Case Study #9: A 27-year-old, athletic young man has an intense fear of needles. He tries to rationalize his fear by explaining that he is just being cautious and protecting himself from acquired immunodeficiency disease syndrome (AIDS). He realizes that his fear is irrational but is unable to control it. The patient has fainted twice in the past when his blood was drawn during a physical examination. He becomes extremely anxious at the sight of a needle and worries for days before an appointment with his physician or dentist.
Well first off, he has an obvious phobia which he has linked other traumatizing events with. He might have started with a Generalized Anxiety Disorder which he linked his fear with similar things that bothered him before. The symptoms to this disorder is complete anxiety which the body reacts with it switching off all of a sudden, like fainting. But, it is for sure he has a panic disorder without Agoraphobia. This man also has panic disorders because he feels there is no escape when it comes to encountering the needle. This reaction could be catalyzed from an inherited vasovagal reflex. 10% of Americans suffer this phobia, which could be part acquired and, suprisingly, inherited. This is very harmful to people because this phobia causes many Americans to neglect Medi Care since they do not want the puncture.
He can start off by informing himself of others whom have this problem and educate himself on over coming his fear. He can learn the importance of needles and consult his doctor on his fear so his doctor can let him know why this is important. It is very important the doctor knows so he can better understand how to help. More doctors should learn of this fear so they can find new alternatives to helping kill this fear in its entirety. People often think that if they are with a person like this, that they should take the shot first to take the fear away. This in fact worsens it because the body sends signals to the brain, furthering the upcoming panic. The person with the fear should go first, ALWAYS. If this fear existed before the appointment, chances are they know how this looks like and they know what he/she is afraid of. The comparison of a needle vs. the actual disease helps the person understand that this needle is saving them a worse pain. In the end, taking a shot is a lot of better than taking 13 of them when you actually get sick.
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2 comments:
Wow. Good job detailing your diagnosis and treatment. You listed out all of your reasoning and even gave out some interesting facts. Very good post.
You had a very good diagnosis and interesting facts and information.
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