{"id":338,"date":"2020-10-31T15:44:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-31T15:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/?p=338"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:41:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T00:41:00","slug":"overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming My Fear of Blood as a Med Student"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">In This Article<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#How_My_Fear_of_Blood_Started\" >How My Fear of Blood Started<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#How_I_Overcame_My_Fear\" >How I Overcame My Fear<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#You_may_be_asking_%E2%80%9CSo_if_youre_afraid_of_blood_why_did_you_choose_medicine%E2%80%9D\" >You may be asking, &#8220;So if you&#8217;re afraid of blood, why did you choose medicine?&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#What_is_blood-injury_phobia\" >What is blood-injury phobia?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#How_will_you_overcome_your_fear\" >How will you overcome your fear?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#1_Take_action\" >1. Take action.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#2_Figure_out_the_root_of_your_fears\" >2. Figure out the root of your fears.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#3_Motivate_yourself_think_positively\" >3. Motivate yourself, think positively!<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#4_Distract_yourself_with_something_positive_Chocolate_anyone\" >4. Distract yourself with something positive. (Chocolate, anyone?)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#5_Take_a_deep_breath\" >5. Take a deep breath!<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#Key_Takeaways\" >Key Takeaways<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\/#About_the_Author\" >About the Author<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Have you ever considered giving up something you love just because of <strong>fear<\/strong>? What would you do if you had an obstacle on your path? Would you do anything to overcome hardships, or would you give up? For me, giving up was not an option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_My_Fear_of_Blood_Started\"><\/span>How My Fear of Blood Started<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I really didn\u2019t expect to feel&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/learn\/Dizziness_and_vertigo:_Clinical\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dizzy<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong>at the sight of <strong>blood <\/strong>before I got into medicine. As a kid, I had never felt such a thing, except one time. I kind of <strong>fainted <\/strong>when I saw my own blood. The blood was running over my elbows; as I looked and tried to stop the bleeding, everything around me began to spin. But that\u2019s it. I took a deep breath and moved on. &nbsp;Convincing myself that I\u2019m not afraid of blood, I chose to study medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my second semester of medical school, something happened. We were in the physiology classroom, and our assignment was to calculate each others\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/learn\/Coagulation_(secondary_hemostasis)\"><strong>bleeding time<\/strong><\/a> with the <strong>Duke Method<\/strong>. We had to prick each other&#8217;s fingertips and then wipe the blood every 30 seconds. As my friend pricked my finger with a <strong>lancet<\/strong>, everything seemed okay. But then I tried to squeeze my finger to get the blood flowing, and boom! It was happening again. The world was spinning around me again. I broke into a cold sweat. Everything began to go dark.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_I_Overcame_My_Fear\"><\/span>How I Overcame My Fear<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After this incident, I really thought: How can I be a good doctor with this fear? Am I never going to be a good physician? The thoughts flooded my consciousness. And once I gave in to my <strong>fear of blood<\/strong>, nothing was the same again. My fear became worse and worse. I couldn\u2019t see patients, because even with the smallest sight of blood, I thought I was going to faint. Thinking like this made my fear grow like a rolling snowball inside of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"You_may_be_asking_%E2%80%9CSo_if_youre_afraid_of_blood_why_did_you_choose_medicine%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>You may be asking, &#8220;So if you&#8217;re afraid of blood, why did you choose medicine?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I kept asking myself the same question over and over again. But asking doesn\u2019t help anything, so I chose to seek help from one of my teachers, who&#8217;s a psychologist. She told me that many people experience a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/learn\/Phobias\"><strong>fear of blood<\/strong><\/a>. A student of hers was in the same position as me and sat on the same sofa before. She has graduated and is now a full-time doctor. The trick was, she explained, to get more accustomed to the sight of blood and drive the fear away (also known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/a-quick-mental-health-treatment-guide-for-clinicians-classic-behavioral-psychotherapies\"><strong>exposure therapy<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/plans\/md\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/hm-healthdigital-multisite.go-vip.net\/osmosisblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/health-sci-mo-ad.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/health-sci-mo-ad.png 700w, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/health-sci-mo-ad.png?resize=300,107 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it really does. During my summer internship in Hannover, Germany, I was responsible for <strong>drawing blood<\/strong> from patients, which I did tirelessly and happily. As I became more accustomed to the process, my fear began to fade away. I still am not at a place where I can say, \u2018I have no fear, or my blood pressure won\u2019t drop,\u2019 but I now know that I can overcome my fear and am constantly improving myself to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another tactic that I\u2019m willing to try is a psychological trick, which uses your favorite things to distract you from your fear. For example: You can eat <strong>chocolate <\/strong>every time you fear something. Your mind is then going to pair the incident and chocolate. You will actually be conditioned \u2018not to fear\u2019 because you do something you love at the same time. Which is eating chocolate, by the way. You may also want to check out&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplypsychology.org\/little-albert.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;The Little Albert Experiment,&#8221;<\/a> if you find this interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplypsychology.org\/little-albert.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"701\" height=\"468\" src=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/taking-patient-blood.png\" alt=\"A medical resident taking patient's blood.\" class=\"wp-image-339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/taking-patient-blood.png 701w, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/taking-patient-blood.png?resize=300,200 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 701px) 100vw, 701px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_blood-injury_phobia\"><\/span>What is blood-injury phobia?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why 15% of us experience a drop in our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/learn\/Blood_Pressure\">blood pressure<\/a><\/strong> when we see blood isn\u2019t yet fully understood. But there is one theory: to some psychologists, a <strong>blood-injury&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/learn\/Phobias\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>phobia<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;is an evolutionary mechanism.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe idea is that back in time when someone was coming at someone else with a sharp stick or rock, a kind of genetic variation allowed certain people to <strong>faint <\/strong>in response,\u201d explains Tyler C. Ralston, PsyD, a clinical psychologist, who treats people with <strong>blood-injury phobias<\/strong>. Soldiers who saw blood during war fainted and went unheeded. The blood pressure drop was also helpful in wounded people so that they didn\u2019t bleed to death. Survivors then passed on the \u2018fainting\u2019\u2019 gene. How cool, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"997\" height=\"660\" src=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/How-will-you-overcome-your-fear.png\" alt=\"How will you overcome your fear?\n\n1. Take action.\n\nYour fears won\u2019t go away unless you start doing something about them. Fears paralyze us and make us unable to take action. Remember, baby steps are better than no steps. Start small.\n\n2. Figure out the root of your fears.\n\nThink like a scientist: draw a diagram to help yourself understand.\n\n3. Motivate yourself, think positively!\n\nNothing good comes from thinking negatively. Every time you have a negative thought or get stuck on your fear, visualize the positive outcome. Think of how your life will be once you overcome your fear.\n\n4. Distract yourself with something positive. (Chocolate, anyone?)\n\nDon\u2019t just distract yourself. Acknowledge your fear first. Then, whenever you start fearing again, do something you love. Play with your dog, eat a chocolate (Yay!). This will have a positive effect on your fear and condition your conscious to let go of that fear.\n\n5. Take a deep breath!\n\nThis helps almost every time. Breathe deeply into your belly and slowly exhale. Repeat this 10 times.\" class=\"wp-image-9656\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/How-will-you-overcome-your-fear.png 997w, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/How-will-you-overcome-your-fear.png?resize=300,199 300w, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/How-will-you-overcome-your-fear.png?resize=768,508 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 997px) 100vw, 997px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_will_you_overcome_your_fear\"><\/span>How will you overcome your fear?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Take_action\"><\/span>1. Take action.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your fears won\u2019t go away unless you start doing something about them. Fears paralyze us and make us unable to take action. Remember, baby steps are better than no steps. Start small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Figure_out_the_root_of_your_fears\"><\/span>2. Figure out the root of your fears.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Think like a scientist: draw a diagram to help yourself understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Motivate_yourself_think_positively\"><\/span>3. Motivate yourself, think positively!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nothing good comes from thinking negatively. Every time you have a negative thought or get stuck on your fear, visualize the positive outcome. Think of how your life will be once you overcome your fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Distract_yourself_with_something_positive_Chocolate_anyone\"><\/span>4. Distract yourself with something positive. (Chocolate, anyone?)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t just distract yourself. Acknowledge your fear first. Then, whenever you start fearing again, do something you love. Play with your dog, eat a chocolate (Yay!). This will have a positive effect on your fear and condition your conscious to let go of that fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Take_a_deep_breath\"><\/span>5. Take a deep breath!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This helps almost every time. Breathe deeply into your belly and slowly exhale. Repeat this 10 times.&nbsp;Just follow along with Mo&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"263\" height=\"263\" src=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/BoxBreath_2025_Mo.gif?w=263\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8237\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Takeaways\"><\/span>Key Takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Small, consistent steps lead to overcoming fear over time.<\/strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/istanbultip.istanbul.edu.tr\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fear of blood is common and can be managed with gradual exposure.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Positive conditioning, like pairing fear with enjoyable activities, helps reduce anxiety.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Deep breathing techniques aid in calming physiological responses.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Understanding phobia origins can empower coping strategies.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"About_the_Author\"><\/span>About the Author<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Aylin Canik<\/strong>&nbsp;is a fourth-year medical student at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/istanbultip.istanbul.edu.tr\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine<\/a>&nbsp;in Turkey and an OMEF. She was born in Hannover, Germany, and plans to make medical education better for everybody. During her free time, she enjoys drawing medical illustrations and playing the piano. Also wants to travel the world, starting with Lapland and seeing the Northern Lights!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/clinical-sciences\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/hm-healthdigital-multisite.go-vip.net\/osmosisblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/Blog_Display_Ads_MD3_2023.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/Blog_Display_Ads_MD3_2023.png 700w, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/Blog_Display_Ads_MD3_2023.png?resize=300,107 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\"><em><em>Try <strong>Osmosis from Elsevier<\/strong> today! Access your&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/login?type=create\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em><strong>free&nbsp;trial<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em>&nbsp;and discover why millions of <strong>clinicians and caregivers<\/strong> love <strong>learning by Osmosis<\/strong>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine aspiring to become a doctor, only to realize that the very sight of blood sends you into a panic. This was fourth-year Aylin Canik&#8217;s reality; a future physician paralyzed by hemophobia. Find out how she overcame her fears.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,14,22,35,16,37,46],"tags":[176,182,183,178,181,84,180,177,165,184,179],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medicine","category-dental","category-health-and-wellness","category-osmosis-health-leadership-initiative-ohli","category-do","category-pa","category-student-stories","tag-anxiety","tag-blood-phobia","tag-coping-mechanisms","tag-fear-management","tag-healthcare","tag-medical-education","tag-personal-development","tag-psychology-tips","tag-resilience","tag-self-improvement","tag-student-life"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Overcoming My Fear of Blood as a Med Student - Osmosis Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/overcoming-my-fear-of-blood-as-a-med-student\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Overcoming My Fear of Blood as a Med Student - Osmosis Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Imagine aspiring to become a doctor, only to realize that the very sight of blood sends you into a panic. This was fourth-year Aylin Canik&#039;s reality; a future physician paralyzed by hemophobia. 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Her journey highlights the importance of listening to patients and empathizing with them while they're dealing with the effects of chronic illness.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Equity, Diversity, Inclusion &amp; Belonging&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Equity, Diversity, Inclusion &amp; Belonging","link":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/category\/equity-diversity-and-inclusion"},"img":{"alt_text":"What It's Like to Live with a Rare Autonomic Disorder.png","src":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/What-Its-Like-to-Live-with-a-Rare-Autonomic-Disorder.png.png","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/What-Its-Like-to-Live-with-a-Rare-Autonomic-Disorder.png.png 1x, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/What-Its-Like-to-Live-with-a-Rare-Autonomic-Disorder.png.png 1.5x, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/What-Its-Like-to-Live-with-a-Rare-Autonomic-Disorder.png.png 2x, https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/What-Its-Like-to-Live-with-a-Rare-Autonomic-Disorder.png.png 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9658,"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions\/9658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.osmosis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}