Traumatophobia

Traumatophobia, also called injury phobia, is an abnormal and pathological fear of having an injury. Under the DSM-IV classification of mental disorders it is a specific phobia of the blood, injection and injury type, and the name comes from the Greek words trauma, meaning wound or hurt, and phobos, meaning fear. People with it show irrational or excessive anxiety and a wish to avoid feared situations, sometimes to the point of avoiding potentially life-saving medical procedures. On exposure to blood, an injury or an injection they can feel extreme terror, with breathlessness, heavy sweating, a dry mouth, nausea, shaking, palpitations, difficulty speaking or thinking, fear of dying or losing control, a sense of detachment from reality, or a full anxiety attack. One study found it most common in women. Dental phobia is regarded as distinct. Available treatments are mostly behavioral and cognitive therapies, chiefly graded exposure to blood, injury and injections, and hypnotherapy is also an option.