Odd phobia...

BizzyLizzie

I'm not sure how to describe my phobia and was just wondering if anyone had anything similar?

Basically, if I'm around something that has in the past made me feel a bit woozy or something that some people might find hard to look at (e.g. a bad injury, needles, blood) it triggers me to feel a bit faint. It's almost like a phobia of fainting. I generally can talk myself out of it and the more I'm exposed to it, the less it bothers me. My issue is that my job requires me to be around people with injuries quite a lot. If I'm looking after that person then I'm fine (if I'm the one giving the injection or something) but if I'm just observing I usually have to either walk out or I start getting cold sweats, my hearing goes, my heart starts racing and I feel nauseated.

It happened all through my training as well but if I saw something a lot it lessened. I found it in lectures also. If I found myself on the inside of a row I'd panic that I'd see something in the lecture that would make me feel faint and wouldn't be able to leave the room in time. The anticipation of fainting would be enough to make me feel faint and I've had to leave a lot of lectures.

It happens outside of work too. If i have to get a blood test I start to feel sick in the waiting room, before I've even seen the needle so it's not the sight of it that bothers me, it's the thought. I've been to give blood numerous times and each time I've ended up having to either leave or they've made me lie down for a few minutes (usually before they've even done the fingerprick test, it once happened purely from the nurse asking my medical history :pac: embarassing!!). I've never actually gotten to the stage of giving blood because I keep getting woozy and they've now told me not to bother coming back I went to get my ears pierced recently and got as far as asking about the price and then had to leave because the thought was making me woozy!

What I'm worried about is I've been off work for a while and I'm starting to get very paniced about going back as I know I'll start feeling faint again until I get used to it all once more. I don't want it to affect my job while I'm getting reacquainted with everything and i'm not entirely sure how to fix it because it doesn't seem to be a straight forward blood/injury phobia.

Has anyone heard of anything similar or have it themselves? Thanks

stop animal cruelty

lv had something simliar happen to me every year for the last 4 years

for work experience l worked in a vets practice & they got me to keep a listen to a dogs heartbeat. l was at it for a few min then all of a sudden l thought l was gonna throw up & faint. lt was so strange, l had to go outside for air, nothing like that ever happened to me before. that was about for years ago.

the following year, same thing happend, l was standing for about 10min listening to a teacher giving a speech about something, had to put my hand over my mouth thought l was gonna vomit on the girl in front of me, then my back got really hot. went to the bathroom was pale as a ghost.

was working in a dr's practice, the nurse asked me to hold a light for her while she was stitching someones ear up. l had no problem watching her stitch it up but out of the blue, my hearing started to go as did my eyesight. it was as if my brain was about to shut down! l had to sit down, the nurse told me l was about to faint. so strange cause l can stand blood & all the kind of stuff.

then l was in art class one day & we were all standing around in a circle. l wasnt paying attention at all, l was having a bad day & thinking about some **** in my life...yet again hearing & eyesight started to go. l tried to concentrate on the teacher & kinda cop myself out of it but could feel myself leening forward, l was about to drop. had to leave the room & get air, really scared me.

l think with my experince there some kind of panic attacks, lm a healthy person & have no history of fainting. no phobia of blood or anything like that. the weird thing is lv gotten this attack once a year in the last 4, am yet to get one again this year :S

BizzyLizzie

That sounds so familiar! The only difference being that I've never gotten woozy around an animal with an injury and I've seen some horrible ones. I've no problem being with my dog while the vet is giving injections or anything. If it was a person though that same needle would have me freaking out. Maybe I should retrain as a vet!?

I was in a lecture once and the lecturer said ''I've brought a few photos for you all to have a look at, nothing gruesome!'' and even though he had said they weren't gruesome I paniced and got a bit woozy because I was afraid that I'd get woozy... It's like if I think it would be embarassing to faint in a particular situation, that's when I start to feel faint. I'm considering hypnotherapy or something because it's having a big affect on my job but I don't even know how to describe it!

Maybe you should do something that you know will freak you out just to get your annual faint out of the way :P

stop animal cruelty

lv no prob been around animals either, lv grown up with them so am well use to them. You could show me almost any gruesome picture & l wouldnt care! Have no prob either getting an injection or giving blood.

It sounds as if you kinda panic aswel, like you said when the lecturer said "they weren't gruesome I paniced and got a bit woozy because I was afraid that I'd get woozy." you; "It's like if I think it would be embarassing to faint in a particular situation, that's when I start to feel faint. " you might wana do something soon, might turn into a vicious circle!

haha my annual faint! it'll prob happen when l go up for communion in mass or something & pass out in front of everyone :L

BizzyLizzie

I've tried watching youtube videos of lotsa gruesome injuries and people getting blood drawn and surgeries and 99% of the time i've no issue watching them. It's just when I start to think ''hmm, I don't feel woozy...bet I'd feel woozy if I was watching this in person though'' that I start to feel funny again. Very very odd. I think I'm gonna see what my gp says, I mentioned it before and she kinda laughed it off :-/

I hope we both get it sorted or I might see you faint at mass and then pass out in sympathy! :O

stop animal cruelty

the two "light" heads :P