They Call Me Doctor Worm

I think it got scrubbed from the site when @maidslime got nuked :( brief moment of angry silence for all the good and wonderful things we lost in that wipe.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Getting Stabbed

Almost everybody is scared of needles, to some degree, it's just very normal to not want any kind of puncture wound no matter how small. It is also very common for people to have had childhood experiences that intensify the fear. I found it very helpful to keep in mind that so, so many people have had to face their fear in the exact way we're going to. we're in this shit together!

Getting over a fear is not a matter of overpowering it, that is in fact a great way to exacerbate the problem. Fear is your friend, it wants nothing but to keep you safe. Honor it, love it, allow it to be here. Our goal here is to replace the fearful associations with positive ones.

Make The Needle Your Friend

When you get your injection supplies ready, the part that starts your heart really racing is (probably) seeing the needle. That's our handhold, we're gonna get a grip on our fear with it.

Starting on a day that you're not doing an injection, carry a syringe with a (capped) needle around with you as much as possible. I kept mine tucked behind my ear. Every so often, take it out and just look at it. Hold it in your hands, touch every part of it. We're teaching your subconscious mind that this object is familiar and safe.

if you often set things down, forget where they are, and then have to find them, great. "Oh shit, I don't have my needle, I need to have that" is a fantastic thought to have here, yeah?

There's Levels To This Shit

We've got a grip on it now, let's apply some (gentle) pressure and turn that first step forward into a cycle. It goes like this:

Be afraid

Become acclimated to the fear until it feels like something you can manage.

Make it a little scarier

Repeat

A good first escalation is poking at yourself with a capped needle. As you do this, pay attention to what you're feeling. The goal here is not to overpower your fear, but to render it into something familiar and (ideally) comfortable. This is your time to get to know it.

Each escalation should be small and done slowly, you are allowed and encourage to go back down a step if you feel like you need to. Rushing yourself is counterproductive, be patient with yourself like you would be with a small child or nervous dog.

No escalation is too small, simply taking the cap off and looking at it is enough to count. Be careful re-capping it but, if you do accidentally poke your finger, that can be an opportunity to engage with the fear.

Play Around With It

When you're comfortable and can't think of any other escalation that doesn't involve touching yourself with the needle, it is time to touch yourself (with the needle). Crucially, we are still not injecting ourselves.

Just very little pokes and touches. It's essentially impossible to do any actual harm to yourself with it, the goal is to teach that to your body. For me, this culminated in lightly scratching my skin with the needle to see what would happen. It felt like exactly nothing, but the tip of a needle is astonishingly sharp. Here's a picture of what that looked like when I demonstrated it to a friend:

(the bracelet says "Gock in My Rari", good pun)

Okay Time For Stabbing

Well, almost. Keeping in mind that our goal is to create a sense of comfort and safety to replace the fear, think about your injection routine.

Play your favorite soothing music. Do it in the coziest part of your house. Get yourself a little treat to have afterwards as a reward. Kiss your partner. Just do anything and everything you can to make the experience as positive as possible.

And, of course, remember: The fear isn't in charge of you, but it is your friend and loyal adviser. Allow it to be in the moment with you and it won't fight you so hard.