Some people with an extreme fear of needles will do just about anything to avoid walking into a medical setting. It would, they’ve explained, have to be a matter of life and death. But when the pandemic happened, some realized it was the crucial moment they’d been holding out for. Whether driven by a desire to protect immunocompromised family members or their community—or to still be able to enter their office—people were suddenly forced to confront their most deep-seated fear.
I spoke to a handful of these people, and was really touched by two of their stories in particular. Both agree that their fear of needles makes no logical sense—but they describe facing what felt like Herculean obstacles in their quest for vaccination. They would do almost anything for their fear to go away, they say, describing concern about their future health.
With people seeking help for this phobia at a seemingly higher rate than ever before, health care systems have a rare opportunity to prove that they can be accommodating and take such concerns seriously, says Jocelyn Sze, a clinical psychologist in Oakland and founder of the I Don’t Like Needles Project, which offers free resources for those affected.
"Optimal levels of hope are linked to increased academic achievement and better outcomes at school. Teens can handle the bumps and bruises of a bad grade or uncertainty about the future if they feel hopeful."
—Mary Beth Medvide, assistant professor of psychology at Suffolk University
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Today's newsletter was written by Haley Weiss and Angela Haupt, and edited by Angela.
