Home→Forums→Health and Fitness→How to conquer phobias?
- This topic has 9 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years ago by Anonymous.
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October 13, 2016 at 6:10 am #117996prakashrajParticipant
Hello Everyone, Its my third post over here. The Solutions i get here are good enough that i begin to feel a little change in my life. Not quite the big sudden change, but its satisfying enough.
So i have this weird fear of blood and flesh. Whenever i look at blood, or meat in stores i begin feeling weak, numb and i become unconscious by fainting. I’m a non vegetarian and don’t feel this while eating. But when i imagine/look at blood or gore scenes in movies or real time, i begin losing my consciousness. I fainted many times while looking at meat in stores or while giving my blood for tests. I feel embarrassed by this. How do i get over this phobia?
October 13, 2016 at 6:47 am #118000AnonymousGuestDear prakashraj:
As far as fears, I take the Macro and the Micro approaches. The Macro, in your specific case would be to avoid going into a butcher shop and places where you will see flesh and blood. The Micro would be working on the space-between-the-ears, getting insight into your anxiety (I define anxiety as excess, ongoing fear) and learning skills to calm it, over time.
I re-read your previous posts. If you would like to discuss the Micro Approach (as I call it)- insight, perhaps, let me know.
anita
October 13, 2016 at 10:33 am #118021LacyParticipantI’d think you’d want to give yourself exposure to these distractors, little by little, like building resistance to it.
This one was good and thorough, though:
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/phobias-and-fears.htmOctober 14, 2016 at 8:52 am #118202prakashrajParticipantI Thank you all for your valuable suggestions. Yes, Ma’am Anita can you please give me suggestions on micro approach? I’m in terrible anxiety, depression and loneliness since a long time, maybe months or years. I don’t know for sure. But i’m looking for possible ways and i end up beating myself for not finding a cure and curse myself feeling miserable. I’m living in constant anxiety everyday. I haven’t talked to someone open heartedly since years. If there are any suggestions you would like to give to improve my communication and bonding with people around me, that would be very helpful to me.
October 14, 2016 at 9:26 am #118207AnonymousGuestDear prakashraj:
My first Micro Approach point is to Not be “beating myself…” and to NOT “curse myself”- this is very important.
If you lived (and I hope you don’t- let me know?) with a person, a parent, a roommate, a person who beat you up, literally and cursed regularly, you would be afraid to wake up and be exposed to such a person, wouldn’t you? If you were out and were going back home, you would be afraid to be beat up and cursed by that person. Correct?
When you beat yourself up and curse yourself, that scares you, so you are keeping yourself scared that way.
First Micro step is to replace self abuse with self empathy.
What do you think?
anita
October 14, 2016 at 11:33 am #118214noritParticipantHello prakashraj,
I’ve been doing exposure therapy for social phobia. From my understanding, solutions for blood phobia and social phobia are different as they provoke different physical responses, so I’m reluctant to speculate too much! But the general process I’ve gone through is – understanding what is happening to my body physically, learning techniques to control it and practising them, then slowly exposing myself to the thing that makes me anxious.
Practising the techniques for ten minutes a day, even when not feeling anxious, helps make it easier to do them when the time comes.
When it comes to facing what I’m afraid of, I’ve been taking teeny tiny steps. For example, I was nervous about buying something at the local shop, so my steps were:
Week 1/2 – standing outside the shop
Week 3/4/5 – going in and browsing
Week 6/7/8 – buying something easy such as a newspaper
and so on, all the time doing the control techniques, taking small steps forward.The fact that I know I get anxious makes me even more anxious – ‘What if I be sick? What if I pass out?’ – it’s a vicious cycle! Do you get like that too?
https://www.anxietybc.com/adults/applied-tension-technique-people-who-faint-sight-blood-or-needles
I found this an interesting read – what do you reckon?
Norit 🙂
October 19, 2016 at 3:10 am #118477ShippParticipantDear Norit,
Thank you for sharing that article!! I have a severe phobia of needles and suffer from the sudden blood pressure drop like the article mentioned. Due to medical problems, I’ve had to endure blood being drawn frequently over the last few years. Ironically, I found that if I tense my legs and right arm and hand (and don’t look at all), and focus all on my controlled breathing.. I can get through it without full blown panic attacks.
Your article helped me know that there is truth behind my method (and it’s NOT all in my head).
I’m glad to read that you are taking steps to face and be able to handle your fears. I understand the cycle that you mentioned. For me, as soon as the nurse announces that she going to draw blood, I have her talk non-stop about anything, just to distract me from my own thoughts. Have you considered listening to music while on your way to the store, as a way to redirect your thoughts and attention away from your fear?
~Shipp
October 19, 2016 at 3:18 am #118478ShippParticipantDear prakashraj,
My apologies, I only saw the post from Norit and responded. I did not mean to intrude on your posts.
Respectfully,
~Shipp
October 19, 2016 at 4:57 am #118484prakashrajParticipantDear Shipp, It’s alright. I’m glad that i’n not the only one. Sometimes i feel embarrassed by this fear. Social phobia is one of my major issue too. Years of damage and I’m trying to cure them overnight. I know it doesn’t work that way. Perhaps the first most important thing i need to learn is ‘Patience’. Thank you Anita, Lacy and Norit.
October 20, 2016 at 11:23 am #118565AnonymousGuestYou are welcome, prakashraj. Please do post again anytime.
anita -
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