Phobias – Hello Doctor

Overcoming a Needle Phobia

September 6th, 2020 by The Hello Doctor Team

“Oh, I can’t donate blood – I am terrified of needles!” You are not alone. In fact, trypanophobia, or fear of needles is one of the top 10 most common phobias. But, sooner or later, you may end up in a situation where you really need to get an injection. Then what?

Well, the good news is that phobias can be treated. In this article, we’ll look at a one-session treatment for needle phobia.

First up: find a nurse practitioner or a medical doctor with whom you feel comfortable. All phobia treatments need a close co-operation between the patient and the health service provider. You may need to explain to her or him what is required to successfully treat a needle phobia. Most health care providers do not routinely carry out these procedures, so you can take charge of the situation and inform them of what is involved in psychological phobia treatment.

Once both of you understand what to expect, the next steps can be carried out successfully in one treatment session lasting between and one and two hours.

Before we get into the details of the procedure, it is essential that you bear in mind three things:

Although you may be afraid of needles, every person has a different underlying belief. To treat the phobia, you need to this core belief. For example, many patients have a fear of fainting in these situations, others fear the pain, and their thoughts centre on how unbearable the pain of the injections will be. Some patients describe a strong feeling of disgust when a needle, or any sharp object, penetrates the skin. Because there are different core, extreme beliefs, these need to be discussed with the health practitioner. What exactly about the needle do you fear? You may even have a very extreme belief, such as that a blood vessel, and that you won’t stop bleeding and die of blood loss. Or, that the needle that has been inserted will break, wander in the body, and when it reaches the heart you will die.
Recognize that the phobia is the bigger problem – not the needle. The phobia is preventing you from getting potentially life-changing help. You may feel extremely anxious about your phobia and that is perfectly normal. Try to accept your feelings of anxiety, by taking deep breaths and asking the health practitioner for reassurance. You don’t have to feel guilty – lots of people struggle with phobias!
Start thinking in terms of levels of distress. This means that at any time you must be able to rate how scared you feel between 0 -100. If your feeling of fear is below 30, then you have probably overcome your fear. So long as you have ratings above 30, you can talk more about your catastrophic fears and the likelihood of the fear ever happening. As you talk about it, your distress level will go down.

Step 1

Ask your service provider to check with you as you move through the five steps. She can say “Can I prick you now?” or “Are you ready to move on?” You do not want any surprises in your treatment session! Teach yourself to communicate in a verbal rather than non-verbal way by saying “Yes” or “no” clearly. Do not move to step 2 until you feel brave enough. Until then, keep talking through your extreme fears, and ask your health practitioner for reassurance. Break down your beliefs first.

Step 2

The second step is to ask your treatment provider to prick you lightly on each of your ten fingers. Note the level of distress units before you begin, and how they go down once you realize that nothing terrible has happened. If your experience is still above 30, you will need to take a break and repeat the pricks. Most people drop to below 30 after two attempts.

The most important thing to pay attention to, is that the pain is quite mild and not at all unbearable and actually only lasts for about a second, not even a minute!

Step 3

In this step you are going to experience an injection. First ask to have a piece of cello tape or a Band-Aid placed over your skin. In this way you won’t feel the needle as it lies at an angle against your body. You can also handle the syringe with the needle and “play” with it for a while. Getting used to it, can help to decrease your fears.

Once you feel ready, you can instruct your treatment partner to insert the needle and to show you exactly how deep the needle will be inserted. As the needle is being inserted, you may be surprised at your lack of extreme fear-based thinking. After all, nothing scary is happening! Remember to rate your fears before and after the procedure. You should continue until your distress rating is below 30.

Step 4

In this step you will tackle your blood being drawn. Ask see how the two ends of the needle work. The most important step is to give your permission for insertion. Once you do that, the process is so quick you probably will not realize it when it is over. If your veins are small, it may be necessary to keep trying to get access. Remember to be absolutely clear in communicating your permission to insert the needle. This simple act gives you a tremendous sense of control over what is happening.

This step ends with you giving a current rating of the your extreme fear and a discussion of any remaining beliefs that have not been dealt with. If there is any time left in the session you could continue to work with this, or it can be discussed during a future session.

Step 5

Allow yourself to forget about your needle phobia and the anxiety and guilt and shame you once experienced. How? It helps to focus on other things, focus your mind on the positives, and on the control you had in the situation. This is crucial because unless you do so, you will never really be able to shake the phobia.

Phobias take time and bravery to heal, but they can be dealt with. Just be patient, take small steps, and you could become braver than you’ve ever thought possible!

Evelyn Beneke for HelloDoctor.com

How the famous face their fears

August 8th, 2019 by Content Editor

Everyone can get scared; and we know that fear is an unavoidable human experience. Hearing footsteps inside your house when you’re the only one home, for example, is a valid reason to be terrified.

While many of your friends and family have certain phobias you may know about, your favourite stars have fears too!

Let’s see what your favourite celebs are afraid of:

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey, media executive, actress, talk show host, television producer and philanthropist has a crippling angst about people chewing gum. Her fear comes from her childhood where she would watch her grandmother stick old chewing gum in rows inside the kitchen cabinet at home. Chiclephobia, the fear of chewing gum, is a rare specific phobia that manifests in different ways. It’s also known to be a diagnosable anxiety disorder.

The resolution: Winfrey has never sought therapy for this aversion. However, she’s so turned off by gum, it’s rumoured that gum is banned from her production studio. Studio audiences at her TV show were instructed to leave their gum in their purses. If you have a similar phobia, speak to your doctor about whether you could also have chiclephobia, or whether it could be a something different, like a fear of swallowing or choking.

Richard Branson

Richard Branson founder of the Virgin Group is a business magnate, investor, author and philanthropist. He has had a lifelong dread of public speaking. Also known as glossophobia, public speaking is a very common phobia and one that is believed to affect up to 75% of the population.

The resolution: Branson forces himself to imagine he’s in his living room and taking to his friends. He spends weeks writing and rehearsing off-the-cuff speeches (like saying something without having prepared or thought about the words first). He also relies heavily on videos and questions and answers to shift attention elsewhere. Branson’s methods have been so successful that he now delivers speeches on “The Art of Public Speaking”.

Rita Ora

The British singer-songwriter and actress suffers from thanatophobia. Death anxiety is a very specific type of anxiety. The fear of death is the primary fear on which most other fears are based. Children are more likely to feel it as they don’t necessarily know what causes it, only that people simply don’t exist anymore. The idea of not existing anymore is so perplexing it can cause a lot of anxiety. Ora used to have panic attacks when she was little, and would tell her mother she doesn’t want to die.

The resolution: A person may feel extreme anxiety and fear when they consider that death is inevitable. They may also experience fear of separation, dealing with a loss and worry about leaving loved ones behind. To help combat this, Rita Ora has been to therapy and still tries to go every week.

References:

This is how your body handles fear

March 7th, 2018 by The Hello Doctor Team

Fear is an involuntarily reaction to potential threats. Think of it as your body’s way of surviving. Your brain activates certain reactions when your senses detect a threat: the reactions in your body, is what you experience as fear.

When that happens, you’re faced with two options: run for your life or fight and give it your best shot. This is a common reaction amongst mammals. It’s known as the fight or flight response. When you face your phobia of dogs, heights, lightning or dolls, a part of your brain regulates fear within the temporal lobes known as the amygdala.

Fight or flight?

When stress triggers the amygdala part of your brain, your ability to think rationally may be overridden: your body diverts all its energy to facing the threat that’s causing you to panic.

The release of hormones and neurochemicals increases your heart rate which makes you breathe much faster. Your blood pushes away from your stomach and intestines, and floods to your muscles to prepare you to fight or run. When your body goes into this mode, your heart rate and blood pressure go up. Hello adrenaline!

What does fear do?

Fear restricts the way you think as your mind is only focused on the two options. This is why you’d be less likely to be creative and have an open mind-set while you’re busy panicking.

Research suggests that fear is hardwired into the brain. Neuroscientists have found networks in your brain that work together. This begins in the limbic system (an emotional motor system responsible for the experience and expression of emotion) and runs all the way to the prefrontal cortex (responsible for complex cognitive behaviour), and back.

So, when these networks are electrically or chemically stimulated, they produce fear, even when there’s nothing that could trigger it. Feeling fear is neither a sign of weakness or abnormal. Being afraid is part of a normal brain function. In fact, a lack of fear may be a sign of serious brain damage.

Breathe it out

The worst part of fear is when your body shuts down. You may have heard this many times, but taking deep breaths during a stressful situation does work. So, learn how to breathe the right way. Mastering conscious control over your breathing is the best thing you can do for yourself. Practise deep, even, controlled breathing when you aren’t scared. Slow and even breathing helps slow down your heart rate. It can also make you feel like you’re more in control of the situation, which can help block some of the effects of stress.

According to research from the University of Minnesota fear can affect the way our brains work. The brain reacts immediately to signals from the amygdala, instead of the usual rational processing. This overactive state is sometimes referred to as ‘the amygdala hijack’: the brain perceives events as negative and remembers them that way.

Living under constant threat can affect your health too.

Fear weakens your immune system and can cause cardiovascular damage, gastrointestinal problems (ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome). It can lead to accelerated ageing and even premature death.
Constant fear and tension can damage the formation of long-term memories and wreak havoc on certain parts of the brain. This can make it even more difficult to regulate fear and can leave you anxious most of the time. With chronic fear, the world looks scary and your memories confirm that.
Fear can interrupt processes in the brain that allow us to regulate emotions, read non-verbal cues and make sense of other information, reflect before acting, and act ethically.
This affects decision-making which is likely to make you feel intense emotions and react impulsively.

We can’t get rid of fear altogether – and we shouldn’t: it’s a natural part of our body that protects us from danger. What we can do, is find ways to manage our fears, and to seek help for any irrational fears. If you have extreme fears or phobias, why not talk to one of our doctors? They’d love to help!

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5 personality quirks that are medical conditions

May 3rd, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

Do you have one of these strange personality quirks?

We all have that small tic or odd habit that makes us unique. But yours may, in fact, be a medical disorder. Read below and find out whether you check any of these boxes!

1. Paruresis

You’re standing next to another guy at the urinal, and…nothing. You start feeling self-conscious, try to relax, but still: nothing. Your bladder has stage-fright, also known as paruresis.

Paruresis is also called ‘shy bladder syndrome’, and it means that you’re not able to urinate when people are around. This has nothing to do with your urinary system. It’s social anxiety that causes your sphincter muscles to lock up when others are nearby.

Paruresis is more common in men, but can also happen in women. It can be triggered by a lack of privacy or being surrounded by people you don’t know. Anxiety, fear, or a sense of being pressured can also make it difficult to go.

2. Onychophagia

This fancy term describes good old basic nail biting. It’s one of the most common medical conditions in the world.

The medical term for nail biting is onychophagia, and is classified as an impulse control disorder. This means that those with the condition can’t control their urge to bite their nails. Onychophagia can affect anyone of any age, but most often develops during puberty.

Onychophagia can be triggered by stress, boredom, or nervousness. It can cause your fingertips to become red and sore, and your cuticles to bleed. In the long run, it can increase your risk for infection and may interfere with normal nail growth.

3. Misophonia

Loud chewing, gum snapping, pencil tapping: do these sounds drive you up the wall? Chances are you have misophonia, a strong dislike or hatred for normal, generally inoffensive sounds.

Misophonia, also known as selective sound sensitivity syndrome, usually starts between the ages of nine and 13 and is more common in girls. People with this lifelong condition have specific triggers, and are sensitive to certain sounds. When they hear these sounds, they become irritated, agitated, enraged, anxious, or panicked.

There is no known cause for misophonia. It has nothing to do with your hearing, but it could be related to how sound affects your brain and sets off automatic responses in your body.

4. Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder

Your best friend’s mother just passed away, but you can’t resist laughing at the news. No, you’re not insensitive or crazy: You have Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder (IEED).

IEED is when you have the opposite response to what is expected. People with this condition have episodes of crying, laughter, or anger that’s out of line with their present mood. For example, you may giggle during an argument or feel sad when something good happens.

IEED is caused by an injury to the neurological pathways that control your emotions. It’s common in people who have had a stroke, sustained a traumatic brain injury, or have a neurological disorder like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or dementia.

IEED is underdiagnosed and undertreated as it’s often confused with other mood disorders like depression.

5. Alexithymia

Does your partner accuse you of being distant or emotionless? Alexithymia may be the reason for your seemingly lack of feeling.

Alexithymia is the medical term for not being able to understand and express your emotions fully. Everyone has some level of alexithymia, but it can become frustrating if yours is severe. Not knowing how to verbalise your feelings may cause people to think you’re lying or hiding something.

Alexithymia is more common in men. It’s often considered a personality trait, but has also been linked to post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic childhood events like abuse.