Fear of injury (traumatophobia)

En español: lee sobre este miedo en Fobias.org.

A fear of injury can show up in sport, at work, on stairs, in the kitchen or any place you could get hurt. It can make you cautious about ordinary things, and it can be helped.

Understanding this fear

Traumatophobia is a strong fear of getting hurt. Everyone takes sensible care around a sharp knife or a slippery step, but with this fear the worry about injury is so constant and so strong that ordinary activities start to feel risky. It belongs to the same family as the fears of blood and injections, and some people have more than one of these together. If you have a current injury or health worry, please get it checked by your GP first.

Some estimates suggest that blood, injection and injury fears as a group affect around three or four people in a hundred, and they often begin before the age of ten. They tend to run in families, and many people with them find the sight of blood or a wound makes them feel faint. Fear of injury can also start later in life, for example after an accident, a bad fall or a sports injury, when the fear of getting hurt again can linger long after the body has healed.

Common triggers

• Sharp knives, scissors or tools
• Stairs, ladders, ice and uneven ground
• Contact sports or fast movement
• Seeing someone else fall or get hurt
• The sight of blood, cuts or bruises
• Hospital dramas, accident footage or injury stories
• Returning to an activity where you were hurt before
• Children playing roughly or climbing

Where it shows up

• Kitchens and cooking with sharp tools
• Staircases, escalators and steep paths
• Gyms, sports pitches and swimming pools
• Workplaces with machinery or manual tasks
• Playgrounds and soft play with children
• DIY and gardening at home
• Icy or wet pavements in winter

Symptoms

In your body

• Racing heart and fast breathing
• Feeling faint or going pale at the sight of an injury
• Stiff, guarded muscles and tense posture
• Sweating and shaking
• A sick feeling in the stomach
• Dry mouth

In your mind

• Constant pictures of what could go wrong
• If I fall I will break something
• I will not cope if I see blood
• Feeling fragile or vulnerable in your own body
• Fear of hurting an old injury again
• Worry about loved ones getting hurt

What you might do

• Avoiding sport, exercise or physical tasks
• Moving stiffly or very slowly to stay safe
• Asking others to use knives or tools for you
• Checking surroundings for hazards again and again
• Keeping children away from normal play
• Avoiding hospitals or medical care

What causes it

Fear of injury often starts with an experience, such as a bad fall, a deep cut, an accident or watching someone close to you get badly hurt. It can also be learned by growing up with a parent who saw danger everywhere or reacted strongly to every scrape and bruise. Blood and injury fears run strongly in families, and some people are born with a stronger faint response to seeing wounds. After a real injury, the brain can stay on high alert long after healing, and the more you avoid movement, the weaker and less confident you may feel, which feeds the fear. Avoidance brings relief in the moment, but it teaches the mind that ordinary things are dangerous.

How it can affect your life

This fear can make everyday life feel smaller. People may give up sports, exercise or hobbies they enjoyed, which can affect fitness, mood and friendships. At work it can make physical or practical tasks stressful. Parents can find it hard to let their children play freely, and some people put off medical care because hospitals and wounds feel too much.

Things that can help day to day

• Notice the what if pictures your mind makes and ask what is most likely to happen, not just what could
• Several times a day, breathe slowly and let your shoulders and jaw soften
• Take small, sensible steps back into activities you have dropped, at a pace that feels manageable
• If you are recovering from an injury, follow your GP or physiotherapist’s advice on what is safe
• If you start to feel faint, sit or lie down straight away and tell someone nearby

When to get help

Get help if the fear is stopping you working, exercising, playing with your children or seeking medical care. If you have a current injury, pain or any health worry, please see your GP first so it can be checked properly. Your GP is also the right place to start if anxiety is getting in the way of daily life.

How I can help

Please note: If you have a current injury or health worry, please get it checked by your GP first.

Common questions

Is fear of injury the same as fear of blood?

They are closely linked and belong to the same group of fears, but they are not identical. Some people fear getting hurt, others fear seeing blood or wounds, and some have both. Knowing which it is helps shape the work.

Why am I scared of getting hurt again after an injury?

After a real injury the mind often stays on guard to protect you, even once the body has healed. Avoiding movement can then make you feel weaker and less confident, which keeps the fear going. A gradual return to activity, guided by your GP or physiotherapist, often helps.

Can fear of injury make me faint?

Some people with blood and injury fears have a reflex where blood pressure drops at the sight of a wound, which can cause fainting. If this happens to you, sit or lie down and let your GP know so they can check you over.

Is this linked to fear of blood and needles?

It can be. It sits in the same group as fear of blood, injections and injury, and some people have more than one. Each can be worked on separately.

How can you help?

I use hypnotherapy and NLP to change how your mind responds to the thing you fear, so the old alarm stops going off. Sessions are one to one over Zoom, and you get a recording of the hypnosis to listen to afterwards.

How many sessions will I need?

Many clients notice a real difference after one 90 minute session. If the fear goes back a long way, three sessions gives us room to make the change stick.

Further reading: PMC: Cognitive biases in blood-injection-injury phobia · Wikipedia: Traumatophobia · NHS: Phobias · Mind: About phobias

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