Traumatophobia

According to the DSM-IV classification of mental disorders, the injury phobia is a specific phobia of blood/injection/injury type. It is an abnormal, pathological fear of having an injury.[1]

Another name for injury phobia is traumatophobia, from Greek τραῦμα (trauma), "wound, hurt"[2] and φόβος (phobos), "fear".[3] It is associated with BII (Blood-Injury-Injection) Phobia. Sufferers exhibit irrational or excessive anxiety and a desire to avoid specific feared objects and situations, to the point of avoiding potentially life-saving medical procedures.[4] According to one study, it is most common in females.[5]

What sets injury phobia apart is that it is when a person is exposed to blood, an injury, or an injection, they begin to experience extreme sensations of terror, such as breathlessness; excessive sweating; dry mouth; feeling sick; shaking; heart palpitations; inability to speak or think clearly; fear of dying, going mad, or losing control; a sensation of detachment from reality; or a full blown anxiety attack.[6] Notably, dental phobia is distinct from traumatophobia.[7]

The treatments that are available are mostly behavioral and cognitive therapies, the most common being behavioral. One method of behavioral therapy for traumatophobia is to expose the client to the stimuli, in this case being exposure to blood, injury, and injections, and repeat the process until the client’s reactions are less and/or cured. Hypnotherapy is also an option.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Oxford Textbook of Psychopathology" by Theodore Millon, Paul H. Blaney, Roger D. Davis (1999) ISBN 0-19-510307-6, p. 82
  2. ^ τραῦμα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  3. ^ φόβος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  4. ^ Page, Andrew C; Benjamin J Tan. "Disgust and Blood-Injury-Injection Phobia". PsychNet. American Psychological Association, n.d. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  5. ^ Bienvenu, Joseph O (1998). "The Epidemiology of Blood-injection-injury Phobia". Psychological Medicine. 28 (5). Cambridge Journal 28.05 (1998): 2. Cambridge Journals Web. 16 February 2011: 1129–36. doi:10.1017/s0033291798007144. PMID 9794020. S2CID 21379517. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  6. ^ "Traumatophobia Treatments". Phobia Fear Release. Alive and Well Online, 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on June 17, 2004. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  7. ^ Kılıç, Cengiz; Ak, Sertaç; Ak, Hacer Birgül (2014). "Anxiety sensitivity: Another reason to separate dental fears from blood–injury fears?". Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 28 (2): 280–282. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.01.001. ISSN 0887-6185. PMID 24534565. S2CID 14993584.