Hemophobia comprises of two words hemo and phobia, hemo means “blood” and phobia means “fear“, which means fear of blood. People can feel uneasy, breathless from time to time. This can have a serious impact on the patient’s life. One should never skip an appointment with a doctor regarding any phobia.
Symptoms
All types of phobias have the same type of symptoms be it physical or mental. Symptoms of homophobia can be seen in a person by seeing blood in reality or virtually. Some people when thinking of blood they get triggered and nervous.
Symptoms that can be seen in a person:
- Dizziness
- Breathlessness
- Pain
- Shaking
- Sweating
- Feeling like you may die or pass out
- The feeling of anxiety and panic attacks
This type of phobia is unique as when a person sees or thinks of blood it lowers the heartbeat and also the blood pressure. People sometimes even get worse symptoms like panic or anxiety attacks, and sometimes people start having a problem known as a split personality.
The symptoms may vary from adults to children. Some symptoms of children are being clingy, cry baby, and stubborn.
Causes of Hemophobia
People develop this kind of phobias by genes or maybe that person is sensitive or emotional. Some may see people getting anxious seeing blood and then pattern the fear. He/she may also get anxious and nervous seeing other people around them getting afraid of blood. This develops the phobia of blood among them too. People can also develop the fear as if in past they were in contact with an accident involving a lot of blood or in contact with hospitals.
This phobia is the same as the fear of darkness, light, water, fire, ghosts, noises, etc. Phobias often start in childhood or it can be developed in adulthood too. People get panic attacks seeing the blood or the thing which they are afraid of. This type of phobia also has an average age for girls and boys according to the research. When talking about causes it can be transmitted from the parents like if parents also have fear of blood it is most likely that the child will also suffer from it. This can happen because of some particular medical condition when you are not even born.
Diagnosis
If someone thinks that they are suffering from hemophobia or if they can see any kind of symptoms mentioned above, they should definitely go to a doctor and consult things. You just have to have a word with the doctor, tell every single thing you see as a symptom, and what exactly is a time period you are experiencing it. Also, you should give the medical history of your family members as this will help in diagnosing the problem. Ask as many questions or queries as you have regarding the phobia or the symptoms or even the consequences.
Treatment of Hemophobia
Treatment for every type of phobia isn’t always necessary as some of the phobias are not the ones, we are dealing with in our everyday life. But the phobia about which we are discussing, when at the extreme level must be treated. If the symptoms are normal you can consult with a doctor but it is not always required. If a person is dealing with a lot of symptoms like getting panic attacks or feeling very anxious, or the time has been extended to 6 or more months, treatment must be done.
Treatments can be done in many ways for this kind of phobia. Some of them are:
- Therapies:
Therapists will give you some exercises, yoga, asanas which will help you to deal with the fear of blood. These therapies can be seen working very effectively and very early too. Therapists can even work in a very realistic way of changing or diverting the mind and thoughts when you see or think about blood.
- Relaxation:
Relaxation involves breathing exercises many yoga’s which diffuses the stress and eases the symptoms faced by a person, relaxes the mind, refuses tension, and also it helps for a healthy mind.
MEDICATION:
As we have already discussed medication are not always required therapies can be a good option for symptoms that are not extreme. It can be cured with the treatments that are mentioned above. But it’s always better to consult with a doctor about symptoms and about the medications too. Every case is different, one should not take any medication without any consultation. Taking the help of a doctor is far better than taking risks in your life.
Prevention:
It can be prevented only and only when it’s not in your mind like there is nothing to fear about blood. When you get to know about your phobia you must consult with a doctor as early as possible. It can be cured so there is nothing to worry about. Sometimes even medication is also not needed it can be cured by therapies itself.
Fear is something that is inside us and we can always change the things that are within ourselves.