For nearly a year now you have been digesting the information about Covid-19 and solidifying the belief that it is a life threatening disease. Your stress and anxiety levels have skyrocketed as you struggled to determine and adopt new behaviors and practices that could slow the spread of the virus, help you to avoid getting sick yourself, and/or at least limit the severity of the illness if you do get infected.
Now, with the advent of at least three vaccines becoming available, the prospect for highly effective personal immunity is here. If enough of us get vaccinated our society may even achieve herd immunity.
How are you feeling about that news? Are you:
Exited and grateful that all you have to do is get one or two vaccination(s) so you can see your friends and hug you children again?
Happy that scientists have created the vaccines but a bit anxious about the safety of the vaccines or their side-affects that you may experience
So anxious and fearful at the mere thought of getting a shot in the arm that you would rather risk getting Covid?
If you find yourself in the third group, at some point between mild fear and extreme anxiety, you may have a condition known as trypanophobia or needle phobia (fear of needles). You are in good company. Needle phobia impacts up to twenty percent of people and causes many of them to avoid needed medical care.
So what is needle phobia, where does it come from and can it be overcome when you need to face a needle in the vital interests of your own health and well-being?
A needle phobia is defined as a fear of medical needle procedures.
Fears in general are natural responses to perceived danger in our environment. The perception of threat or danger triggers our instinctive, physiological fight or flight response which helps us escape from or handle the threat.
Phobias are usually grouped into two categories:
Specific or Simple phobias are learned response to an encounter with a certain object, animal, situation or activity. Fear of snakes, fear of flying, and fear of having an injection (vaccination) are examples of Specific phobias.
Complex Phobias are responses to more general, everyday activities. Consequently they can have a larger impact on your life. Agoraphobia is one of the most common Complex phobias.
Phobias, while related to fears, are different in several ways. A phobia:
Is most commonly a learned response (not instinctual) which exists in your subconscious mind
Can be triggered by just thinking about the situation or object of the phobia
Is much more intense than a fear and can lead to major anxiety and even panic attacks
Develops when you have an exaggerated or unrealistic fear about a specific situation or object
Can cause great distress and hold you back from doing what you want/need to do
In the general context of fears and phobias, needle phobias would be classified as Specific or Simple phobias. You might have three different types of needle phobia:
A phobia which developed from an early traumatic experience with a medical needle procedure
A phobia which stems from an acute, intense hypersensitivity to pain or the sensation of a needle puncturing your skin
A phobia where you faint or nearly lose consciousness before, during or after a medical needle procedure. It is generally agreed that this type of phobia is based on your instinctive, vasovagal reflex rather than a learned response.
It doesn’t matter what type of needle phobia you might have. When you think about getting a necessary vaccination, the intensity of the fear, stress and anxiety that you feel can hold you back from ever getting it done. If you manage to make the appointment anyway, you will want to know what you can do to prepare and better manage your phobia during and after the vaccination event.
Wherever your fear arises from, there is more to overcoming needle phobia than simply willing it away. The key is learning to use the power of your subconscious mind to change the way you respond to a medical needle procedure.
Hypnotherapy can help in several ways:
In hypnotherapy, we first take a look at where the phobia began. Maybe it was a personal childhood trauma or an event you experienced as an adult. Maybe you learned from observing the experience of a parent, teacher, or other influential people in your life. Re-examining the event in a calm, non-judgmental environment can be a positive beginning.
TimeLine Therapy can help you travel back in time to examine the phobia from your current perspective. Sometimes that can be enough to help you realize that it is no longer needed or relevant to your life and you are able to let it go.
Systematic desensitization may also be used. You enter your deeply relaxed state (hypnosis), attempt to access the fear, let it pass, and then come back to your relaxed state. We repeat this exercise until you find it difficult or impossible to access your fear.
We can also use the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT or Tapping) to help you let go of fear.
After you have explored your phobia and determined that you can manage or let go of it, we write affirmations that cement in those positive thoughts. “I conquer my fear”, “I love getting my vaccine”, “I am healthy and well”.
Needle phobia can be debilitating and life-limiting. If your phobia becomes overwhelming, hypnotherapy can help. I will listen, ask questions, and help you get information and gain an understanding of your phobia. We will develop transformative affirmations that focus on the positive outcome that you desire
If you would like to talk with me about your fear of needles or have questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Cinda
HYPNONEWS AND RESOURCES
For additional perspectives on needle phobia and Covid-19 vaccination please see articles below.
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-to-overcome-a-fear-of-needles-so-you-can-get-a-covid-19-vaccination
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/dont-let-fear-of-needles-interfere-with-vaccinations
