Needle phobia?

I’m almost 16 years old and the only things I’m scared of are needles. Well, to be honest, scared is an understatement. I’m absolutely terrified. Whenever I go to the doctor’s office, the moment the nurse mentions the possibility of a shot, there are already tears running down my face. When the needle actually comes out, I have to cover my mouth to keep from screaming, and when I actually get the shot, it’s psychological torture on another level. I even tend to hyperventilate for a couple hours afterward. It’s really embarrassing to be this terrified of something so ordinary at my age. I’m getting a shot tomorrow and I’m wondering if there’s anything I can do to make it easier for myself, or any methods I can use to calm myself down. Is there anything I can do to make tomorrow less painful?

Category: Mental Disorders Tags: Phobia asked July 3, 2014

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karaleigh

5 Answers

2 accepted

I have 17 piercings and a tattoo, AND I'm a blood donor, so my needle experience is pretty obviously high. So, a couple tips!1. It's as they said. DO NOT LOOK AT THE NEEDLE. 2. If possible, keep caffeine and sugar out of your system that morning. These are energy stimulation, and will fuel you with fear and adrenaline. 3. Bring something distracting. A book, a stress ball, your phone, whatever. 4. If you can, ice the part of your arm getting the shot beforehand. Numbing it slightly will make you associate less pain with needles.Good luck!

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Sunshine

Me too i hate needles. But what helped me get over it..is not to look at the needle. Because when you dont look at it ..it wont hurt as much. I promise that. And its fine to scared eventually you will get over it.

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unknownn

i m 26 and i hate needles ><, same with unknown, i just turn my head away

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Parash

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Breathe. As difficult as it sounds breathing and doing relaxing things, like yoga can help reduce the stress your body experiences. It takes some of the pain away from the experience.

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Swifting

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Definitely try and look up some deep breathing techniques. Physically relaxing helps needles to hurt less. You can also look into getting an Emla patch or something similar which numbs the area so you don't feel it as much! Definitely don't look at the needle either. I totally feel you, I was the kind of kid who would make a break for it in the doctor's office if a needle came out and would have to be physically held down. To this day needles TERRIFY me! But I find that a combination of these techniques help a lot.

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TheQuietTheLost

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