Sometimes people are frightened by absolutely harmless things - flowers or images of children, however, phenomena that potentially carry a threat in themselves: water, fire, height can act as an irritant. Fear of blood is the fourth most prevalent, and many suffer from it to one degree or another.
Fear of blood, like many other modern terms, got its name from the language of the Hellenes. In ancient Greek, heme means blood, and phobos means fear. Today, the scientific community refers to the state of panic caused by a type of blood, hemophobia or hematophobia. The first name is more common. Hemophobia has long been known and many famous people have suffered from this mental condition. For example, Emperor Nicholas II was very sensitive to the type of blood.
Nicholas II also suffered from hemophilia - blood clotting, which, most likely, led to a pronounced phobia.
However, panic at the sight of a drop of blood that comes out can occur not only in a person suffering from hemophobia. A similar reaction in the same situation will be observed in those who are afraid of medical needles and related procedures, as well as those who have fear of injury. Therefore, American psychiatrists have even combined these three phobias into one category.
Signs of hemophobia
The vast majority of people experience unpleasant emotions at the sight of blood. As a rule, this is anxiety, fear, disgust, disgust. However, the intensity of emotions directly depends on the situation - the sight of a bloody person after an accident causes much stronger feelings than a palm scratched by a cat. The situation is different with people suffering from a fear of blood. Regardless of how extensive bleeding is revealed to their eyes, they experience the same symptoms - dizziness, nausea, anxiety attack, and increased heart rate. In the most severe cases, the person may even lose consciousness. The intensity of the manifestation of a phobia does not depend on gender, age or character traits - both a fragile girl and a self-confident man can faint upon seeing a cut finger.
Unlike a person who does not suffer from hemophobia, the patient is not able in emergency situations to take control of his fear and escape or provide first aid.
Treatment for fear of blood
Throughout life, a person periodically has to deal with cuts, scratches and bleeding abrasions, so hematophobia can significantly spoil the quality of life. Today, specialists successfully help people cope with their obsessive fear, getting to the bottom of its causes (as a rule, these are some painful situations associated with the type of blood, transferred in childhood) and gradually taking the phobia under control.
