Interested to know what causes that reaction. Not the person suffering the injury but people who see it. Doesn’t affect all people and you can get desensitised but what is it about the sight of inside stuff that makes you feel sick?
In: Biology
I think to answer this question in a way that represents all crowds is impossible, but for the most part it just stems down to instinctual reactions and developed behaviour.
At the end of the day, blood is not designed to just be leaking out of a body. As such for a lot of people it’s the idea of the process that freaks them out, not because of the intrinsic properties of blood itself. Blood in itself is also a very unique fluid, it’s thicker than water and also comes out in many hues. Knowing someone is profusely bleeding is also concerning, as frankly even adding pressure to a wound is unlikely to be enough to save them (they would need surgery). As such this whole process probably does make a majority of people discomforted by it.
When it comes to other people’s bodily fluids etc, we are already quite predisposed ourselves to be disgusted by them so it’s not a shocker that blood is another thing we’d be bothered by. Exposure to blood as a whole, whether it be an animals or in the field of medical or an injury, tends to desensitise yourself to the matter as you can rationalise it.
In short, theirs no organ or specific region of the brain that you’re born with that’s purely responsible for it – we develop it through reactionary instincts and our rationalisation of a situation. Some of us will have to try and rationalise and overcome these things to ourselves in our lives, others will choose to avoid them.
Nobody knows *for sure* but it’s assumed that in most cases it’s linked to some childhood trauma. You, or someone you know, was injured and there was some blood and everyone was panicking, and that can scar you at a young age, even if you don’t actually remember what happened.
There is also the possibility that there is an evolutionary reason. Seeing blood may tell your primate brain “whatever injured them could injure me too!” but it looks like studies suggest that childhood trauma is more likely the cause.
idl why that phobia is caused. I have it. but it only triggers me when there is a pool of blood. a little is fine. Might have stemed from anything. accidents i saw on road, my injuries, who knows. but I just know that i couldnt go on to become a doctor like i dreamt of when i was a child. so i m still soul searching for the perfect fit career despite already working
So personally I have a problem with gore in film and tv, when I think about personal experiences that had a gory outcome I get sick, when something bloody happens in real life and in real time, I am not effected at all, and will stick my fingers in an artery to stop a bleed.
My husband is really bad with blood and gore, not just in movies, but in real life as well. It makes him super queasy and weak in the knees. It’s, as is the case for most people, just other people’s blood, not his own.
I’m assuming it’s some primal thinking like “Blood’s not supposed to be outside of the body”, and it triggers some fight/flight instincts when it is, especially in large quantities.
I’m not affected by blood and gore at all. In movies I don’t care even a little bit, because it’s obviously fake, and often so exaggerated that it becomes laughable instead.
In real life, I tend to disassociate and turn into a robot when faced with traumatic experiences and just operate very methodical until the worst is over, and *then* I sometimes get lightheaded and shaky.
Interestingly, I don’t mind seeing bloody injuries, but a broken bone and a body bent the “wrong way” turns my stomach. It’s like, a compound fracture makes sense to my brain. The bones broke the skin, so obviously there’s blood now. A broken arm or leg with skin intact just makes my brain ring all the alarm bells because “Aaaaahhh, it’s not supposed to go that way!!!”
The human brain is fucking weird.
I think it’s a simple extension of the fact we’ve evolved to have empathy and to have a disgust response toward certain things. (though I’m sure social conditioning also plays a role)
Body fluids are supposed to stay inside, and when we see other people get hurt it makes (most) people uncomfortable. (I think nearly every guy can relate to that feeling you get inside when you see someone get hit in the nuts…)
Also, when injuries get bad enough, and you’re present in person, the scent can be highly triggering. Even when waste products aren’t involved, your sense of smell really makes the “oh shit, we’re made of bloody meat!” realization hit hard.
(Which is why I tend to laugh at gamers who think they’re desensitized to gore and wouldn’t mind being splattered in blood like their characters. And squeamishness aside, blood is sticky, greasy and thoroughly unpleasant to have on you.)
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