How to cure a very SEVERE Hemophobia (Fear of Blood)

[JG923]

I have suffered for as long as I can remember with a very very severe fear of blood. I have had no past traumatic experience with blood or hospitals etc.

When I say severe I mean that it wasn’t until fairly recently that I was even able to say the word. It took 25 hours of therapy to get me there. The mere thought of a blood test cripples me with overwhelming fear and panic (I have never been able to have one), I had a 4 hour panic attack the last time I had to go into a hospital, and Lord help me if I ever had to have an operation because there is no chance I would be able to. The physical symptoms of this phobia are so intense and so draining, just writing this is difficult in itself.

I have tried CBT, EMDR, Counselling, Hypnotherapy, a bit of exposure, SSRI’s, Valium, Beta Blockers but nothing has worked.

It concerns me greatly that I might not be able to help others in an emergency and, whilst I want to have children some day the thought of having to go through a pregnancy, the tests and the birth itself terrifies me beyond words, it frankly makes me feel sick and disgusted. So many people have told me that you just get on with it but a lot of people have a fear of blood. It’s not wholly irrational, but a phobia at this level is completely irrational and I cannot just get on with it. If I were pregnant and I had to have a blood test the amount of stress that would put my body under would be enormous, and ultimately I wouldn’t be able to do it.

Back to the point has anyone had this particular phobia or a phobia to a fairly extreme degree that they are now able to manage and if so, what worked?

Newborn you had just two inherent fears; loud noises and being dropped. You weren't born with this phobia but it has developed somewhere in your timeline,
probably before you had the ability to remember.

Are you afraid of your periods?

Yes and I just cannot recall anything. Makes it a very hard thing to address!

And yes good point which I meant to mention in my post. I am not afraid of my periods but any other blood is terrifying. That’s something I don’t understand either!

Actually I think blood phobia can be genetic. Evolutionary it is beneficial to flee when you see blood. Your heightened sense of fear is your minds way of protecting you. The trick is to learn to regulate that anxiety. Mindfulness helps, so does cold water swimming. It teaches your mind to calm yourself down when the Adrenalin is pumping. It’s a skill that needs lots of practice…depends how much you want to overcome it.

Remedial hypnosis (when you're awake and able to communicate) helps with all sorts of phobias because they are based in the emotional, subconscious mind. Rationally you know there's nothing to be scared of but there's a part of your mind that, at some point, developed a belief that blood has to be avoided at all costs. RH can talk directly to that part and change the behaviour.

Hi OP, your post resonated with me as I have severe emetophobia (fear of vomit) which has restricted my life in so many ways. I do think people can't possibly understand what a true phobia (as opposed to fear/scared of something) is like- the physical effects and the mental exhaustion of always being terrified is all consuming.

I just wanted to say that I was terrified of getting pregnant because of the potential for morning sickness. But I have managed to have one child (I'll never have another as it was awful) so don't feel it can't happen for you.

For me, it was exposure therapy that has brought my phobia down to a manageable level- I tried everything else too- but properly done ERP has been life changing. I don't think I'll ever be cured of it, but I manage it well.