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Hi, I get major health anxiety. It shows up a lot with shots (like I’m afraid of any side effects). I actually had to get 10 different shots this year (5 rabies, 3 for a vaccine I never got when I was supposed to and 2 covid!) and I am totally fine!! I was so anxious with the first ones and then I learned to deal with the anxiety and just do it. I found the best thing to do is NO GOOGLING! I know some people say “do your research” but honestly I’m not a scientist, researcher, etc. and people way smarter than me have spent their lives researching vaccines and I’m going to trust them. With health stuff I personally just have to do what the doctor says because otherwise my anxiety spirals out of control. Anyway, you can do it! Try to distract yourself up until Saturday and distract yourself after the shot. If the thoughts pop up just say “yep, maybe a third hand will grow out of my head…”

I had major anxiety about getting the vaccine. I was super afraid of side effects. My aunt went with me or I probably would have chickened out. I can't tell you how many times I almost had a panic attack at the time I got the shot. I ended up getting Johnson & Johnson, so I was 1 and done. I'm glad I did it. As far as side effects, I felt pretty fatigued and had a mild headache for about 3 days. I got the shot at 4:15 on a Thursday afternoon and felt totally back to normal by Sunday night.

Something else that helped was what my doctor friend told me years ago when I was afraid to get my tetanus booster : “the things you’ll have to put in your body if you get tetanus are a lot worse than what is in the shot.” That helped me overcome some of the fear.

I’m so sorry your OCD is so debiliating. Mine used to be that bad too. I could barely get off the couch to do a load of laundry. I do still strongly encourage you to not get vaccinated. It’s totally up to you and you know your parents better than I do, but they may not kick you out because they’re supportive of you with your OCD. You’re an adult and they should respect your right to decide what goes in your body. Also, I know it was probably hard to lose your friends, but I’m proud of you for not talking to them anymore.

@Matthew Why do your parents want you to get vaccinated even though you don’t want to?

You’re so lucky that they support you with your OCD! I’ve heard so many stories on here from people who say their parents aren’t supportive. I can’t imagine how hard it is for them. I want to warn you though that the vaccine can have really bad side effects. My aunt had her first covid shot and within minutes she got a really bad headache. They had to keep her for longer than the usual amount of time for observation. She had a stroke 24 hours later, a second stroke a few days after that, and then died a few days later. Shortly before getting vaccinated, her doctor had just given her a clean bill of health. He had also told her the vaccine was safe for her. I also know of several other people who have had died or had other severe reactions after getting vaccinated. Please don’t mistake me, I’m not trying to trigger your OCD. I understand how awful that can be. I just wanted you to know because it’s important. Maybe knowing this can help you.

I’m so sorry. Do you know anyone who will support you about this?

Or someone else you can live with?

Cat lady, I am so sorry to hear about your aunt. That is so awful. Matthew, if you really look at the data, the effects of getting covid are much worse than the effects of the vaccine. I can send you data on that if you want (but for my ocd it’s best for me to just follow my doctor). I would suggest using real data, though, to make an informed decision instead of using individual antidotes. The individual antidotes can be scary but they don’t show the whole picture and don’t allow us to do a true risk/benefit analysis. Also, if you have heart issues, definitely talk to your doctor about which vaccine you should get. Some have shown side effects of myocarditis and some dont.

Susan, thank you for apologizing about my aunt. A lot of people don’t do that❤️ The World Health Organization estimates the global mortality rate of covid to be 3.4% which would therefore mean that covid is 96.6% survivable. I’ve heard far too many personal accounts of severe side effects of the vaccine, including multiple deaths, to believe that it’s actually safe. I know there are a lot of conspiracy theories out there, but these are personal testimonies. On top of all that, the vaccine hasn’t even been out long enough for us to know the long-term effects. Like I said, everyone has the right to decide what they do or don’t put in their bodies. I truly do respect that. I just want people to make informed decisions.

I know this is a super old thread but how did the vaccine go for you?