Five Tips for People Who Are Afraid of Needles

 

The vaccine has arrived.  And even if you believe the science, a fear of NEEDLES might make you hesitate before you get it.

Around 1 in 4 adults are at least somewhat afraid of needles.  (It’s called trypanophobia.)  And 7% of us avoid vaccines because of it.  So here are five tips from experts on how to get past that fear . . .

1.  Be open and upfront about it.  Doctors and nurses are used to people who don’t like needles.  So they’re sensitive to it and pretty good at calming people down.

2.  Think about why you’re doing it, and how much worse COVID would be.  Just comparing one to the other can calm you down long enough to push through it.

3.  Try some deep breathing.  Take a few breaths, visualize yourself in a comfortable place, and remember it’ll be over fast.  You might even want to start doing some deep breathing or meditation in the car on your way there.

4.  Distract yourself.  Talk to someone else in the room about something totally unrelated.  The idea is to just not think about it for a few seconds.

5.  Don’t look.  Watching tends to make you more anxious.  So even a lot of people who aren’t “afraid” of needles prefer to turn away.

 

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