Our sticking point

No one likes injections, but how will those who are phobic cope with the Covid-19 vaccine, wonders Elizabeth Archer

- Elizabeth Archer

As the country celebrated the rollout of the first coronavirus vaccines, Mrinalini Mathew was filled with a sense of dread. She has a phobia of needles and injections – and avoids them unless absolutely necessary.

“I know it will be a sleepless night for me the day before I have the vaccine,” says Mrinalini, 37.

And she isn’t alone – injection phobia is thought to affect between 3.5 and 10 per cent of the population, according to Anxiety UK.

A fear of needles can cause dizziness, sweating, heart palpitations and even fainting during injections and blood tests. Yet it’s something people are wary of telling their GP.

“Needle phobia is nothing to be embarrassed about as it’s one of the more common fears,” says psychotherapist Lisa Jury (bwrt-professionals.com).

“It’s often linked to a bad childhood memory and the feeling is re-lived whenever you go for an injection.

“The fear of the procedure is much worse than the actual injection itself which is over very quickly.

“In extreme cases people will even try to avoid appointments, and this really does need to be addressed with a qualified therapist.”

Thankfully, injection phobia can be often cured through therapy.

“Needle phobia is something I work with on a regular basis, more so recently,” says Lisa.

“It responds incredibly well to therapy techniques such as brain working recursive therapy (BWRT) which rewires how you respond to the original experience and the memory that triggered it and replaces it with a new positive emotion.

“BWRT can dissolve the fear very quickly – in as little as one session.”