@akouio's post on Artfol
Needing advice for coping with a phobia of needles.
For the majority of my life I have had an intense phobia of needles (shots, blood tests, etc).
The issue is that I need to get a COVID vaccine sometime soon, and I’m not sure what I can do to cope with my phobia. Does anyone know what I can do to cope with this phobia?May 19, 2021
For the majority of my life I have had an intense phobia of needles (shots, blood tests, etc).
The issue is that I need to get a COVID vaccine sometime soon, and I’m not sure what I can do to cope with my phobia. Does anyone know what I can do to cope with this phobia?May 19, 2021
#advice
#question
Comments
I don’t have a fear of needles, but when I was younger I would cry every time I got a shot. Bring your headphones, play some music and relax your arm muscles. It helps with the pain :)
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•OH I FELT THIS i went baby coward mode for the first one but the second one i took it amazingly and as stupid as it sounds?? literally just looking the other way works and i'm mad something so simple works that well!! i also told the person giving it to me to not tell me when it's coming which helped a bit and idk if it's just me but striking a conversation helped relax me a lot but ur mileage may vary as the first dose giver didn't want anything to do with me
the shots themselves just felt like a semi rough finger poke which honestly shocked me lmfao and even if ur Terrified come the day remembering the benefits of what ur doing gave me a little shot of courage (i get to stop wearing my mask on friday and if i knew that in april i'd be like YEAH LETS GO SHARP OBJECT TIME) but you got this!! if i could do it and once i stalled out a doctor for an hour u can do it!!
the shots themselves just felt like a semi rough finger poke which honestly shocked me lmfao and even if ur Terrified come the day remembering the benefits of what ur doing gave me a little shot of courage (i get to stop wearing my mask on friday and if i knew that in april i'd be like YEAH LETS GO SHARP OBJECT TIME) but you got this!! if i could do it and once i stalled out a doctor for an hour u can do it!!
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•You can tell the nurse/person you have a fear of needles, and ask if they can distract you while another gives you the shot. I do this for blood tests!
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•Well, often our minds & negative feelings/past memories towards things can make any/all of us hesitant to do stuff, even if it’s for the greater good! Perhaps, if you’re able to get yourself thinking in, at least a slightly, more positive manner about needles for just long enough, you can get the vaccine without as many issues as you normally would!
The fact that some people have to take shots EVERYDAY of their lives (& need even more for the vaccine) & that you’ll only need to take 1 or 2 just for your vaccine dose should mean at least a little something! You’ll only getting “pinched” once or twice & probably won’t need to get anywhere near needles for a long time after that! Some people get “pinched” every day & often do it themselves so they stay healthy!
Shots themselves usually don’t last even a minute long unless it’s to numb a part of your body for a few hours; which you’re not getting numbed for anything! If you’re getting the one that requires 2 doses, when you get your first one, you’ll already be halfway done!
Unrelated to trying to think in a slightly more positive light for a minute, the best/most effective way to get past a serious anxiety causing thing like that is to distract yourself! Doctors & nurses often try to distract kids/babies who are scared of needles by engaging with them in conversation or playing with them for just long enough! For a few distraction tips, you could try to do your best to slowly breathe in & out, counting each second of the breath! Maybe bring your earbuds/headphones to listen to a catchy song you like & try to remember the lyrics in your head as they’re giving you the shot! If you have your phone with you, watch a video while they’re giving you your dose! I reccomend you watch a video called “Fan.tasia” it’s super mesmerizing with how smooth all of the transitions are! And definitely don’t watch as they’re giving you the shot! If you feel compelled to, just close your eyes & focus on counting your breaths or the music you’re listening to! There’s a reason why they always say “don’t look down” in stories!
I hope this helps & that you can get your vaccine without too many issues!
The fact that some people have to take shots EVERYDAY of their lives (& need even more for the vaccine) & that you’ll only need to take 1 or 2 just for your vaccine dose should mean at least a little something! You’ll only getting “pinched” once or twice & probably won’t need to get anywhere near needles for a long time after that! Some people get “pinched” every day & often do it themselves so they stay healthy!
Shots themselves usually don’t last even a minute long unless it’s to numb a part of your body for a few hours; which you’re not getting numbed for anything! If you’re getting the one that requires 2 doses, when you get your first one, you’ll already be halfway done!
Unrelated to trying to think in a slightly more positive light for a minute, the best/most effective way to get past a serious anxiety causing thing like that is to distract yourself! Doctors & nurses often try to distract kids/babies who are scared of needles by engaging with them in conversation or playing with them for just long enough! For a few distraction tips, you could try to do your best to slowly breathe in & out, counting each second of the breath! Maybe bring your earbuds/headphones to listen to a catchy song you like & try to remember the lyrics in your head as they’re giving you the shot! If you have your phone with you, watch a video while they’re giving you your dose! I reccomend you watch a video called “Fan.tasia” it’s super mesmerizing with how smooth all of the transitions are! And definitely don’t watch as they’re giving you the shot! If you feel compelled to, just close your eyes & focus on counting your breaths or the music you’re listening to! There’s a reason why they always say “don’t look down” in stories!
I hope this helps & that you can get your vaccine without too many issues!
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•What I did to cope for the vaccine was I put lidocaine on the area where the shot will be. It’s a numbing agent that numbs pain on the skin so I couldn’t feel the needle go in. Then just looking away and playing with my hands helped to distract me from when I actually happened. It’s over in a couple of seconds, and once it’s done it’s done. Hope this helps!
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•I have a biiiiig fear of needles too :D the way I got over it was that I kept telling myself that what I'm doing is going to help me get better in the future and that nothing bad will come out of it
Another thing that helped was having someone with me whenever I have to have a needle put in :) moral support yknow :D
Also idk if this will help but thinking that you have to get it helped me a little, I had to get blood tests like every few months and it helped me get over it by thinking that I neeeeded them
Hopefully this helps you a little bit :)
Another thing that helped was having someone with me whenever I have to have a needle put in :) moral support yknow :D
Also idk if this will help but thinking that you have to get it helped me a little, I had to get blood tests like every few months and it helped me get over it by thinking that I neeeeded them
Hopefully this helps you a little bit :)
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