After 10 months of the COVID pandemic, two vaccines for preventing COVID have been approved by the FDA and are rolling out to healthcare workers and vulnerable populations across the United States. Videos on the news and throughout social media show healthcare workers, nursing home patients, politicians, and even Willie Nelson receiving vaccines. It is exciting to see injections being administered… unless you are one of the millions of Americans who has trypanophobia, commonly known as needle phobia.
If the sight of needles makes you squeamish, anxious, or panicked, you are not alone. Various research studies indicate that between 10-20% of adults (including 20-30% of those ages 20-40 years old) report a fear of needles. Approximately 16% of adults who don’t get a flu shot refuse the shot out this fear. As Americans are surveyed about COVID vaccines, fear of needles is the third most common reason reported for not wanting to get the vaccine.
The good news is that this fear can be managed or completely treated, as in the following examples.
Coping with getting the vaccine:
- Coping means that you help yourself manage your fear enough to get the vaccine shot(s), but it does not mean that you will have cured your fear of needles.
- With coping, you may still feel some fear and discomfort about the process, but you can accomplish the goal of getting vaccinated.
- Coping involves strategies for before, during, and after the shot:
- Before the shot:
- Read information sent to you about the day of your vaccination so that you can be prepared and not rushed. This may include deciding where to park and filling out paperwork such as consent forms prior to your appointment.
- Let your provider know that you have a fear of needles and asking for what you need (for example: you can ask for the provider to talk to you or not talk to you while you receive the shot).
- Distraction techniques while you wait: Listen to music or a recording on headphones, keep your hands busy (knit, squeeze a stress ball, color a picture, do a crossword, or play a video game), read something that occupies your mind, talk to another person who is with you or by text, watch a fun video.
- Relaxation techniques: Focus on supportive statements that feel truthful to you (like “You are facing your fear,” “You are not alone in feeling this way,” “You are getting this vaccine to protect yourself and others,” or “You are closer to this being over than you were a few minutes ago”), breathing exercises, soothing with the five senses.
- During the shot process:
- Continue to breathe.
- Continue to use the distraction and relaxation techniques above.
- Decide whether or not you want to talk with the provider during the process.
- Look away from the needle or gaze at a fixed point while the injection is happening.
- Some people find it helpful to tense the arm where they will receive the injection for 10-15 seconds, then release the tension for 20-30 seconds, and repeat this process 3-5 times before the shot is administered. This process can help bring relaxation to the arm so that less pain is felt.
- Let your provider know if you feel like you might faint so that they can suggest whether you lie down or sit upright.
- After the shot:
- You will be asked to go to a waiting area to make sure that you do not have an adverse reaction. Having an adverse reaction is incredibly rare, and this waiting period is more of a precaution. While you are waiting, return to relaxation or distraction techniques.
- You may feel like wiggling or shaking off the anxiety, so feel free to move the body or stretch.
- Congratulate yourself on getting your shot and taking a big step to protecting yourself and your community from COVID.
- Follow instructions from your provider.
- Evaluate what was helpful and what you would like to adjust before your next shot.
- Before the shot:
- Exposure therapy techniques:
- Exposure therapy along with Cognitive Behavioral approaches provides treatment for a fear of needles. After successful treatment, you either have much lower levels of fear or you no longer have the fear.
- Exposure therapy involves making an inventory of the situations in which fear arises and then exposing yourself to those situations until your levels of distress naturally peak and then lower. You may start with lower-intensity situations such as talking about vaccines or seeing a picture of a needle before progressing to exposure of seeing a real needle.
- Techniques such as cognitive restructuring can adjust the way we think about a situation. For instance, saying “I may feel a little pain from the shot but that doesn’t mean that something is wrong,” or reminding yourself of all of the testing that vaccines go through before they are approved, can be helpful at lowering fear.
- From these processes, your nervous system learns that you are not in danger and can handle the needle and shot, so your fear subsides going forward.
- Exposure therapy is traditionally done with a mental health professional. There are some steps you can try on your own, if you feel able. To learn more, check out the “Develop a Fear Ladder” portion of this article: https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/1928920/6-steps-cure-fear-needles-before-covid-vaccine/
- Supporting others at a vaccine clinic:
- If you don’t have a fear of needles, you can support those who do by:
- Sharing an article like this one or encouraging them to get support from a mental health professional.
- Validating the discomfort of their fear and not making fun of them for their fear.
- Avoid statements like: “Don’t worry” or “It’s nothing to be afraid of,” as these can feel minimizing or increase shame for someone with a fear of needles.
- Don’t grab your arm after an injection or yell “ouch.” While you might be trying to make a joke, this could increase someone’s fear about the injection.
- Create a respectful environment for others who are getting the shot and may have apprehensions.
- If you don’t have a fear of needles, you can support those who do by:
If you are looking for further support from a mental health professional, faculty and staff can contact the Employee Assistance Program for short-term counseling and referrals at 512-471-3366 or eap@austin.utexas.edu.