Pharmacophobia (drug Phobia): Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
We all know a case of someone who does not like taking drugs. People who do not go to Paracetamol when they have a headache, who resist using antibiotics even if they have a throat infection. We also know or have heard of people who refuse to vaccinate themselves or their children (sometimes with dramatic consequences).
In almost all of these cases we are faced with a personal choice, based on the beliefs of said people. But there are people who avoid taking drugs not because of ideology, but because of the presence of a high level of anxiety and discomfort in the form of a phobia. We are talking about pharmacophobia
One of the many specific phobias that exist is known as pharmacophobia, which is characterized by the presence of an irrational and uncontrollable fear of the consumption and application of any type of drug Exposure to this stimulus entails a very high level of anxiety for the subject, generating different physiological symptoms and the need to avoid approaching both drugs and any situations in which they may appear with it. The subject himself usually recognizes that his reaction is excessive, but he needs to flee and avoid exposure or, in cases where it is essential, he will endure it with a very high level of discomfort.
Although the symptoms may vary depending on the case, it is generally common to appearance of tachycardia, hyperventilation, cold and profuse sweating, tremors and gastrointestinal discomfort which can lead to nausea and vomiting at the mere idea of seeing a drug or being prescribed medication. Fainting and even the appearance of anxiety attacks are also probable.
This phobia involves a fear of all drugs, and may result in avoidance of both oral medication and injections, vaccines or other routes of administration such as inhaled or aspirated. Likewise, when consuming a drug, the fear of it can cause the subject to induce vomiting in order to expel it. Although the fear is specific towards medication, sometimes can lead to the avoidance of contexts in which these are frequent, such as hospitals, or reducing or avoiding contact with people who need to take them, such as the elderly and chronically ill. That is why it represents an important limitation, in addition to potentially having a series of serious consequences.
A phobia with deadly potential
Most specific phobias can generate a series of variable repercussions in the life of the person who suffers from them. These consequences are based on the behaviors that the subjects carry out or the situations or stimuli that they avoid, and may limit their life to a lesser or greater extent. But generally, except for those phobias referring to especially prevalent stimuli, it is one of the types of psychological problems that generates the least interference.
In the case at hand, the consequences can be much more serious, directly affecting the health and survival of the patient and in extreme cases it could lead to disability or even death of the patient. And the fear and avoidance of drugs can have serious repercussions on patients who need them, such as coagulation problems, heart disease, respiratory problems, type 1 diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent), HIV…
This fact makes the treatment of this type of phobia essential, especially in the population with chronic diseases and/or with the potential to kill.
The causes of this phobia
The reasons that can generate this type of phobia are multiple, with no proven etiology.
A possible explanation is found in conditioning through traumatic consequences, existing the fear of feeling harm or suffering or of being intoxicated. This is linked to the experience of professional malpractice or deep pain or discomfort associated with some previous treatment in the patient’s life, which has been generalized to all stimulation linked to drugs.
Someone who has been close to choking trying to swallow a pill, or a high level of suffering/discomfort when consuming a substance or after an injection (for example, when administering chemotherapy) could develop this phobia.
How to treat pharmacophobia?
Pharmacophobia treatment is necessary and that may have some urgency, depending on the patient’s state of health. Fortunately, phobias are the group of disorders that usually have the best prognosis and greatest therapeutic success.
In order to treat pharmacophobia, as with the rest of phobias, the treatment of choice goes through exposure therapy or systematic desensitization Live exposure is especially recommended, although imaginative exposure can be used as a preliminary step.
During this therapy, A hierarchy of items will be developed between patient and professional (some examples could be seeing a pill, handling it, taking it, going to a pharmacy or hospital, seeing another person take some type of drug…), largely structuring the situation (presence or not of other people, place, number of drugs involved…) ordered according to the level of anxiety they cause the patient, to subsequently and gradually expose themselves to these situations. The subject must remain on each item until the anxiety level drops or is imperceptible on at least two consecutive attempts before being able to move on to the next.
It has also been observed effective work on cognitions and emotions linked to pharmacology investigating what a drug means for the subject and working and restructuring possible dysfunctional beliefs in this regard.
Although in the treatment of phobias medications are sometimes used to reduce the level of anxiety (such as benzodiazepines) and make a possible exposure more bearable in extreme cases, in the case in question, said treatment would be the phobic stimulus itself, something that will greatly complicate its application. Thus, the supply of tranquilizing drugs will be difficult to provide, and will not be an optimal therapeutic option, at least initially. Despite this, this could be used to condition a response contrary to that of the phobia, and could be considered as a possible element to be included in an exposure hierarchy.
The use of relaxation techniques can also be effective in reducing the discomfort and anxiety associated with this phobia, examples being diaphragmatic breathing or Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation.
