FEAR OF FAINTING
The fear of fainting is one of the most common fear disorders. It generally develops in people who have once fainted. For some, this will have been a very negative experience, and the sufferer fears it could repeat itself whenever they find themselves in similar circumstances. Others fear they could faint again at an unfavorable and dangerous moment – when driving, for example, or when engaging in some activity where they’re alone and nobody is there to help. Some fear the embarrassment of fainting in public.
Nor are their fears restricted merely to the results of fainting; people fear the fainting experience itself. People who have fainted in the past often store the accompanying symptoms such as feeling queasy, dizzy, out of control, or blacking out as “bad” memories – and basically live in “fear of fear”. So if they experience any of these physical symptoms out of the blue, or in connection with a “fear of fear”, they get caught in a vicious circle and find it difficult to free themselves.
In coaching sessions, we’ll develop a strategy, tailored to your specific needs, to "interrupt" the fear-driven moments – and change the direction of your thoughts. Head-on, we’ll face worst-case scenarios (because these are often responsible for triggering the worst fears) and explore the fears connected with symptoms and accompanying factors. This is not always easy, because medical conditions and physical processes can’t simply be ignored or rationalized. Nonetheless, there is almost always a path out of the fear – and I can help you find it!
