Handle Fear of Shots
Many people have a natural fear of injections as part of a basic survival instinct. Although an injection is essentially a wound, it's generally very safe. Hospitals take the utmost care in using only sterilized equipment. But some patients have over-active fears, either phobias or 'reflexive' physical aversions that can cause trouble. Handling these issues takes an above-average level of care by medical staff.
Instructions
1. Tell your nurse. The first basic step toward dealing with the fear is to inform the person that will be giving the injection. The nurse can help to calm you, and can also use restraining equipment if necessary to make sure your arm doesn't move around, complicating the process. Let your care staff decide if they need to restrain you for a shot.
2. Talk to the nurse during the process. Talking helps relieve fear and stress, particularly if you find a topic you enjoy talking about. Telling a nurse about your feelings as the needle goes in is also a form of relief. The nurse can respond with calming statements.
3. Look away from the site of the injection. In some cases, patients would prefer to look, but in many other cases, it's better not to see the nurse giving the shot.
4. Use a 'cool-down' mental process. Steeling yourself for frightening events is part of handling fears that are crippling. Be mentally pro-active, counting, bracing yourself, and otherwise reacting to the fear mechanism to control it. There are many ways of doing this: one is with a mantra (for example "it's ok") that you repeat to yourself. These stress-relief practices can actually work well.
5. Don't wait around. Try to plan the shot process so that you can just walk right in and get it done. Don't ask care staff to put it off: if you need a shot, you need it, and the sooner the better. Don't avoid medical care because of phobias.
Tags: care staff, Fear Shots, Handle Fear, Handle Fear Shots