I'm the last one getting the covid vaccine. Please help!

[lobbie]

So first a little background about me: I'm a 33 year old female, no known allergies or illnesses, and I've had health anxiety since I was 28. Not constantly for 5 years (thank god) but I've had my ups and downs and have probably experienced just about any symtom of anxiety that you can get.

People in here started to get vaccinated at the beginning of last year. My granma was the first one I knew who got it, and she took it in March. In September-October my age group got the opportunity to get vaccinated, which all of my friends did. The last person that I know who got the jab was my mom who took the first one now in December. I am in other words the only one that I know of in here that still didn't get it.

So why didn't I get it earlier? Well, because I was scared and because I didn't think there was any rush for me to get it. For almost 2 years now I've been able to work from home. I live by myself and rarely meet others. I have a close circle of friends that I hang out with occasionally but I never meet more than 1 person at a time and we always just hang out at one of our homes. Sure, I need to eat and go grocery shopping but I make sure to go to the store when there's very little people there. All in all in a "normal" day I don't meet anyone and those few people that I do meet are all vaccinated already.

As I live right now honestly I don't see much need for me to get vaccinated, however I still want to. I really enjoy traveling and haven't done so for 2 years now. As I look at all the various travel restrictions it seems that no matter to what country you want go the requirement is a "full" vaccination (2 jabs). I realize that if I want to be able to travel anything this year I will most likely have to get vaccinated.

And here is the problem; I'm terrified of it. I have a tendency to catastrophize every little single thing I feel in my body. Feeling slightly dizzy? Stroke. Having a headache? Brain tumor. Chest pains? Heart attack. The list goes on. So I'm just really really afaid that I'll go get the shot, then feel "something weird" in my body (whether it be from the actual jab or just from anxiety alone) and then I will utterly and completely freak out. I haven't had a panic attack for a long time but I'm seriously afraid that this will be a trigger that will bring them on again. Also I can't stop thinking that I'll be one of those few few people that actually get some serious side effects from the vaccine, and then I'll be all alone (as I live alone) so no one would be able to help.

(As a little side story I went traveling right before covid hit and had to take 2 other vaccines before leaving. Even then I was so scared of side effects / that I would have an allergic reaction that I ended up getting a panic attack the day after. In my mind I imagine that this vaccine is "worse" than those, so I'm even more scared this time).

I know there are lots of peope here that were scared/nervous of getting the jab but still ended up doing it. How did you manage it? Did you have any anxiety symtoms before/after or any other symtoms such as fever etc? When you experienced some kind of "symtoms" after the jab, how did you stay calm and not freak out? x)

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Panicattacka]

Don't get it. I haven't and I won't.

[Carys]

I know there are lots of peope here that were scared/nervous of getting the jab but still ended up doing it. How did you manage it? Did you have any anxiety symtoms before/after or any other symtoms such as fever etc? When you experienced some kind of "symtoms" after the jab, how did you stay calm and not freak out? x)

I was utterly terrified, but yes I've done 2 main ones (AZ in March, I think, and June) and the booster (Moderna in December), along with the standard flu jab before the booster. I reminded myself constantly leading up to them -

1. That it was my community 'duty' to help create immunity in the general public.
2. That if I was scared of the vaccine can you IMAGINE how terrifying covid would be knowing you had no immunity. There are threads and cases on here now from complete non vaccinated people (from fear as they have HA) and I think the fear of the vaccine is nothing compared to the terror they write about having covid.
3. The vaccine is a 'known quantity', it can't make you ill. Yes, you can have an immune response, I felt tired with the first two, and on the booster had a fever and felt grotty for 12 hours - but thats nothing compared to weeks of potential illness and long covid.
4. Doctors, medics, scientists are getting the vaccine - they are the bright ones who understand medicine and I trust them.
5. Millions upon millions upon millions globally have had this vaccine, they've been given for well over a year, do you not think they know all they need to about it now and they'd have stopped them if they were a problem ?
6. It was my duty to my family to be strong and create the best chance for them possible of not catching or getting a minor illness if I could.
7. At some point in my life some vaccine or medication was going to be needed - nobody can go through life (and survive lol) by avoiding all treatments - thats life from the medieval period and it wasn't great. We are lucky to live in a society where technology and medicine offers us chances that our forefathers couldn't imagine, so I should buckle up and get on with taking the gifts that modern society offers.
8. Stop viewing a vaccine as a threat - view it as a life-saver. View the illness as the threat.
9. I know people who had covid in the first wave - a few of them a year later are still not well. The situation has changed of course and there is hugely better survival and reduced deaths from covid, but passing it to older vulnerable people isn't something that I would knowingly want to do.
10. Throw aside conspiracy theories and uneducated opinions, talk to trusted people that you know are intelligent, get your information from good sources - people who know and understand science and biology. (one example can be seen above of a conspiracy theorist)
11. Imagine how nice it is to have less fear and more freedom (the holidays you talk of) by knowing you have built some antibodies.


Ultimately it wasn't easy, despite knowing all of the above - it was desperately hard - but I feel so much better now for two reasons. I did my part, I overcame the fear I wasn't too bad after the vaccine actually, as I felt I knew the possible responses that I would have, if I did, and also I had talked with and seen many others older than me get it first. The worst anybody had had was a 'duff' day or two, just like you can get with the standard flu vaccine. Sensing things in your body can be turned into a positive - some mild 'flu like symptoms' are simply your body doing exactly what it is meant to do. Its a good sign, not a bad sign. Any medication or vaccine can have very very rare reactions for some people - its no different with these vaccines to any others. So why fear this one when I didn't tetanus or polio ? So - I guess the answer Lobbie from my perspective is to work very very hard on the positive reassurance leading up to the vaccine, including all the points above.

[spectrum123]

Don't get it. I haven't and I won't.

Did you miss the bit where they would like to go on holiday outside their own country?

[Carys]

Did you miss the bit where they would like to go on holiday outside their own country?

Ah Spectrum, you are great.

Don't get it. I haven't and I won't.

Its a compelling argument, congratulations, but you also missed the part where she said 'I want the vaccine'.

[Gary A]

Don't get it. I haven't and I won't.

Really? You kept that one quiet.

[BlueIris]

Really? You kept that one quiet.

Coming from this user, that's just chlorine in the gene pool.

[venusbluejeans]

Don't get it. I haven't and I won't.

Stop with pushing your opinions onto others.... you have every right to have and voice your opinions BUT not to tell the poster not to get (or to get) any vaccine, it is a copmpletely personal thing which THEY have to make a decision about an not for you to tell them not to!!

[Lencoboy]

Don't get it. I haven't and I won't.

Your prerogative obviously, but please refrain from bombarding others on here with your blatant antivaxx agendas.

[pulisa]

Don't get it. I haven't and I won't.

If you were my child I'd send you to the naughty step.