Fear of Needles (Trypanophobia)
£29.99
– Designed for anyone who wants to overcome fear of needles
– A powerful aid to self-hypnosis
– Hemi-Sync® audio production
– Creates a calming mental state that accelerates natural healing
– Stimulates the release of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins
– An essential part of your recovery toolkit
Description
It’s true that no one is a fan of medical procedures involving injections!
In some case THE most terrifiying experience.
If you can’t think of a medical appointment without breaking out into a cold sweat, then you may have trypanophobia.
What can you do if you can’t face the needle?
What is trypanophobia called?
“Fear of needles, known in medical literature as needle phobia, is the extreme fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles.It is occasionally referred to as aichmophobia, although this term may also refer to a more general fear of sharply pointed objects. Since the mid-2000s, it has also been referred to as trypanophobia, although the origin and proper usage of that term is highly controversial.”
Funnily enough this trypanophobia is more prevalent in children, it can lessen as they grow older.
The phobia is usually driven out of the parents fear for the child.
Unconsciously the child picks up on the parents fear which in turn ignites their own.
Are needle phobias genetic/inherited?
You might think a Trypanophobia is genetic but you would be wrong.
What I’ve come to realise throughout my 30 years of experience, is that our mind is very good at taking on split second learning.
This is part of our survival mechanism, if something creates fear in our care giver e.g. your mam or dad, then our unconscious mind rationalises that it must be bad for us.
The best example I can give it when you are taken for your first vaccination, you are a tiny child and you’re sitting in your mam or dads arms feeling happy, comfortable and safe!
Then the health practitioner produces the dreaded needle, if your care giver is in any way afraid of that needle, your below conscious system will pick up on this fear.
This split second learning is then rolled forward in time, whenever you are anywhere near a hypodermic needle the memory of the original response fires.
Therefore, trypanophobia is definitely not genetic but arguably it is inherited as you learn the fear from your parents.
Why You Have A Needle Fear or Trypanophobia
Most common wisdom indicates the fear is picked up in childhood.
Perhaps you were taken to an appointment and given an injection, while an afraid adult caregiver looked on. It’s very easy for an adult to pass that fear onto a child, leaving them with a lifelong fear of injections.
You may also have come to fear needles thanks to a traumatic incident with a medical injection in the past. If something went wrong, it’s stressful to get another injection. Whatever happened, you’re now living with this fear of injections. It may not be a problem most of the time, but if you develop a medical condition and need injections for it, it’s going to make it much more stressful for you.
What Happens If You Need An Injection
So if you have trypanophobia and need an injection, what happens to you? As the date of the injection comes closer, you’ll suffer with anxiety. You’ll be worrying about everything that could happen as you get the injection, and so this will interfere with your general health, sleep, and well being.
During the important, you’ll find you have an elevated heart rate. Many sufferers report their blood pressure dropping rapidly, even causing them to faint. Because the fear is a primal thing, it starts up your fight or flight responses which could lead to a panic attack.
Even if you only get one of these symptoms, it’s unpleasant at best for you. You have so much stress and worry over a medical appointment that it’s hard to get the care you need.
Lasting Effects Of Needle Phobia
If you live with a needle phobia, you know just how much harder it makes getting medical care. Appointments and procedures are filled with dread, whereas for others it’s a simple procedure that they don’t think about. Many people who fear needles find themselves avoiding getting the proper care they need, because they’re so afraid of getting an injection.
Moreover, it really dents your self confidence. You just want to be able to get an injection and move on, but the fear makes it so difficult. You feel less confident in yourself, and that affects your overall well being.
How You Can Overcome Trypanophobia
You know that while your fear is real, you need to be able to overcome the fear you feel for needles. This is especially true if you’re looking to get medical care in the future. The good news is that it’s possible for you to overcome that fear.
Firstly, you may find that you don’t need to have injections at all. There are lots of ways you can get medications without injections, so ask your doctor if there are alternatives for you. There has also been work put into jet injections. These use high pressure to force medication under the skin, without the need for needles.
You can also overcome fear of injections by undertaking certain therapies, such as Cognitive Behavioural Counselling, or CBT. This gradually exposes you to needles, helping you get used to them and overcome your fear.
Another option is to use mindfulness and meditation to help you calm yourself before medical injections. There are lots of apps that have guided meditations that help you do this. Meditating before an appointment helps you keep calm and get through the injection.
How to stop being needle phobic
Once you decide to overcome your needle phobia, you’ll feel better almost instantly. As you decide to do something about it, you’ll feel that you’re regaining control. Before, it was your fear that controlled you.
Just undertaking treatment for your trypanophobia is a great step forward. Remember, you can undertake treatment at your own pace. Keep making steps forward, and you’ll see that the needle no longer holds that feeling of dread for you.
Trypanophobia is debilitating, and even dangerous for your health, both mental and physical. Luckily, there are lots of options to help you overcome that fear. Try them on their own, or in combination
Using Hypnotherapy For Trypanophobia
One technique that has worked really well for trypanophobia is hypnotherapy. This is used for several phobias, and is a gentle, relaxed way to work towards dealing with that fear. A hypnotherapist will work with you to disassociate the idea of needles from the feelings of fear and panic, making you feel much calmer should you need to get an injection in the future.
One of the great things about hypnotherapy is that it’s accessible to anyone. You can go to a hypnotherapist if you have one available in your area, or you can access it online. There are hypnotherapists who can work with you online, helping you work through these fears.
If you want hypnotherapy for trypanophobia, that you can access any time you want, you can download our audiobook. Designed Written and Read by expert mental coach Matt Hudson, he will walk you through the process of reducing that fear.
The audio hypnosis download works by tapping into both the conscious and the unconscious mind. Matt works to dismantle trypanophobia by helping you associate them not with fear but with well being. To get the best results, listen to the book once a day for four weeks, ideally at the beginning of the day. Ensure you are in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed when you listen to it. Soon, you’ll see the difference it will make to you.
Does hypnotherapy work for needle phobia?
The simple answer is yes, hypnotherapy does work for needle phobia, the challenge is not all hypnotherapy is good hypnotherapy.
It is an art and a skill set which is built on many years of study and client hours. In a study for the use of hypnosis in the management of needle phobia, a 15-year-old girl was used to demonstrate the power of hypnosis in overcoming trypanophobia (fear of needles)i.
(i). The use of hypnosis in the management of needle phobia. 39. 189-195. Hypnosis was used in the management of anxiety for a 15-year-old girl who had developed a fear of needles originating from a negative experience during the first of a series of three school vaccinations. A treatment approach incorporating hypnosis within a cognitive therapy framework was designed and implemented to achieve a successful outcome. Age regression and progression were utilized to acknowledge, harness, and then practise the desired response and post-hypnotic suggestion enabled these lessons to be generalized and applied to other aspects of the client’s experience.
