.
Yet the mind fills in all of the details of a gruesome knife attack.
Spilled blood sometimes creates a paradox — we can’t bear to look, yet we can’t bring ourselves to look away.
Consequences
Hemophobia can cause a wide range of difficulties that may prove life-limiting or even dangerous.
If you are afraid of blood, you may be reluctant to seek medical treatment.
You might postpone or avoid annual physicals and needed medical tests. You may refuse surgery or dental treatments.
Parents with hemophobia may find it difficult or impossible to bandage their children’s wounds. You might pass these tasks off to your spouse whenever possible.
You may also overreact to minor injuries in your children as well as yourself, frequenting emergency rooms or walk-in clinics when home treatment would suffice.
A fear of blood may also cause you to limit activities that carry a risk of injury. You might be unable to participate in outdoor activities such as hiking, camping or running.
You may avoid sports, carnival rides and other activities that you perceive as dangerous.
Over time, such avoidant behaviors can lead to isolation. You might develop a social phobia or, in extreme cases, agoraphobia.
Your relationships might suffer, and you might find it difficult to participate in even the normal activities of daily living. Feeling depressed is not unusual.
Treatment
Hemophobia responds very well to many treatment methods. One of the most common is cognitive-behavioral therapy.
You will learn to replace your fearful self-talk with healthier responses to the sight of blood. You will also learn new behaviors and coping strategies.
If your phobia is severe, medications can help control the anxiety, allowing you to focus on treatment strategies.
Other forms of talk therapy, hypnosis, and even alternative treatments may also be helpful.
A skilled therapist can guide you through the process of recovery, which can be difficult or impossible on your own. With help, though, there is no reason for hemophobia to control your life.

Lisa Fritscher
Writer
Expertise
Phobias
Education
University of South Florida, Polk State College
Highlights
Experienced in community mental health
Case management and hands-on care at various mental health facilities
Experience
Lisa Fritscher is a former writer for Verywell Mind covering phobias. Lisa first became interested in mental health during her childhood, when she frequently accompanied her mother, a therapist, to work at the Winter Haven Hospital Community Mental Health Center. With years of familiarity in the field, it was only natural that Lisa would follow in her mother's footsteps. Her diverse experiences include both case management and hands-on patient care at a variety of residential and outpatient facilities.
Education
Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of South Florida.
Verywell Mind Editorial Process
Verywell Mind is an award-winning, trusted, and compassionate online resource that provides the guidance you need to improve your mental health and find balance. We take a human approach to health and wellness content and reach more than 150 million readers annually.
Our editorial team includes writers, editors, and fact checkers who are all focused on making sure our information is clear, accurate, and actually useful so you can make confident choices about your mental health.
Our writers are notable voices in their respective disciplines, including board-certified physicians, therapists, health journalists, and other mental health experts. These individuals are specifically selected for both their extensive knowledge and real-world experience, as well as their ability to communicate complex information in a clear, helpful, and unbiased way.
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Steven Gans, MD
Review Board Member
 Psychiatrist
Expertise
Psychiatry, Psychotherapy
Education
Harvard Medical School, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Rush University Medical College, Massachusetts General Hospital
Highlights
Assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
Attending psychiatrist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA, where he leads a team-based approach to the management and recovery of patients with serious mental illnesses
Board-certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
I am thrilled to be involved with Verywell in their mission to bring accurate and accessible information regarding health issues to everyone. This is an especially crucial time that the information available to the public in understanding their health is factual, clear, and contextually useful.”
— STEVEN GANS, MD
Experience
Dr. Gans is passionately involved in the practice and teaching of psychotherapy. He is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)/McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Training Program and in their Program in Psychodynamics (PIP). A graduate of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, he is a supervisor and mentor in their Advanced Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program.
He serves as a psychotherapist attending to the Pavilion program at McLean Hospital. Dr. Gans was a psychiatric consultant for the Laurel Hill Inn eating disorders treatment program, and served as the Clinical Challenges editor for the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. He has previously been named to “Best Doctors” by Boston Magazine.
Education
Dr. Gans received a Bachelor in Science degree from Loyola University of Chicago. He earned his medical degree from Rush University Medical College. Dr. Gans did his residency in psychiatry at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. He is a graduate of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.
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