Most people don’t feel particularly excited about a hospital visit.
What if I receive bad news from the doctor—about myself or a loved one?
What if I get sick from someone in the waiting room?
What if being in a hospital triggers my fear of needles, or I have to get a blood draw?
These are just a few examples of the worrisome thoughts that can be related to a fear of hospitals. However, while most people can easily overcome their fears to get the medical care they need (or visit a loved one), others experience such intense anxiety around hospitals that they avoid them entirely—which could be a sign of a phobia or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Keep reading to understand what’s at the root of your fear of hospitals—and what you can do to overcome it.
Why do I have a fear of hospitals?
Intense anxiety about hospitals usually doesn’t just occur out of nowhere. Usually, some type of incident has caused you to become frightened of medical facilities.
“It could be because you’ve been in the hospital and found it scary, or maybe you went to see someone in the hospital, and then they passed away,” says Tracie Ibrahim, LMFT, CST, Chief Compliance Officer at NOCD. “Experiences like these could understandably make you not love hospitals.”
Other reasons you might develop a fear of hospitals include the following:
- Genetics. According to research, if you have family members with certain fears or phobias, you’re more likely to develop one yourself.
- Discrimination. Research shows that marginalized communities are more likely to distrust the healthcare system, often because of discrimination they’ve experienced in the past. As a result, people with disabilities, people of color, people who identify as female, and the LGBTQIA+ community may develop a fear of hospitals.
- Negative media portrayal: While TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Doctor, and House are loved by many, their portrayals of the healthcare industry are very dramatic—highlighting extreme and unrealistic situations that don’t commonly unfold in a hospital, but still cause a lot of fear. Likewise, watching the news can also leave you with a negative impression about hospitals, since stories about medical mistakes may make you believe they’re more common than they actually are.
- Related fears of phobias. You may have other fears that contribute to the development of a fear of hospitals, such as a fear of doctors, blood, vomit, or needles.
Could my fear of the hospital be a mental health concern?
First things first: “In general, a hospital is just not a place most people want to go to,” says Ibrahim. So, a fear of hospitals is not necessarily an indication of a mental health concern.
That said, in some instances, an intense fear of going to the hospital could be tied to a mental health disorder. Below are some conditions that could explain your hospital anxiety.
Nosocomephobia (fear of hospitals)
Nosocomephobia is an intense and irrational fear of hospitals that can cause anxiety and panic attacks. It is a fairly common specific phobia, which is the term used to describe an anxiety disorder that revolves around one specific thing or situation—in this case: hospitals.
People with a phobia of hospitals may:
- Avoid hospitals entirely—even when they need medical help
- Become extremely nervous when thinking about hospitals
- Excessively worry about the chances of having to go to a hospital
- Have an anxiety or panic attack when faced with the possibility of having to go to a hospital—even if it’s to visit a loved one
- Face regret over being unable to visit a loved one in the hospital due to their fear
The mere thought of being in a hospital can cause people with nosocomephobia to experience physical symptoms—symptoms usually seen with anxiety or panic attacks. These include:
- Racing or pounding heart
- Sweating
- Chills
- Trembling
- Difficulty breathing
- Weakness or dizziness
- Numbness or tingling in your hands
- Chest pain
- Stomach pain
- Nausea
- White coat syndrome—an informal term for the phenomenon of experiencing higher blood pressure in a medical setting
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a highly treatable mental health disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are intrusive thoughts, images, urges, feelings, and/or sensations that cause fear and anxiety. Compulsions are physical or mental actions performed to relieve distress from obsessions and/or to prevent something bad from occurring.
Contamination OCD is a subtype of OCD that can cause an intense fear of hospitals. Contamination OCD involves re-occurring intrusive thoughts about becoming contaminated or contaminating others. Related compulsions include excessive cleaning or handwashing, throwing away “contaminated” clothes, or avoiding public bathrooms.
People with contamination OCD may steer clear of hospitals even when medical care is dire. “I recently had to work very hard to get a therapy member of mine to go to the hospital for a surgery that she needed when she wouldn’t even go into a doctor’s office, let alone a hospital,” Ibrahim says. “She needed surgery, but she was like, ‘What if I have to use the bathroom? I don’t want to use the bathroom there because it has all the diseases.’”
How can I tell if my fear is nosocomephobia or OCD?
Specific phobias and OCD have some similarities, but there are key differences that make these mental health disorders separate from each other.
“A specific phobia is about one particular thing,” explains Ibrahim. “While you’ll do some compulsions and obsess about [that particular thing], it’s not going to be at the level that you do when you have OCD.” On the other hand, if you have contamination OCD, your fear of being contaminated likely extends far beyond a hospital setting—maybe you’re afraid of germs and diseases lurking on public transportation, or even in your own home.
Ibrahim also explains that specific phobias never change, while OCD themes can switch over time. “If you have a phobia of heights, you’re likely not going to wake up one morning and now have a phobia of hospitals, whereas OCD can rotate and move onto fears about a bunch of other things.”
The best way to know for sure if your intense hospital anxiety is a sign of nosocomephobia or OCD is to reach out to a licensed mental health therapist who is trained to spot the differences.
How to overcome a fear of hospitals
Whether you’re experiencing nosocomephobia or OCD, getting professional help is the best way to overcome or manage your intense fear of hospitals. The preferred treatment for phobias and OCD is exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. ERP is an evidence-based treatment that is supported by decades of research and is effective for 80% of people with OCD and 80-90% of people with phobias.
The goal of ERP is to help you learn to face your fears head-on (without responding with compulsions or avoidance behaviors). ERP is done in partnership with a trained specialist and teaches you response prevention techniques. For example, “I would have a therapy member look at pictures of hospitals or look at videos of people walking around in a hospital or in a hospital bed,” says Ibrahim. “Then, I might have them pull into a parking lot of a hospital and sit there or stand at the entrance of a hospital.”
If you’re thinking, “What’s the point of sitting in the parking lot of a hospital?,” the idea is this: Exposures move at a gradual pace. As you get comfortable with those first steps, you’ll be ready to face larger fears, like actually walking into a hospital when it’s necessary.
Find the right OCD therapist for you
All our therapists are licensed and trained in exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), the gold standard treatment for OCD.
Key takeaways
- It’s not uncommon to strongly dislike or fear hospitals, given their association with sickness and death.
- Some people can get past their fear of getting medical care in a hospital or visiting loved ones; others experience severe anxiety that makes them avoid hospitals entirely.
- Nosocomephobia and contamination OCD are mental health disorders that can cause an intense fear of hospitals.
- The best treatment for overcoming or managing a fear of hospitals is exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy.
