I'm looking for some advice here guys

I have terrible shot anxiety. It's not the pain, or the blood, or even looking at the needle itself that freaks me out. It's the action of seeing the needle pierce the skin.

My boyfriend is fine with doing the injections for me but I want to be able to do them myself. I can usually do it 75% of the time, but that other 25% I just completely lock up and can't do it. I've tried listening to pump up music and doing push ups to kill nervous energy but it really only works 75% of the time.

Do any of you guys have any tips, I know this is a totally irrational fear and it really bothers me that I can't do it every time.

I had a lot of shot anxiety initially, which is why I started on gel. When I switched to shots because gel was too expensive, at first it just took me about 15 minutes to get it over and done with. Then I went through this really weird period where it would take me like 5 hours. Nothing traumatic ever happened to me to cause it. It was just this weird period where I had a lot of dread about it.

Don't remember exactly what helped me get over it. I do think having a firm routine helps. So making sure the time of day you do it, everything you do before, getting stuff set up, etc. is exactly the same I think helps normalize it.

I do remember giving myself time limits, which was pretty effective in helping reduce the amount of time I was taking. At first I'd put a movie on and tell myself that my shot needed to be done by the end of the movie. Then, hour long TV shows. Then, half hour TV shows. Then, a song or short YouTube video. Now, I don't need any of those things but occasionally if I mentally feel myself putting it off later and later in the day, I might put on a video while I do it.

I'm not grossed out by shots anymore but the complications of doing it regularly did put me off going for injectable, I mean how do you know you're not going to hit a blood vessel or something else when you have to vary the location of the shots a bit? Getting stuck with needles in the past had random results, as do the blood tests... sometimes they'd go fine, other times they'd numb my upper arm or the injection site, or leak out; sometimes when the nurse pulls some blood it's cool and other times it looks like she took a hammer to my veins.

I know she said they practice on oranges or something, maybe that would help.

Quote from: Kylo on January 28, 2017, 07:18:39 PM
I'm not grossed out by shots anymore but the complications of doing it regularly did put me off going for injectable, I mean how do you know you're not going to hit a blood vessel or something else when you have to vary the location of the shots a bit? Getting stuck with needles in the past had random results, as do the blood tests... sometimes they'd go fine, other times they'd numb my upper arm or the injection site, or leak out; sometimes when the nurse pulls some blood it's cool and other times it looks like she took a hammer to my veins.

I know she said they practice on oranges or something, maybe that would help.

Maybe once a quarter I have enough blood after a shot to warrant a bandaid - so maybe 8 times out of the 105ish shots I've done or 7% of the time. Even when I was still aspirating, I never had blood show up in the syringe before injecting, but blood might spurt out after the fact. You never really know. I haven't had any negative long term effects, and it's much more convenient for my lifestyle than topicals.

Also wanted to add - I remember for a while I watched videos of other guys injecting and that helped a bit.

Seven years into sticking a needle into me and offhand I think I'm around the "25% of the time..." point. I'd be sitting there, needle in hand, poised just above Ground Zero and just CAN'T. Fast or slow? Slow is the worse yet sometimes seems better then fast. You can't compare since there are no Do-Overs. Well most times. I had a few when you are so worked up it's like as soon as the tip of the needle hits the skin you are already pulling it out.

About the only thing I find that helps is thinking about how much you now know the shots have helped you. That you NEED this and, face it, put it off for a day or two longer then you should and know all too well what pain comes next.

Use the faith in the goodness of the shot vs the fear of a very short term pain

Put the needle next to your skin then close your eyes and poke until it stops.

Oh gosh. I've got this bizarre thing called vasovagal syncope, in the presence of a needle I have to be already laying down. Blood pressure drops, waves of nausea, light headedness. Vampires are not my friends.
I dread the day I have to self inject.
That said, yes I can psych myself up for it, but the situation has to be just right. You can do it, think of the long term result, the desirable one!

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I still get anxiety about it sometimes myself and I've been on for 2+ years. I think it'll always be bitter sweet. The things you are doing to quell the feelings so far sound good. A lot of the time it's mental, getting into your head too much. Hopefully the anxiety becomes less over time, for all of us