5 Ways to Manage Your Pharmacophobia

Does the thought of taking medicine strike fear into your heart? If so, you may suffer from a rare phobia called pharmacophobia – the irrational fear of taking medication. Patients who suffer from pharmacophobia experience a broad range of symptoms when faced with the prospect of taking and managing medication, including palpitations, panic attacks, racing heart rates, trembling, nausea, and even weakness. These are all traditional anxiety symptoms that stem from an overactive “fight or flight” system in the body.

Symptoms from pharmacophobia can be severe enough that patients stop taking medications altogether, harming themselves in the process. The nature of this phobia also makes it especially difficult to treat; the idea of taking a pill is what produces the anxiety in the first place.

Here’s the good news: it is possible to overcome your pharmacophobia. Start with these strategies to build up your anxiety coping toolbox.

Define How Your Pharmacophobia Started

People who develop pharmacophobia usually develop this phobia after a negative past experience. They may have experienced a negative side effect or allergic reaction, or they may have seen a loved one become very ill or even die after taking medication. Even if the death or illness isn’t directly related to the medication, the brain can draw correlations between the two. This may cause patients to fear that they will have the same experience. Therapists often refer to this as “fearing the fear” itself.

Do you remember when you first became fearful of taking medication? If you can trace your fear back to when it may have started, you may also identify what’s causing it in the first place. Think back to negative experiences you or someone you know has had with medication. How did those experiences affect you? Remind yourself that someone else having a negative experience does not necessarily mean you will, too.

Take Your First Dose at the Pharmacy

Can’t bear the thought of taking a pill at home? Many patients with pharmacophobia fear becoming extremely ill after taking medication for the first time in a location where they cannot easily get help. Someone with an extreme phobia may feel fear even if there is a telephone present or another resident at home to monitor them. Depending on your condition, not taking the medication may not be an option.

Instead, take your first dose at the pharmacy. With medical staff on-site, it may be enough to ease your anxiety and convince you that your medication won’t harm you. If nothing else, you will at least have access to support if something goes wrong.

A note: although this strategy is technically enabling your phobia (something therapists never recommend), it does work as a temporary measure for many patients. Research tells is that people with pharmacophobia experience the most fear with the first dose. As they take their medication and witness the lack of side effects, the anxiety lessens – hopefully it lessens for you, too.

Try Talk Therapy

When you just can’t get over your phobia yourself, it’s time to seek outside help. Talk therapy, including both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), can both significantly help people who suffer from pharmacophobia. The first attempts to change how you perceive your fear, and thus, its outcome. The second approach teaches you to be mindful and stay in the moment.

Finding the right therapist is important, especially in phobias where regressions and triggers can potentially cause more harm than good if mishandled. Additionally, talk therapy works best when patients mesh well with their therapists (from both a clinical and personality perspective). Don’t be afraid to consult with several therapists until you find the right one.

Can’t see a therapist? Try DBTSelfHelp.com. This website contains a database of DBT-based exercises and information you can put to use right at home. Practical skills learned include distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and mindfulness. Best of all, it’s totally free.

Try Exposure Therapy

Still struggling despite all attempts? Exposure therapy may help to desensitize you. This form of therapy exposes you to your fear with a therapist by your side to help you work through the negative emotions you experience. Research and statistics show the highest level of efficacy in resolving extreme phobias. In some patients, it is even more effective than using sedative medications.

When therapists engage in exposure therapy, they base your progress on where you are right now. If you can’t even tolerate seeing a pill, they may start by having you hold the pill first. If your issue causes you to struggle with swallowing pills, your therapist may advise starting with sugar pills or candy instead.

Exposure therapy is often gradual, so a complete fix may not happen for months or even years. However, it is still a valuable long-term tool. Patients with phobias who undergo exposure therapy often come to resolve their fears completely and permanently.

Change Your Dosing Method

For many patients with pharmacophobia, the phobia itself is related to a specific form of dosing rather than the medication itself. Patients may struggle with swallowing pills but do fine when given intramuscular injections. Others may be fine with pills but struggle with topicals. Even the fear of choking on medication can be enough to dissuade some patients from sticking with treatment.

Exactly why phobias play out this way isn’t always clear. Unfortunately, they are inherently irrational, and thus, they aren’t easy to explain. Changing the approach to accommodate may be easier than eliminating it.

If your phobia is attached to a specific dosing method, your local compounding pharmacy may be able to help by recreating your medication from scratch in a way that’s easier and less stressful to take. This approach might see the pharmacist making pills smaller and easier to swallow, changing topicals into a patch, or combining all of your medications into a single dose to reduce triggers. Compounded medications make it easier for you to take your medication dosage in a way that work specifically for you.

Compounding is especially useful for children with pharmacophobia, who may be more willing to take a medication that tastes great over a formula that’s bitter or sour. Pharmacists can add flavoring to make the medication more palatable!

Have questions about managing your pharmacophobia? Talk to your pharmacist directly. He or she is an invaluable resource that can help you decide how you want to move forward, whether you decide to take your medication to refuse it in the end. What’s most important is that you know pharmacophobia is nothing to be ashamed of – plenty of patients struggle with it, and most eventually overcome their fears. You can, too!

And if you need more information about how Burt’s Rx can help, call us today! We offer services such as pet compounding, compounded medication for pain management, BHRT, and dental compounding.