Coping With The Fear Of Blood

A fear of blood, also called hemophobia in severe cases, can cause distress and irrational fear in various areas of life, including at the doctor, when getting injured, or in the face of someone else's injury. This specific phobia can lead to avoidance of necessary procedures or support. If you believe you might have hemophobia, it can be beneficial to understand how to best cope with this concern and find support if needed. 

What is the fear of blood?

Many people come across blood throughout their days. For example, someone might get a bloody nose in public or a paper cut during a shift at work. If you have children of your own, they may skin their knees or get a cut on their body that can bleed. If you respond to seeing blood with severe anxiety, avoidance, and panic, you might be living with hemophobia. 

Severe cases of hemophobia can cause physical reactions not seen with other phobias. For example, someone afraid of blood may faint at the sight of it, known as vasovagal syncope. In addition, individuals with hemophobia are more likely to have trypanophobia (a fear of needles) or traumatophobia (a fear of physical injuries). Hemophobia, trypanophobia, and traumatophobia all fall under the umbrella of "blood-injection-injury phobias."

Why do I feel sick when I see blood?

Feeling sick when you see blood may occur for a number of reasons, including hemophobia or vasovagal syncope. Hemophobia may cause a person to experience nausea, lightheadedness, or intense sweating when they encounter a situation involving blood, like injuries or medical procedures. In some cases, seeing fake blood or bloody images may increase blood pressure or make an individual with hemophobia feel nauseous.

Vasovagal syncope, on the other hand, is a condition that occurs when a person encounters certain triggering events, which may include the sight of blood. Like hemophobia, this condition can lead someone to feel sick or get a “rushing blood feeling”, often causing a person to faint as a result. The reason for vasovagal syncope can cause fainting is due to the physical reaction one can have as a result of triggering or traumatic events, specifically a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure. 

Causes of hemophobia

The cause of hemophobia is not entirely understood, but people with a family history of anxiety or phobias may be more likely also to develop a phobia. Traumatic or stressful events can also cause phobias. For example, someone with hemophobia may have witnessed or experienced an injury or traumatic medical procedure resulting in an excess of blood. 

What incites hemophobia? 

Bleeding can be scary because it signifies something is wrong with the body. When people fear they're sick or have chronic hypochondriasis (the fear of becoming sick) or nosophobia (the fear of developing a specific disease), this fear can affect the entire body. When you're afraid of contracting a particular ailment, that fear can lead to a fear of germs (mysophobia) or death (thanatophobia).

Seeing needles can incite someone's hemophobia because they fear watching the blood go into the syringe. Several other causes can exacerbate a person's hemophobia, like Halloween decorations depicting blood or gory images on television or movies. What causes phobia symptoms can differ for each person with this phobia. For example, one person might fear all blood, whereas another might fear blood in a specific scenario, such as a medical appointment. 

Symptoms of hemophobia

A person who has hemophobia may prefer to live a sedentary lifestyle. They may avoid activities like exercise or sports for fear of injury, which might lead to bleeding. They may worry that losing blood could land them in the doctor's office or a hospital, where they might see even more blood. Thus, this fear of blood can significantly limit one's enjoyment of life.

Treating hemophobia

One treatment for hemophobia is to increase the person's blood pressure to decrease the chance that their blood pressure may drop at the sight of blood, causing them to faint.

In addition, the applied tension method may offer more relief for hemophobia compared to relaxation techniques, which are effective with those experiencing other phobias. Hemophobia can differ from other phobias, as the top priority is preventing the person from fainting. Tightening your muscle groups is one way to raise blood pressure. It works well in situations where a person is at risk of fainting, such as when receiving an injection or getting blood drawn at a doctor's office.

Is hemophobia serious?

Like any phobia, hemophobia can be a serious condition that may affect an individual’s ability to function. For example, those with hemophobia may avoid seeking treatment for injuries involving blood or illnesses if they believe there is a possibility of exposure to blood. Depending on the severity of their condition, those with hemophobia may also experience feelings of anxiety or panic when blood is mentioned or when they believe they may see blood in the future. In some cases, a person may react to fictional depictions of blood, like those often seen in horror movies. 

Other common phobias

While specific phobias may not be popular in the traditional sense, there may be some that can be more common than others. These may include the following. 

• Arachnophobia: the fear of spiders

• Claustrophobia: The fear of tight or enclosed spaces

• Aerophobia: The fear of flying

• Ophidiophobia: The fear of snakes

• Agoraphobia: The fear of entering open or crowded places or of leaving one’s home

Professional support options 

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be beneficial in reducing the symptoms of phobias, such as the fear of blood, and avoiding maladaptive thought patterns. However, some specific phobias can make it challenging to attend in-person therapy and mental health support. In these cases, clients can find CBT online through a platform like BetterHelp. 

With an online therapy platform, clients can choose between phone, video, or chat sessions, giving them control over how they receive support. In addition, some platforms offer the option of 24/7 messaging with your therapist, which can allow you to reach out to them if you encounter your phobia during your daily schedule. 

CBT is considered afront-line treatment for anxiety, and research shows that online CBT (iCBT) can treat anxiety disorders as effectively as in-person therapy. Online CBT can be as effective as face-to-face therapy for anxiety disorders, including phobias, and cost-effective and successful, with treatment effects maintained at one-year follow-up.