needle phobia

[feralkitten]

hi im 33 and live in Scotland and im here for help im dyslexic , I have a needle phobia have had it as long as I can remember and thought out life there only been a few times I need needles , but last few years it been harder and harder to not have needles , im not scared of the needle I can hold needles and inject cats ( I worked with cats who needed jags ) im scared of the pain I know comes with needles , im def phobic not just scared of them , recently I need a lot of dental work dune prob cause I wont go in until it really really bad so i get sent to a phobic dentist at hospital and got drugged up a lot for them to work lol , i have hypermobility sydrum and have been in pain for year but last twi years i got really ill fast and i managed to give a blood test and results were alarming i got high white bloods cell and anemaia and other stuff so my husband had to basically hold me down at hospital for more test and it was one of my worst bloods to date and now there demanding more and i cant do it. normal i have years between test but looks like there gona be lots of blood test over next few months and i have no idear what to do , the creams don't work ! the spray don't work ! please don't tell me to not look or it just a little needles as that really not helpfull

[AnxietyDJ]

Hi Kitten, really sorry to hear about your phobia of needles... I have a similar (although not identical) fear of them - mine is almost specifically to do with having blood taken - so I definitely can appreciate what you are going through, to some extent.

Is there anything at all that you can use / take with you to help keep you even a tiny bit calmer? Perhaps music? Watching something on your phone? Talking to someone?

If not, then have you tried talking to your GP about the problem to see if he can prescribe anything for when you need it?

Have you ever tried going through any types of therapy for your fears? It takes a while and some effort, but this may be a good idea to at least change how you think about things and allow you to control the situation, rather than it controlling you.

Whatever happens, I hope you manage to get some help :)

[feralkitten]

the dentist brought in a phycoligest once , but prob is my phobia a hard one to treat i am not afread of the needle its self and have worked with animlas that need jabs so i can not be desestived by holiding needles , the phobia is about the pain that comes with needles and needles hurt its a fact. the think it go back to childhood when i was in and out of hospital needing meny needles in hypermobile joints and yes it hurts more in hypermobile joints , she said there was nothing she could really do, nothing works i allways have someone with me normal my husbands but most of time he basicly had to hold me in chair ,

[Fishmanpa]

It's interesting. I have absolutely no fear of needles. When I was little, I had a fear but I think every kid goes through that. When I was a little older, I had to go into the hospital for testing and had allergy tests done where they inject allergens under your skin. I was like a pin cushion but it had the opposite effect on me. The exposure nullified any fear. Yeah, some hurt, some didn't but it was like... "Ehhh... just do it. It's over in a couple of seconds anyway".

Now however, having undergone cancer treatment, I've developed a visceral reaction to needles. I don't have a fear at all but when the needle goes in, I get a "heebie jeebies" tingly feeling from my toes on up.

If a mental health professional doesn't know how to help, I don;t know what to say. Maybe some others that have experienced and overcome this fear can chime in.