Overcome your fear of needles on world blood donor day

World Blood Donor Day is being marked today, 14th June 2012. The theme of this year’s campaign, “Every blood donor is a hero” focuses on the idea that every one of us can become a hero by giving blood. Unfortunately, fear can stop us being the hero that we want to be.

Phobia of needles, blood and all things medical is more common than you think and these phobias can have a big impact on our lives.

Now I know giving blood is voluntary so for those with a fear of needles, they simply avoid the process. However at some point in our lives we will need necessary medical intervention such as blood tests and vaccinations which we can’t “opt out” of. Again, some people may avoid these essential procedures because of their fears, putting themselves at risk of ill health, while others go ahead with it although feeling very scared and anxious. But there is another option - Ditch the fear!

Our brain has the ability to learn when new things are dangerous. Unfortunately, our brain can sometimes learn that some things are dangerous to us when they are not. The good news is that in addition to being able to learn that something is dangerous, we can also unlearn it, which is where hypnotherapy comes in.

Hypnotherapy first off works to reduce general anxiety levels in a person. When we feel more stressed and anxious, our fears are heightened so this reduction of general anxiety is necessary to help get rid of the phobia for good. Hypnotherapy then addresses the current templates that are stored on how to react to needles, blood or whatever the phobia is.

Our brain will always refer to previous patterns of behaviour in any given situation. So for example, if you reacted to a blood test in an anxious way last time you had one, then your brain will encourage you to do the same again. With hypnosis, we create a new template for your brain to refer back to which is much more helpful to you, allowing you to deal with the situation calmly. You’re never going to “love” needles or blood – that isn’t the point; but you will be able to be in control of the situation and feel calm and relaxed.

Find out more information on how hypnotherapy can help you overcome phobias and fears.

Read about how I overcome my phobia of needles, allowing me to give blood.