What is it?What is it?
Many people fear injections to some extent, but once that fear becomes persistent, excessive and unreasonable, then the fear becomes a phobia. Injection phobia is the fear and avoidance of receiving various types of injections, and/or of having a blood sample withdrawn through venipuncture (pricking a finger). This is a specific phobia and is extremely common yet not very well recognised, and affecting 3.5 % to 10% of the population.
DIY self diagnosis
How do I know if I have an injection or needle phobia?
- If you have a marked, persistent, and excessive fear of needles.
- If exposure to needles almost invariably provokes in you an immediate anxiety response.
- If you recognise this fear is unreasonable.
- If needle-sticks are either avoided, or endured by you with intense anxiety or distress.
- The avoidance, anxiety or distress significantly interferes with your normal routine, occupational or academic functioning, social activities or relationships, or if there is severe distress about having the phobia.
Injection/Needle Phobia Downloads
To find out more information about injection/needle phobia click here for a copy of our fact sheet, or click here to download a copy of our booklet.
How we can help
Anxiety UK is a user-led charity with more than forty years experience in supporting those living with anxiety. By becoming a member of Anxiety UK, you will have access to a range of benefits, including:
- Access to reduced cost therapy within two weeks of submitting your therapy request
- Access to our helpline (available Monday-Friday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm) staffed by volunteers with personal experience of anxiety
- Receipt of four issues of Anxious Times, our quarterly members” magazine
- Access to the members only section of our website, featuring regular support surgeries facilitated by anxiety experts
- Access to specialist helplines, including the psychiatric pharmacy helpline and the psychology information helpline
And many, many other benefits that will help you manage your anxiety long term. To become a member of Anxiety UK click here or ring 08444 775 774 today.
Recommended reading
Smith & Nephew sponsored the production of an Anxiety UK booklet on needle phobia. This includes self help information, along with details of useful treatments.
There are a range of other helpful resources that will support you in your recovery from needle phobia. To find out more please click here.
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Personal experience
Do you suffer from needle phobia and want to share your experience with other people? Post your personal experience in the comments box below where it will be sent to our moderator for approval. Many people find this part of the site very useful when trying to understand their disorder so your comments really do make a difference. Please note, all comments submitted to the Anxiety UK website may be used by Anxiety UK for (but not limited to) publicity and promotional material.
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Hi,
I am in the same position. When I was younger, was a little cautious of needles and they panicked me a little as I had a number of operations: but no where near as bad as i am now. Around a year ago, I think was when my fear really kicked in: I was in a incident and was asked to have a blood sample: straight up refusing, everyone thought I was just being immature. Until they got me in the position where i was going to have it, it brought me to tears. I was crying hysterically and shaking, then I threw up. So in the end they couldn’t take the blood sample, and people understood where I was coming from. Ever since, no one has been able to get a needle near me.
At the moment, my wisdom teeth are coming through and my dentist has advised me to get them taken out. The only thing is, obviously this would involve a number of needles or general aesthetic. The thought of this at the moment, brings me to tears. I have no idea what to do, I can’t go the rest of my life avoiding things due to my fear but at the moment you won’t get me any near them.
Some advice would be great!
Thanks
Hi Emily
I hope the link below will help you understand you anxiety & phobia better. This is called the cognitive behavioural model.
http://www.gregdorter.com/toronto-therapist-blog/images/cbt-model.jpg
I want you to fill in the boxes with a recent distressing experience – How did you feel? (Emotional); What were you thinking? (Cognitive); Did you experience any physical changes or unpleasant sensations? (Physiological); and what did you do? (Behavioural).
We would recommend clinical hypnotherapy or cognitive behavioural therapy. You can find out more about them here http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help/what-kind-of-treatment-is-best-for-me/ Alternatively, you can speak to your GPs about referral.
Best regards
Volunteer
I have to agree with Alison, it is somewhat re-assuring to know I’m not the only one out there with what is often seen as a completely irrational fear of needles.
About 5 or 6 years ago I had to have a series of 8 operations on a pilonidal sinus, all under general anaesthetic. A nightmare for a needle-phobic. I has no isuues with the operations themselves, just having the IV put in and taken out.
Before the first operation they cam to take some bloods and I went into an utter state of panic. My wife said the colour completely drained from my face, I went cold and clammy, and started shivering violently. In the end I was such a mess they couldn’t take the blood and I had to go into theatre without having it done, after about 30mins of oxygen and time for me to calm down.
Before the next 7 operations they gave me gas to knock me out before coming anywhere near me with a needle. SO much better, and no pre-operation panic at all. Taking the canula out was still a drama, but less in comparison.
I now need to go in for a small operation on my shoulder, and need a pre-op assessment, including blood. Even the thought of it has my palms sweating and feeling nauseous. I don’t think I could even get in the car to the hospitall if I knew I was going to have to give a blood sample. I’m not sleeping at night with the dread of what lies ahead.
The most common reaction is along the lines of…you’re a grown man, get on with it. It’s not that simple, by a long chalk.
Ok so you got around the problem by cheating i.e. having a gas before, thats not helping you get over it though it is?
And just to comment on having the cannula removed – the canula isnt a needle its a flexible plastic tube, the needle is removed almost as soon as the tube is in, so less than 2 seconds usually.
It is nice to have a group of people to talk to and share your experiences but having said that dont let yourself get lulled in to a feeling that you are part of a normal group of people. Having a fear of needles might be normal for you and a few others but for human beings in general it is not.
Imagine walking along a path or roadside and getting pricked by some brambles or by a gorse bush when out in the countryside. How is that any different than a needle – other than the fact that brambles have hundreds of pricks and they arent sterile?
Do you have a fear of brambles, stinging insects, staples etc? If not why not, and how are they different to ‘needles’?
I mentioned as a suggestion to another user comment to get a sterile pin or sewing needle (dip it in alcohol or similar first) then prick yourself somewhere such as back of your hand, arm or thigh. Its pretty easy to do and you are in control.
Dont just put it off because you will inevitably be in a situation where you need to have a blood sample taken or have some medicine administered, possibly to save your life. Get used to it now not try and cope with it when you have an urgent need and are already stressed.
I give people injections every day as part of my work, I can give myself injections even im not bothered, Ive let trainee staff place a cannula in my hand, no problem, at the most it hurts a little, thats it. When I have to give children injections who have never had one before they usually cry a little initially because its a new sensation to them, but the next time I need to do it they are fine with it because they know what to expect and know nothing bad happens.
The reason I can do this to a child e.g. a 4 year old girl whereas a man like you has a ‘phobia; is because its all in your mind. You have programmed yourself not to want to and theres nothing anyone else can do to make you do it. You not only have to be willing to do it, you have to want to do it.
As I say, try it on yourself first, then you are in control. You can even numb the back of your hand a little first by holding an ice cube on it for a short while, then give yourself a little prick. Next time try without the ice etc and see how you get on.
Owen, I know as a grown man that my phobia is ‘irrational’. I know you can hardly feel a hypodermic. That still doesn’t stop me getting that sinking feeling with waves of nausia even thinking about needels as I type this.
I’ve been trying to imagine your solution, about pricking the back of the hand, and even that has me running for the hills. I guess i coudl have a few stiff brandies and give it a shot, if you excuse the expression. If it works I’ll let you know!
Hi Richard
I hope the link below will help you understand you anxiety & phobia better. This is called the cognitive behavioural model.
http://www.gregdorter.com/toronto-therapist-blog/images/cbt-model.jpg
If you could think of a particular time when your anxiety is really high? or perhaps a time when you had to have an injection?
I want you to fill in the boxes. Can you recall what exactly happened? (situation) – How did you feel? (Emotional); What were you thinking? (Cognitive) Did you experience any physical changes or unpleasant sensations? (Physiological); and what did you do? (Behavioural).
Owen is right – having gas before injection is an unhealthy coping behaviour. This might give you short-term relief but will only reinforce the anxiety in the long run, making it more difficult to tackle. I wouldn’t recommend Owen’s technique though. There is a logic to the suggestion but if it failed, you’re likely to feel bad. Best to seek professional support from a therapist or speak to your GPs about referral.
We would recommend clinical hypnotherapy or cognitive behavioural therapy. You can find out more about them here http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help/what-kind-of-treatment-is-best-for-me/
Best regards
Volunteer
It’s so lovely to have found this site and to find out that I am not the only one who feels this way about needles. Thank you!
I was very ill and hospitalised 20 years ago with a kidney infection which spread throughout my stomach. I was in hospital for over 3 weeks. I have kicked and hit nurses and managed to have a needle once. The staff tried really hard to help using a variety of strategies, but nothing really worked.
Since then I have tried 2 courses of behavioural therapy and 2 courses of hypnotherapy. I decided that at that time I was not yet able to over come this phobia and I have spent the rest of the time avoiding jabs going abroad or flu or by having fillings without anaesthetic. 7 years ago I had my daughter without having any blood tests during pregnancy. During labour I think the fear of the needles was greater than the pain so I ended up with no pain relief other than a bath ( sounds tough!)
However, I am now need to have a blood test to check for medical difficulties and the GP I saw wasn’t very helpful. I would love to be given gas and air to relax me to such an extent that it will be easier, but they will not do it.
I would love to over come this phobia. If anyone has found a way to over come this fear, I would love to hear about it.
Hi Alison
Sorry to hear you’re having a difficult time. I’m sure that it’s not the pain that you’re afraid of but something else, perhaps an irrational assumption or core beliefs about needles/injections. The only way to overcome this phobia is to pinpoint these underlying assumptions and alter the thinking process. People can force you to have an injection if they really want to but no one can force you to change how you would like to think so the change must come from within you. Telling yourself that you are not going to overcome this phobia is not going to resolve the problem. There is no magic cure and we don’t use the word cure anyway, it will take alot of time, efforts and tears to overcome it but if you are determined to overcome this, you are going to !
We offer a range of talking therapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Counselling, Clinical Hypnotherapy or Neuro Linguistic Progamming (NLP) which are some of the most effective tools for treating anxiety and phobia. You can find out more about them here http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help/what-kind-of-treatment-is-best-for-me/
Regards
Volunteer
Im just curious to know, what can you offer that the previous two courses of behavioural therapy and two hypnotherapy courses she has attended could not? It may be useful for her to know and for anyone else reading these posts.
Hi Owen
Not sure if I understand you question correctly but I will try to answer it.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and clinical hypnotherapy are very effective in treating anxiety and phobia. However, these are no magic cure and we don’t use the word “cure” anyway. The client must work with the therapist together pro-actively and learn to manage the anxiety. Just because Alison had two courses of these previously and they didn’t seem to help then, doesn’t mean she should never try it again. Plus, we don’t know how many sessions she had and what she tried in these courses etc.
Also, Alison mentioned that she actually told herself that she was not yet able to overcome this phobia at that time. This is a very powerful and negative beliefs. This negative thinking definitely didn’t help her manage the phobia, and it is very likely that this thought reinforced her phobia and anxiety, making it even more difficult to tackle.
Can you think of a particular time when your anxiety is really high? or perhaps a time you had to have an injection? Can you recall what exactly happened? How did you feel? What were you thinking? Did you experience any physical changes or unpleasant sensations? and what did you do? Below is a link to a diagram which I would like you and anyone who suffers from anxiety to fill in. This diagram will help you understand your anxiety and the vicious cycle of your anxiety.
http://www.gregdorter.com/toronto-therapist-blog/images/cbt-model.jpg
You can also fill in the diagram with a positive event and you can understand that our thoughts, feelings, behaviours and physiology are are linked together and one affects the other.
Yes, perhaps the previous therapists failed to help Alison achieve a better thinking pattern but she needs to take responsibility and to accept that her negative thinking and beliefs didn’t help the situation. This goes to everyone who tried therapy and “failed”. Perhaps speaking to a different therapist will help her, you never know.
Regards
Volunteer