Pharmacophobia

There is a significant percentage of people who do not like doctors’ prescriptions after they have been diagnosed with a disease. For many, getting diagnosed with any illness and then receiving prescriptions for the same can be both scary and overwhelming. The fear of medicines despite being concerned about your health is real, called pharmacophobia. 

A study conducted in 2020 showed that approximately 21% of the people in the study have accepted having a fear of medicines. This post will discuss pharmacophobia, its causes, and ways to manage the same. 

What is Pharmacophobia?

Pharmacophobia is the fear of medical treatments, medicines, or even medical care. People with pharmacophobia often become visibly upset and scared every time they are near medicines, including advertisements for pills or by looking at medicine cabinets. People who have a chronic illness and pharmacophobia often experience a series of panic attacks at the thought of consuming medicines regularly. There are several instances where the anxiety has become so severe that they even get hospitalised.

Causes of pharmacophobia

A majority of people who have pharmacophobia have a past where they have been victims of medical negligence. In addition, several medical accidents, including choking on pills, allergic reactions to several pills, or even watching someone suffer from the above, can result in a phobia of medicines and medical care. Despite receiving reassurance from doctors repeatedly, trusting medications can be difficult for people suffering from pharmacophobia. With time, it becomes difficult for people to trust prescriptions even if renowned doctors and surgeons write them. 

Nocebo effect

Compared to the placebo effect, the nocebo effect happens in the opposite way in people who have pharmacophobia. Even after repeated weighing of the positive benefits of a drug by a doctor, people can experience adverse effects due to their negative thoughts. These negative impacts can sometimes cause several negative symptoms. With unnecessary and extra consciousness, your body will be more aware of the changes that might occur after the consumption of the medicines. 

Ways to manage pharmacophobia

Since one cannot consume medicines to manage or cure pharmacophobia, there are no treatments that involve medicines in decreasing the level of severity of the phobia. Instead, people can register themselves for talk therapy, exposure therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, and even meditation to control their symptoms. To avoid panic attacks that are caused due to the extreme fear of medicines, meditation does have a positive influence.

Treatment for pharmacophobia

Exposure therapy is one of the most popular behavioural therapy that is used to treat several psychological disorders and phobias. In most cases, the symptoms increase, causing severe uncomfortableness in people. But the main aim behind exposure therapy is to show the benefits of medicines and help the mind register why it is used worldwide by doctors. The timeframe of exposure therapy depends on the severity of the phobia. 

Since it is called the fear of medicines, treatment, and medical care, the problem is already identified by people who are well aware of it. Thus therapists work on ways following which they will ultimately become warm toward medicine, respond positively, and try to put their absurd worries away with time. Patients work on different coping mechanisms, indulge in positive thinking around medicines, and even start trusting medical treatment again. 

For people suffering from pharmacophobia, meditation can be extremely helpful along with the other behavioural therapies to reduce anxiety with time. Mindfulness and meditation can help people shift their anxiety from the fear of medicine, medical care, and treatment and break the emotional relationship with the same. Breathing exercises, emptying the thoughts, and redirection of energy are some of the most helpful meditation and mindfulness techniques that can reduce fear and anxiety.

Conclusion

Pharmacophobia is the fear of medicines, medical care, and treatment. A study conducted in 2020 has shown that 21% of the study group have admitted to having pharmacophobia. It can be caused due to a history of medical negligence, medical accidents, or even by seeing someone else become a victim of medical negligence or accidents. There are several ways to manage the fear of medicines and bring back the trust that people have in medicines. They include exposure therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, and even meditation. All these therapies bring back the trust, redirect the anxiety, and break the emotional connection that people build with medicines. With time and therapies, people can begin to trust medicines again and the severity of their panic attacks is also reduced.