All About Haemophobia, the Fear of Blood, and How to Overcome it with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What is Haemophobia?

Haemophobia is the Fear of Blood and can be a cause of significant anxiety and stress if you suffer from it.

It is relatively common and may prevent you from participating in preventative medical healthcare which you may need.

There may be a number of reasons why you developed Haemophobia, for example:

• You may have witnessed a bad accident in the past.
• “Inheriting” the fear of Blood from a parent who suffered from it.
• You may have had to undergo extensive medical or surgical procedures leaving you with blood-related trauma.

However, there is no valid scientific evidence that Haemophobia is the result of any kind of biological fault or chemical imbalance in spite of the credibility that the biomedical models of mental illness are given in the medical and psychiatric literature.

On the contrary, Haemophobia is much more likely to be the result of your own, subjective evaluation (meaning-making) of what happened to you and is therefore better described as a psychosocial phenomenon.

Haemophobia Symptoms & Behaviours

All phobias, including Haemophobia, create feelings of anxiety because phobic objects or situations are always perceived as a threat.

Consequently, the symptoms of Haemophobia are both specific and generic and may include:

• Avoidance of medical tests involving the taking of blood.
• An elevated heart rate.
• A sense of dread about what might happen.
• Worrying that you might pass out.
• Feeling dizzy or disoriented.
• Heart palpitations.
• Having a dry or sticky mouth.
• Hot sweats.
• Feeling Stressed.
• Difficulty breathing easily.
• Feelings of panic.

You may have all, some or even different symptoms to these listed here and this is due to the subjective nature of Haemophobia.

However, you should also be aware that many of these somatic symptoms (symptoms felt in the body) WILL subside over time and rarely last for more than 20 to 30 minutes.

What Causes Haemophobia?

It’s possible that your Haemophobia may be the result of traumatic events or adverse situations that you experienced at some point in your life.

For example, you may have suffered a bad injury in your childhood or youth and had to have blood transfusions or you may have been witness to a particularly bloody accident.

However, because a Fear of Blood is by no means universal, the most likely explanation for your Haemophobia is the way you understood and made sense of your earlier experiences around which you have built a set of beliefs.

Counselling and Therapy for Haemophobia

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for Haemophobia the Fear of Blood.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had your phobia.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your phobia is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for Haemophobia on the following links:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Haemophobia
• Counselling for Haemophobia
• Pluralistic Therapy for the Fear of Blood

Although all forms of psychotherapy use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Furthermore, research also suggests that the therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming Haemophobia or recovering from related mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular phobia and the different types of mental health counselling we offer without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.