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Fear of Vampires – Sanguivoriphobia

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Fear of Vampires: Not a Myth to Some

Trying to escape from watching teen vampire movie marathons? What about old-time Dracula movies at 2 am? It’s not that the genre doesn’t interest you, because it does. But it’s the deep, menacing fear of blood-sucking creatures which keeps you from tuning in.

Does the mere mention of vampires send chills down your spine? Do you search for the chance to exit a conversation that has steered toward vampire movies? As crazy as it seems?

There are countless stories of this soulless creature first brought to light in 1819 by Lord Byron’s, The Vampyre. Bram Stoker later made Dracula (1897) the famous vampire it is today.

Since then, there have been hundreds of vampire books, short stories, plays, and movies produced. Society has been flooded with the vampire myth, and we all know the plot well: We should fear Nosferatu.

Does talk of vampires make your heart race and sweat form on your brow? How about realistic-looking, vampire Halloween costumes? Do you tend to walk in the opposite direction when you see something like that headed your way?

Chances are you might be suffering from sanguivoriphobia, the irrational and excessive fear of vampires.

What is it like living with the fear of vampires? How do you know if it’s an actual fear or simply disgust toward vampires? And most importantly, if you do have this phobia, how do you cope with it?

The good news is it’s possible to manage the phobia, to work on your unfounded fear, and control it. Read on. We’ll offer you information you can use to deal with sanguivoriphobia, so you can get back to living a normal life. The life of the living.

Main Points about the Phobia of Vampires

Vampires are creatures of folk tales and fantasies. These characters prey on human blood for survival and possess certain supernatural abilities.

Although vampires are mythical creatures, the fear of vampires is real. Anyone who feels distressed and anxious at the mention of vampires may have a form of sanguivoriphobia.

This phobia is really no different than the fear of the boogey man, gods, or demons. So let’s first look at the causes, then move onto potential tools to help you control the fear.

Sanguivoriphobia Causes

Sanguivoriphobia has many causes. Some develop this fear through genetics. If you have a family history of anxiety, fear, or any mental disorder, you are more likely to develop sanguivoriphobia or other phobias.

Various environmental factors can trigger an anxious response to vampires. If you’ve had a past traumatic experience that involved vampires, Dracula, or similar creatures, chances are you’ll develop a fear of them. Movies and books that portray the evils of vampires may cause children to develop sanguovoriphobia later in life.

Living with a Fear of Vampires

Sometimes, struggling with a phobia can prevent you from going about your normal routine. It can affect your work-life balance and cause distress. It can even interfere with your habits and schedule. The same is true for those struggling with sanguivoriphobia.

Living with sanguivoriphobia can affect your lifestyle. You may find yourself avoiding activities that involve talk of vampires or things related to vampires. On the off chance you do encounter the object of your fear, you may experience multiple physiological or psychological symptoms that can cause discomfort or stress, perhaps even embarrassment.

Sanguivoriphobia Symptoms

Sanguivoriphobia brings about symptoms similar to other phobias. Some of these include:

Psychological Symptoms

  • losing control over your body
  • feeling of detachment
  • lack of concentration and focus

Physical Symptoms

  • shortness of breath
  • excessive sweating and trembling
  • nausea
  • increased heart rate
  • migraine
  • panic and anxiety attacks
  • hot flashes

Self-Help – Dealing with Sanguivoriphobia on Your Own

Dealing with sanguivoriphobia involves the same kind of commitment and consistency as any other phobia. The most important first step is to recognize your phobia. Acknowledge your fear and accept it, so you can move on to learning how to better manage it.

Next, try to participate in events and conversations that may involve vampires. This will help you face your fears. The more you encounter your fears, the more your brain and body desensitizes to it. Desensitization will help you as you learn to manage the fear.

Finally, you can also practice relaxation techniques, meditation, exercise, and yoga to help reduce stress and anxiety. Connect with people who are going through the same issues. Talk to trusted friends or family about your fear.

 

Professional Help – Sanguivoriphobia Treatment

If you have a troubling phobia involving vampires, there is professional help available. There are plenty of general therapies that can help reduce anxiety and other symptoms of the phobia.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common methods:

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a useful and often-used therapy option. DBT is similar to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) but is particularly helpful for those patients who display self-harm symptoms as a result of their fears. DBT has shown positive results with people suffering from specific phobias.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

The main objective of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy is to help you manage stress, anxiety, depression, and other psychological symptoms that result from sanguivoriphobia. The therapist conducts multiple mindfulness training sessions with the client. Clients are encouraged to practice yoga and other forms of meditation in conjunction with the therapy to help reduce stress.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most common, most popular therapy option to treat mental disorder. Therapists discuss reasons and occasions that give rise to the fear of vampires. They then offer rational thought alternatives to help combat the phobia. CBT helps clients recognize patterns of their fear and then overcome it through relaxation, stress management, coping mechanisms, and more.

How to Cope with Sanguivoriphobia

When you recognize your fears and accept that you need to learn to better manage them, you are one step closer to living a better life. There are several ways you can engage in dealing with your fears.

  • Look at visuals of vampires as much as you can to progress quicker.
  • If you feel anxious while facing your fears, calm yourself through breathing exercises.
  • Make a journal of all things that make you happy. For motivation, include your journey of overcoming your fears.
  • Exercise to keep your body and mind occupied.
  • A quick and effective way to release anxiety that comes with your fears is to do activities that make you feel your best. This might include dancing, singing, cooking, and reading.
  • If you cannot cope with your phobia alone, join support groups, talk to friends and family, or seek help from a professional therapist.
  • Steer clear of caffeine-infused beverages and food items that may heighten your anxiety.

Let’s Close the Casket on Sanguivoriphobia

The next time you get goosebumps at the mention of terms like twilight, bloodsucker, or Dracula, you’ll know that it could be sanguivoriphobia.

Although rare, sanguivoriphobia exists, and it can take a toll on your mental and physical well-being. But just like every cloud has a silver lining, your problems have a solution, too.

You can comfort yourself knowing that it’s possible to fight the phobia of vampires. If you enlist the practical tools or treatments mentioned above, you’ll be on your way to better managing your fear.

If you found this article was helpful to you, pass it along to friends or family who might be struggling with the same fear.

FearAZ.com is looking for personal stories of any 'fear of' or phobia. If you have an interesting story you'd like to share, we welcome your submission. If the story fits with our content and guidelines, we'll add it to our site.
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Your Fear Goes Up and Down

Are you someone who would rather climb the stairs than take the elevator? You call it squeezing in a workout after being sedentary the whole morning. Or perhaps you claim it's a faster route. These are both typical, normal, and acceptable reasons. But what if you need to be in the conference room on the eleventh floor in five minutes, and you're wearing your business suit and wingtips? Would you still prefer to take the stairs? If your answer is yes, then maybe it's time to take a closer look at your reasons for avoiding elevators. Elevators stir all sorts of emotions in passengers. From the discomfort of closeness to strangers to the sensations in our gut, elevators can be a source of the heebie-jeebies for many, but for some, they can also be a source of terror. Let's dig a little deeper into the latter, and see what this terror is all about and what can be done to manage it. To begin with, does being inside an elevator give you chills or the sweats? Or does it trigger an unpleasant memory? Perhaps you remember movies you've watched where something terrible happens inside an elevator. From Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Final Destination 2, or the king of all elevator horror films, 2010’s Devil, the elevator becomes witness to something sinister and horrible. And you want nothing to do with any of it. You know that you're not claustrophobic. You can deal with heights just fine, too. And you know that you're not going to be trapped inside. All of these contribute to a fear of elevators—but they don't apply to you. Yet being inside one does something to you. It's hard to explain.

What is the Fear of Elevators Called?

What you have is a fear of elevators, which is called elevatophobia. It is most commonly triggered by an experience of getting stuck inside either due to a power outage or technical maintenance. Hearing about other people's experiences or watching a movie about similar circumstances can prompt a fear of elevators getting stuck with you inside. Usually, claustrophobics and agoraphobics may also develop elevatophobia because the triggers and objects of these fears are related. Claustrophobia is the fear of closed and cramped spaces, while agoraphobia is the fear of being trapped without any means of escape. Put the two together, and the elevator becomes the perfect combination of both phobias. The space is limited and closed, with only one means of entry and exit. You can add another point of access if you consider climbing the cables like they do in the movies, but that certainly isn't ideal.

Symptoms of Elevatophobia

If for some reason an elevator stops due to an outage or some technical difficulty, passengers with elevatophobia may go into full panic mode. Even if the maintenance team advises that it will just be a matter of minutes, by then, the person's mind has become irrational with the fear of the elevator falling, being stuck for hours, or other unpleasant thoughts. You would expect a person to exhibit the following physical symptoms: Additionally, you would be filled with that overwhelming anxiety where you feel that you have zero control over the situation. You start fearing the unknown and are filled with negative thoughts about death and imminent doom. You become irrational and unresponsive.

Possible Complications of Elevatophobia

When the panic sets in, the possibility of emergencies related to pre-existing conditions may make themselves known. This might include serious health crises like heart attacks or asthma attacks. When this happens, fear becomes a medical emergency. Elevator rides do not last long; it's just a matter of minutes or even less. But the fact that a person can escalate from panic to a near fatal medical situation classifies the fear of elevators as a 'hard phobia.'

Trying Some Self-Help Methods

Your fear of elevators can likely interfere with your social and work life and relationships. Not everyone understands that elevatophobia, like most phobias, can be crippling. But don't be disheartened. Depending on the level of your fear and level of control, you can gradually face and manage your phobia. Here are some recommendations you can try:
  1. Make a List of Everything that Entails Riding in an Elevator This is a systematic approach to getting over your anxiety. By following a step-by-step process, you can identify where the fear kicks in at its strongest. You can write a list of steps like pressing the topmost button and waiting to arrive on that floor, watching as the door closes and opens, being alone inside the elevator, or having delays with the doors opening. Now try doing the opposite. For example, face away from the door or occupy yourself with your phone so that you are distracted.
  2. Create Your Fear Ladder Although the name says fear of elevators, it is not the whole process that scares you. There are just phases and parts of the elevator riding experience that cause you to panic. So go back to the list you initially created and label the fear level you feel. You can do it numerically, too, like ten being 'really scary,' six, 'manageable scary,' and one, 'not scary at all.' You can put the corresponding fear levels so you can focus more time and effort into activities that are more scary to you.
  3. Face Your Fear By now, you have identified what scares you the most. You can try repetitive action to minimize your fear and increase your sense of ‘normalcy’. Remember that the longer you expose yourself to your fear, the better you get at handling your emotions. If you are feeling overwhelmed, stop. Pushing yourself too fast and too soon can backfire. Modify your pace and go slower instead.
  4. Talk About Your Fear People by nature, unfortunately, are not quick to offer understanding and support. You need to tell them what's wrong before they can empathize. Talk to someone who you trust and ask for their support, especially in the initial phase of overcoming your fear. If you are too afraid to ride the elevator alone, you can ask them to go with you, and before you realize it, you are on your floor, and there was no indication of panic.
  5. Learn To Be Patient Be patient with yourself and your predicament. This is, after all, your fight against fear. It might take hundreds of elevator ride practices before the fear gets under control. Even then, there might be some hesitations and episodes of nervousness. These are acceptable and expected, so cut yourself some slack and congratulate yourself for every progress.

Seeking Professional Help

Along with self-help, you can always enlist a medical professional's aid to support you with your elevatophobia. Talking to someone who has experience with similar cases can be comforting, because you know that you are not alone, and this situation can get better. Talk to your doctor about the severity of your fears and the symptoms that you experience. Explain how you deal with it in an attempt to control it. An exam and a health history are made to ensure that there are no unrelated or underlying problems that your symptoms might mask. Usually, phobias like this are approached with a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Your doctor will talk about these options with you, and it's entirely up to you, with your doctor's recommendation, what you want to pursue. For psychotherapy, the most common type is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to help you find different ways of behaving, thinking, and reacting when about to step inside an elevator or when already inside it. With medications, there are beta blockers and benzodiazepines, but note that these can have side effects. Whatever these side effects are, you should promptly share it with your doctor.

Simple Tips to Overcome Elevatophobia

Elevators are not perfect, but their likelihood to malfunction, fall, or get stuck is very low. If you are not fully confident with this information, you can help overcome your elevatophobia by learning common elevator safety tips and basic elevator operations. These should help curb your mild fear until you become more self-assured. In addition to that, here are some of the things that you can do to gradually overcome your fear of elevators—both in getting on and riding one.

Conclusion

Yes, elevatophobia can be a challenge in today's world, but don't allow the elevator to win. Don't let it stop you from taking a job on the top floor or attending a social gathering on the rooftop. Sure, you can take the stairs if you insist and arrive winded and sweaty, with the party about to wrap up. But is this the quality of life you seek? Elevators are designed to make life easier. There are guaranteed ways to help you overcome elevatophobia. Take the first step and seek help. Soon, you’ll see yourself breezing through the floors with those arduous stair climbs little more than a memory.
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