The world of phobias always involves very specific problems that, despite affecting very few people, can become real nightmares. The case of epistaxiophobia is an example of this, since in it, what produces intense fear is something that is not usually among our usual concerns, nosebleeds or nosebleeds.
In this article we will see what is epistaxiophobia what are its symptoms and causes, and how psychologists intervene in this type of disorders through psychotherapy.
As we have seen in advance, epistaxiophobia can be summarized as an extreme fear of nosebleeds, usually their own
Of course, for it to be a true phobia, this alteration has to be intense and persistent enough to significantly damage the quality of the person who suffers from this type of experience. How is this determined? The person experiencing these fear or anxiety crises can decide whether this experience makes them unhappier or not, but ultimately it is mental health professionals who make the diagnosis.
On the other hand, in the diagnosis these types of experiences do not have an official name, since There are a practically unlimited number of phobias, and that is why many of them are included under the concept of specific phobia. This is also the case with epistaxiophobia.
Symptoms
Phobias are a class of anxiety disorders, and that is why most of the symptoms of epistaxiophobia are linked to this phenomenon. These symptoms can be divided into three types: physiological, cognitive and behavioral
Among the physiological ones, the acceleration of the respiratory rate stands out, increased blood pressure, tremors, nausea and dizziness cold sweat and paleness.
On the other hand, in cognitive symptoms there is the ideation of catastrophes (imagining the worst possible scenario), the impossibility of directing attention away from what is scary, and the belief that one is defenseless in the face of danger.
Finally, the behavioral symptoms of epistaxiophobia include flight and avoidance behaviors that is, actions aimed at avoiding the risk of nosebleeds or exposing oneself to other people.
Causes
As with all anxiety disorders of this type, epistaxiophobia does not have a single cause that is present in all patients with this phobia, but rather There are a multiplicity of factors that can lead to the development of this alteration
It is very common that it appears as a result of one or more traumatic experiences, experienced with special intensity and that have been able to leave an important mark on people’s emotional memory.
It is also possible that in a relatively large proportion of the occasions in which one has had a nosebleed, something bad has happened, which contributes to the fact that these experiences are no longer seen as something neutral beyond the inconvenience of losing blood through the nose. for a moment.
On the other hand, social pressure and possible loss of acceptance by others They can be oversized and constitute the main source of fear.
In any case, both in this and the rest of phobias, one of the aggravating factors of the anxiety crises experienced by this alteration is the anticipation that the symptoms of the phobia will manifest. That is the existence of the disorder feeds on itself creating a vicious circle capable of ensuring that no matter how many years go by, everything remains the same.
Epistaxiophobia does not have a specific treatment, but rather the same procedures used in most phobias are applied: exposure, systematic desensitization and cognitive restructuring Of course, in this case it is difficult to cause real hemorrhages, so they are simulated (or work with exposure through imagination).
The idea is to get the person used to exposing themselves to what scares them in a controlled environment, under the supervision of the therapist and following an ascending difficulty curve that prevents the patient from becoming frustrated. In this way, the person becomes more and more accustomed to facing what causes him fear, and seeing that nothing bad happens since it is a controlled situation and an acceptable level of difficulty progress is being made.
At the end of the treatment, the symptoms will have decreased significantly, and although they will probably not disappear completely, they will no longer be a significant problem that prevents leading a normal life.
