A fear of medical needles, or trypanophobia, affects approximately 10% of the world’s population. This makes it one of the most common phobias along with other phobias such as the fear of heights, flying, spiders, and snakes.

As a result, many people are searching for ways to keep their fear of needles under control. Whether you’ve got a visit to the dentist coming up or you want to conquer your fear so you can give blood, here are five starting points for conquering your fear of needles.

1. Tell the person who is injecting you

The first thing you should do when arriving at your appointment is inform the person who is responsible for injecting you about your fear. They will be well-trained and will have dealt with this situation hundreds of times before.

Your medical professional will also be able to answer any questions you may have which should help to put your mind at rest before your injection. If you’re being injected in a crowded space, making someone aware of your fear may result in you being taken to a quieter location to reduce stress and anxiety.

2. Focus on your breathing

Come the day of your injection, you’ll likely experience an increased heart rate or other physical changes to your body. If you start to feel your body feeling different, focusing on your breathing can go a long way to calming yourself down. The NHS website can help guide you when it comes to using breathing for relaxation.

You’ll ideally want a comfortable chair that supports your back, although it can be performed standing up or lying on a bed. Place your arms on the arms of the chair, relax your shoulders and jaw and place one hand on your lower belly.

Take a long, slow breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Your breath should be deep, right into your belly for as long as feels comfortable. As a rule of thumb, try counting from one to five as you breathe in and out.

Do this for at least five breaths and try incorporating it into your daily routine for maximum benefit.

3. Applied tension technique

Many people’s fear of needles comes from the fear of fainting. If this is you, consider the applied tension technique which can help prevent fainting by raising blood pressure.

To do this, tense the muscles in your arms, upper body, and legs for 15 seconds. Release the tension for 20-30 seconds and then repeat the sequence until you have tensed 5 times.

It’s important to note that this technique doesn’t directly address the phobia itself, but rather helps to deal with the impacts of the phobia. For many people, knowing that they have taken the relevant steps to prevent themselves from fainting can be enough to make them feel more comfortable with the whole experience.

4. Challenge your thoughts

One of the simplest ways to deal with a needle phobia is by simply challenging your thoughts. Reframing your thoughts using facts can help you to realize the irrational nature of your fears.

Ask questions like, have I had a needle before? Did I survive? Did it cause me serious harm? The answer to these questions will help you to realize that you have conquered your fear before, and there should be no reason not to do so again.

If you’re attending a specific place, ask questions like, has anyone ever been seriously harmed when being injected in this Solihull orthodontics? You’ll soon realize that this fear is a mental battle and that there is in fact nothing to fear.

5. Visualisation

Finally, if you start to get the jitters before or whilst being injected, take yourself to your happy place. That’s mentally, not physically.

Visualize yourself in one of your favorite locations. You could be lying on your favorite beach enjoying some fresh fruits, you could be playing in the garden with your pet or you could take yourself back to the scene of your greatest sporting accomplishment.

This can trick your body and mind into thinking you’re less fearful than you actually are.