Pharmacophobia is the fear of medications. It can be a bad thing in certain situations where a person is afraid of certain medications or is concerned that a particular medication might be harmful.
Our own studies have shown that pharmacophobia is a real issue among the general public. I was talking with a friend about this recently and he said, “I have no fear whatsoever of drugs, but I’m very afraid of people taking them.” I’m not sure that this is a good thing. A lot of people are afraid of needles, but if they’re already afraid of needles, then taking a pill is even more worrisome.
This is actually a very common feeling among people who suffer from a drug-induced psychotic break. I know that my friend was experiencing this due to his drug of choice being a certain prescription medication. In that case, there are several things that could cause this fear. The first and most obvious is the fact that prescription medications are highly addictive. I have personally had someone close to me take a prescription medication and I could tell him that he would never be able to stop taking it.
I was also told by a friend that he had experienced a few times when the drug had gotten into his system that he had felt as if there was a part of him that was being attacked by the drug.
Although this seems to be a fear for some people, I think the cause has more to do with the fact that most people have a fear of being alone. You can’t have a conversation alone for any length of time and that fear is what is causing most people to avoid talking to people.
I know a lot of people who use drugs, because I have friends who have drug addictions. I think this is just a fact of life. One of my best friends is a drug user. He has been clean for 20 years. He has had friends who have been clean for over 10 years. He uses, but he doesn’t get high. He takes care of himself.
The thing is, pharmacophobia is not a bad thing, just a symptom of a whole other issue. People who suffer from this fear will be more than happy to hear that there are a few ways to overcome this fear. One way is to simply be more comfortable in your own skin. Another is to take care of yourself. And then there is the third way, which is to learn to love your body.
Here’s a link to a story of a patient who was treated by Dr. Phil.
It all goes back to the fact that people are afraid of their own feelings. You know when you start feeling very anxious for no reason? That could be a sign of an anxiety disorder. You might be worrying about how you look in a pair of jeans as opposed to feeling comfortable in the same pair. These feelings are a sign that you’re about to have a panic attack and that you’ll need to call somebody.
I feel like people will try to get us on fear mongering, but this is a common anxiety disorder. This is a panic attack. It happens in 1 in 10 people according to a paper written by a professor at the University of Toronto. A lot of our fears are things we can see, so it can be easy to dismiss them as “old wives” tales.