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I think I'm squeamish

Slightly strange but I want to share and see what you all think. So I've got into medical school and I do want to study medicine but something is putting me off it and that's that I might be a bit squeamish... You might say that I'm going into the wrong career but I once had a blood test and fainted. Now every time i see blood etc I feel a bit anxious and faint. What do I do? Any tips? It seems purely pyschological but I don't want this to affect my uni life doing the course.
Thank you

Reply 1

christopher23

lol, sit yourself down and watch loads of movies filled with blood and gore :smile:

get used to it i guess.

Reply 2

Hinicetomeetyou

Tonnes of medical students experience this kind of thing all of the time, seriously. My partner for one, along with many of my friends are medical students and they have all said that A LOT of people have passed out during certain aspects of the course. Do not worry, you'll get used to it.

Reply 3

christopher23

Original post by Dancatpro

Why the hell did you want to do medicine if you can't even stand a little bit of blood, why are people so stupid :facepalm:

surely that would make them very unselfish people, to put the fear of blood aside so they can help people ?

Reply 4

Dancatpro

Original post by christopher23

surely that would make them very unselfish people, to put the fear of blood aside so they can help people ?

Indeed it would, but it he/she can't handle it then it's a stupid career choice

Reply 5

ClarkyC...

Original post by Dancatpro

Indeed it would, but it he/she can't handle it then it's a stupid career choice

It's something that I have wanted to do, this slight matter has been playing on my mind. Just wanted to know if anybody else was feeling or has experienced this.

Reply 6

ClarkyC...

Original post by Dancatpro

Let me get this straight ... you want to follow a career that involves blood, gore and the insides of people yet you can't stand blood?

Clap ... clap ... clap....

I never said I can't stand it, I said it makes me feel a bit anxious sometimes. Clap clap to you too

Reply 7

*pitseleh*

It's more common than you'd think. It also seems to be quite common for people to be bothered by the sight of their own blood but not to mind other people's, though it sounds like in your case, OP, you're actually bothered by blood in general?

Most people seem to get over it by themselves the more time they spend looking at pictures (pre-clinical) or actual patients (clinical years); exposure (whether gradual or flooding) to the source of fear is one of the few proven ways in which a phobia can be treated. CBT also might help. We do full body dissection at Sheffield which (understandably) makes quite a few students feel pretty wobbly, especially the first session or two. As far as I recall, even the most squeamish people in my year felt a lot more comfortable within a few weeks, so you may well start to improve just as rapidly as you get more acquainted with the sight of blood. However, since your fear is enough to make you feel anxious and faint, and since you already know it's a problem for you, I'd suggest making an appointment with your GP now and getting on top of it now rather than later.

Hope you get it sorted soon. It really doesn't need to be a barrier - you just might need a bit of help to overcome your fear, that's all. :smile:

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 8