8 Ways to Cope With a Fear of Needles When You Have a Chronic Illness

Chemotherapy infusions. Hemodialysis for kidney failure. Diabetes insulin injections. If you have a chronic illness, it can feel like every potentially lifesaving test or treatment requires a needle. So if you’re afraid of getting jabbed, it can be incredibly stressful to start or stick to your medical therapies, or it can make you want to switch to oral medication or other options (if there are any), even if they’re less effective. In other words, your needle fear can have serious consequences for your health and well-being. (About one in four adults have a strong fear of getting pricked for routine blood draws and vaccinations, so it’s not surprising to feel that way if you need them on the daily.)

“Sometimes when we’re repeatedly being exposed to needles, it can lower our fear over time, but for some people, it can also increase it,” Meghan McMurtry, PhD, a clinical psychologist who studies medical procedure-related pain, tells SELF. “And that’s an awful situation to be faced with when you’re trying to balance your distress and the care you need to keep yourself healthy.”

If panic attacks, nervous sweats, nausea, or fainting have become your norm with each prick, understand that you can break this debilitating pattern with the right tools and support. Here are some surprisingly simple, expert-approved, and science-backed ways to deal with your fear of needles.

How to handle a fear of needles

Not everyone who’s intimidated by needles reacts in exactly the same way. You might feel intense discomfort or have a full-blown phobia (known as trypanophobia). If you can’t even stand to look at needles on TV screens or bring yourself to read the rest of this article, you might need to work on your fear with a medical professional’s help. However, here are eight things you can try yourself to make needles a little less daunting.

It can be super scary if you feel like you have no control in a situation, so having a plan in place before your next prick will help, Amy Baxter, MD, a former pediatric emergency physician who founded Pain Care Labs and is well-known for her research in needle fear and pain, tells SELF. For example, think about what you’re going to wear for easy injection access and pack a bag with comforting items like your childhood teddy bear or noise-canceling headphones.

If you have to inject yourself with your medication—which can be necessary for conditions like infertility, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis—figure out what eases your nerves and then turn that into a ritual, says Jody Thomas, PhD, a clinical psychologist specializing in medical trauma and pain in Denver, Colorado. “Maybe you like to sit on the couch while watching your favorite TV show or you need your dog by your side,” Dr. Thomas tells SELF. “Set the scene in whatever way you want.”

What you plan to do after your injection is just as important because it gives you something to look forward to and focus on. Want to watch TikToks in bed for the rest of the day? Go for it! Drooling over some post-treatment cheesecake? Eat up! “The power of reward is not to be underestimated,” says Dr. Thomas, who founded the Meg Foundation, a nonprofit centered on pain management. “You’re giving yourself something to overcome a challenge, which is creating a series of positive associations your brain needs” to prune your needle fear over time.

The plus side of constantly dealing with needles is the beauty of trial and error, so once you find what works for you, tell people what you need, Dr. Thomas says. Ask your phlebotomist if they can use a shorter, thinner butterfly needle (which gets its name from the plastic “wings” on either side); let the nurse know you don’t want to see anything (or that you want to see everything!); or ask for an ultrasound-guided IV placement if your veins are hard to find, which can reduce the number of times you get poked. Explain that you aren’t trying to be rude, but that you want to listen to your music rather than have a conversation because it’s the only way you can relax. “One of the most important skills for anyone with a chronic illness is knowing how to speak up,” Dr. Thomas says, “and that includes being okay with irritating some people.”

Just like you would when stuck in a stalled train or at your little niece’s dance recital, find ways to distract yourself while you’re waiting for a needle procedure, Dr. Thomas says. Read a book in the waiting room or listen to a podcast in your car if those fluorescent office lights get your heart racing. “Distractions can actually change the way we process pain and anxiety,” Dr. Thomas says. “So we can leverage that to change our focus to where we want it to go.”

When it’s time to get your treatment, try scrolling through social media if that keeps your mind busy, she says. Each swipe could bring you soothing content like a makeup tutorial, a gardening hack, or cute little goats doing parkour. You can also bring out the fidget spinners or chat about your crappy day at work with your nurse—literally anything that helps you! (I like to rub a peppermint essential body oil under my nose; the powerful smell and minty sensation on my skin offer the perfect distraction during blood draws.)

If you don’t have something at the ready or you end up in a needle situation with zero advance notice, Dr. Baxter recommends looking for a wall sign, choosing some words, and counting how many of the letters have holes in them. (This sentence has nine, for example). The task requires a lot of concentration and engages the part of your brain responsible for analyzing risk, she says. And don’t forget the classics like deep breathing, meditation, and guided imagery (such as visualizing what a successful needle experience looks like for you and how happy you will be when chomping on that cheesecake afterward), Dr. Baxter says.

Most people feel a bit better having someone they trust at their side, so ask a support person to go with you to see how their presence changes your next needle experience. Let them crack jokes or guide your deep breathing exercises, Dr. Thomas says—just make sure they’re not the anxious type around medical stuff or that they somehow make the situation worse.

If you (and they) feel comfortable doing so, ask your needle buddy to hold your hand or lightly press on your chest. That way you can focus on the warmth of their skin or the pressure of their touch rather than the needle; a weighted blanket could provide similar benefits as long as it doesn’t get in the way of any needles during your procedure. “Human touch releases all sorts of chemicals into our system that are like natural pain and anxiety killers,” Dr. Thomas says.

Pain is one of the most common reasons why people develop a fear of needles, so if you dread the discomfort that your specific treatment or exam causes, experiment with different tactics to help it feel at least a little better. Acknowledging and tackling your fear of pain can actually help reduce how much it hurts, Dr. Baxter says.

Try rubbing a topical anesthetic or applying a numbing spray on the injection site at least half an hour before your poke to numb your skin a bit, Dr. Thomas says. These products are generally available online or in drugstores. (For example, you can buy lidocaine numbing cream for about $22 and cold spray for about $10 on Amazon.)

Research has also shown that cold packs and vibration can lower needle-related pain, according to the CDC. Dr. Baxter actually developed a device called the Buzzy that combines the two sensations and has been shown to reduce needle pain and fear in adults and children. Applying a cold, vibrating device close to your injection site works by blocking pain signals from reaching your brain; using this technique over and over can eventually “undo the pathways in your brain that are expecting pain,” Dr. Baxter says, therefore easing the anxiety you feel leading up to your appointment.

And here’s a fun one if all else fails: Try dropping some F-bombs. One study found that saying the F-word reduced pain in people who submerged their hands in ice water, and it could likely help needles hurt a little less too, Dr. Baxter says.

If you tend to faint when exposed to needles, it can be triggered by fear and/or genetics. (If you have a parent who tends to pass out in medical situations, you might be at greater risk too). That fade-to-black feeling is caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure and is a normal response the body uses to get you in a horizontal position and increase blood supply to the brain. But there are several things you can do to lower the chances that you’ll actually lose consciousness.

First, tell your needle team that this has been a problem for you in the past (no one wants their patient to faint) and that you’d like to lie down for the procedure, which supports circulation to your head. Next, prop your legs up by bending your knees or placing them on pillows so the blood in your lower half can make its way up to your heart and head, Dr. Baxter says. A third option: Tense major muscles like your abdomen, butt cheeks, or quads for 20 to 30 seconds, then release for 10 and repeat. Dr. McMurtry says this will increase the amount of blood your heart can pump to your brain. But don’t fully relax your muscles when doing this, she says, because you don’t want your blood pressure to drop too quickly (and definitely don’t tense the body part that’s being injected).

If you are sitting up and start to feel faint, put your head down or between your knees, which can make you less likely to black out. Placing a cold towel or an ice pack on the back of your neck could also help you feel better if you get lightheaded.

If your fear of needles consumes your thoughts long before your appointment and none of these tips are helping, you may benefit from exposure-based treatment, which is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy, Dr. McMurtry says. “Exposure therapy will have people face their fear gradually and under their control, which increases their confidence and shows them that what they’re most worried about in these situations isn’t going to happen,” she says, “or if it does happen, that they can survive it.” (Here’s some advice on how to find an affordable therapist who fits your unique needs and preferences.)

As you work on dealing with and potentially overcoming your fear of needles, remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing, even if it’s obvious. Telling yourself that you want to live a longer, healthier, and happier life can help you ease any overwhelming feelings, Dr. Baxter says. You could even bring photos of the people you care about to your appointment for that extra burst of motivation (not to mention comfort).

“One of the biggest barriers to getting help is the tremendous amount of shame that people feel around their needle fear, like it’s some sort of weakness or character flaw,” Dr. Thomas says. “But this is incredibly common, and we always do better with any sort of challenge when we know exactly how we want to attack it.”

Related:

• How to Make New Friends as an Adult When You Have a Chronic Illness
• 17 Ways to Keep Your Creativity Alive When You Have a Chronic Illness
• A Guide to Having Great Sex If You Deal With Chronic Pain

Get more of SELF’s great service journalism delivered right to your inbox—for free.