Customer Reviews

Overcoming Medical Phobias: How to Conquer Fear of Blood, Needles, Doctors, and Dentists

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To put the review in context, a bit of background might be helpful: I'm a 35 year old man who's been deathly afraid of having my blood drawn for as long as I can remember. My phobia had become so bad that for some years now, I'd been skipping the blood work portion of my yearly medical checkups (which is probably the most important part). Every time I needed to go to get my blood drawn, I'd come up with an excuse and not go. I also used to feel intense discomfort and anxiety whenever I saw a needle in someone's arm on TV or in a movie (whether it was real or a special effect); if I could (i.e. If I was at home), I'd curl up into the fetal position (and if I couldn't, I'd cover or close my eyes and want to curl up into the fetal position).

Wanting to overcome my fear, I bought this book. At first I wasn't thrilled with the idea of exposure therapy (and thought "so you mean the way to get over my fear is to look at and otherwise expose myself to the thing/situation I'm afraid of?"). However, since the book states that despite the fact that you'll initially feel uncomfortable, little by little, the discomfort will go away, I decided to push myself and give it a try.

I've been subjecting myself to as intense an exposure regimen as I could take for about a month and a half now (going from short, 5 minute exposures to diagrams and photographs on images.google.com 2 - 4 days per week to longer exposures to photographs and YouTube videos for 15 minutes 4 - 6 days per week)... And today, I graduated. My goal was to be able to go to the lab, sit down in "the chair" without any fuss, stick my arm out and get my blood drawn (without fainting or having to have my blood drawn lying down for fear of fainting). And that's exactly what I did.

Having my blood drawn is still not my favorite thing and I didn't look at the needle in my arm today but if I had to do it again next week, I could.

In short, if you have a medical phobia that you want to overcome, this approach works (and if you have a history of fainting, the skills you learn in the chapter about preventing fainting will do just that).

Maybe this book will be of use to certain types of people with certain phobias...but reading it scared the daylights out of me and was a total disaster.

I wasn't surprised that they recommended a graduated approach of exposure to your phobia. So, for example, if you're afraid of needles, you might be told to look at increasingly more graphic images/videos of needles, preferably pre-screened by a friend or therapist. So far, I get it.

But they don't stop there. Ultimately they work up to recommending things like getting a physical exam each day for several days in a row if you're afraid of doctors (hey, not only is that terrifying...it's expensive!); or, if just afraid of needles, getting vaccinations that you mightn't ordinarily get (like for hepatitis) or getting a batch of blood test requisitions from your doc and then getting a blood test a day for several days in a row. A long, slow blood test, while you watch, without using any special coping strategies you may be used to using (like lying down or listening to music).

Oh and here's an image for you: "...let's suppose you conquered your fear of needles but later find yourself having blood drawn by an inexperienced lab technician who has to make five attempts to get the needle into your vein, causing a lot of distress and pain. Your fear of needles may be rekindled...it's essential that you make every attempt to get back into the situation as soon as possible."

This book is about exposure, exposure, exposure. Now, as I understand things, another approach to anxiety reduction (either separately or in conjunction with exposure) involves relaxation techniques. This book is quite honest in saying that it doesn't cover relaxation techniques, and it refers you to some other book if you'd like to learn more about relaxation.

If you think that this exposure approach might work for you, then go ahead and buy this book. But, personally speaking, I was shaking as I read this book; couldn't fall asleep till 4:30 AM even after popping a xanax; and my heart is pounding even as I write this review. Oh great, now I have a new kind of phobia--reading about phobia treatments.

After being brutally operated on without anesthetic in a third-world hospital as a teenager, I developed a phobia of medical procedures. Later as an adult I started passing out when given needles, which is both distressing and embarrassing. Even though I've since fixed my phobia, as a recovered medical procedures phobic and a psychologist specializing in the area of anxiety and phobias, I can say that this book is a must read on the topic. It's written in simple terms, is very easy to understand and is based on the latest scientific research. Added to this the author, Martin Antony, is a leading world expert in the area of anxiety.

Anthony Gunn, author of the books:

Fear Is Power: Turn Your Fears Into Success

Fix Your Phobia in 90 Minutes

Walking Tall: Overcoming Life's Little Challenges

This is a highly informative and very readable book on phobias. I recommend it to anyone

interested in well-written medical books. Excellent!

Purchased this book to help a patient understand her previously undiagnosed medical phobia. She felt it to be extremely helpful; explaining the disorder,

the nature of fainting, the course of treatment. She has used it along with our work together to begin to master her fears.

If you are suffering from a general fear about going to the doctor or dentist, getting vaccinated or giving yourself insulin injections (for example), or can't stand the sight of blood....then this book can be quite helpful to you. This book is for general fears only, so if you have more specific fears, you may find this book to be a total waste of time and money. I certainly did.

I personally was quite disappointed and felt misled by this book. First of all, the authors claim that their technique(s) can help with fears of medical procedures. When I read the book, the "medical procedures" they talked about didn't seem to amount to more than just a blood pressure check, etc. If you are facing surgery, especially major surgery, this book is not at all helpful to you. The authors don't even elaborate on this level of procedure.

The book puts a lot of emphasis on your "exposure" to the source of your fear to help you deal with it. However, some of the suggestions the authors gave on ways to gain exposure were really unrealistic or, as I put it, downright crazy.

First of all, to gain exposure regarding visiting a doctor, one suggestion given by the authors was to "schedule physicals with a number of different doctors" (p.83). An example provided by the authors has one lady getting physical exams 6 times in a two week period--all between different doctors! (p. 95).

Who the heck has the kind of resources to do this, let alone the necessary insurance coverage?

Another suggestion by the authors regarding exposure to injections (needle fears) has me questioning their sanity. In one part of their book, on page 67, the authors describe "good injection scenes" in movies they suggest to rent--one of which is "DEAD MAN WALKING!" (A film about the death penality).

Not only do I find these authors' suggestions grossly unrealistic, some of their suggestions are just plain absurd. If you still feel like you need to check out this book, please check the local library first.

I bought this book for my daughter who has been diagnosed with severe medical anxiety by a therapist. My daugheter read the book giving it a great review and stated that it follows the same information given to her by her therapist. Worth exploring.

While some folk dutifully see the doc and dentist while needed, others find their phobias of medical professionals so strong that they can't even make a preventative visit nor take common medical tests. This audience would do well to look at the self-help guide OVERCOMING MEDICAL PHOBIAS: HOW TO CONQUER FEAR OF BLOOD, NEEDLES, DOCTORS & DENTISTS. From the roots of fears and how to address underlying issues of such phobias to strategies for preventing fainting, stress and avoidance, this doesn't just admonish - it offers a step-by-step 'can do' program for overcoming phobias. A top pick.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor

California Bookwatch