- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
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…”
- Date posted
- 4y
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.
- Date posted
- 4y
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.
- Date posted
- 4y
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.
- Date posted
- 4y
@Matthew Why do your parents want you to get vaccinated even though you don’t want to?
- Date posted
- 4y
@Matthew I’m so sorry. I don’t understand why people think getting vaccinated can protect other people because vaccinated people can still get and spread the virus.
- Date posted
- 4y
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.
- Date posted
- 4y
I’m so sorry. Do you know anyone who will support you about this?
- Date posted
- 4y
Or someone else you can live with?
- Date posted
- 4y
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.
- Date posted
- 4y
I was going to say something similar. So many of the reasons people are choosing not to get the vaccine are based on wrong information and conspiracy theories. If someone chooses not to get the vaccine based on a legitimate reason such as a previous allergic reaction to a vaccine or an underlying health condition is one thing.
- Date posted
- 4y
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.
- Date posted
- 2y
I know this is a super old thread but how did the vaccine go for you?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 14w
2 days ago I decided that I will do my bloodtest, last time i was in 2017 and for some reason when i stood up I started to feel dizzy and I couldnt see anything, I didnt fainted but i was close to it,the nurses quickly layed me down, and then i was fine, but the whole day my body was shaking. I was afraid of blood test, and i always avoided it, but my health anxiety got worse cause i was afraid everytime that i have cancer but i cant check it cause im afraid of bloodtests. This year i had to do other medical tests and now they asked me to do bloodtest too, and 2 days ago i said okay this week i will face this fear. And i felt excitet, motivated and happy that finally i will face my fear. I did not cared if i faint cause it might not happen but if does I can handle it, i will feel good after i wake up. But someone after some hours, the fears came up, and i wanted to face them (cause people say you need to challenge the thoughts) so i tried to challenge them and find ways that i will handle those scenarios, but after time i got stressed cause i didnt know how to respond. If i faint and then vomit and feel sick and vomit alot of times cause im also panicking to the point they have to take me to the hospital... this jist scared me. I dont know how to handle that panic. The body will react to the blooddrown so either way i will feel bad. And im afraid of it and I cant deal with that fear.I dont know what to do if i will feel sick the whole day, if i will vomit the whole day and faint because of stress. This might be catastrophising but now these thoughts comes up, if i imagine myself being there and getting my blood drawned, i imediatelly feel the panic and these scenarios come up and then i dont know what to do so i just panic... Last night i asked help from others and it helped that some said that its pretty rare that you will vomit after blooddrawn, people who do are sick already or they are really scared. And this made me feel good but then i read about it and i found out that its pretty common that people faint, or vomit or fo both after blooddrawn... and now im just thinking about not going... i cant deal with it cause idk what to do. Breathing techniques didnt worked for me, if im panicking and i try to relax by breathing, i get more stressed cause my brain knows i do it to calm down and the panic is a danger so i get more panic... idk what to do.
- Date posted
- 14w
I'm going to try and be coherent because I know that sometimes during these moments I tend to babble in fear. I have a mole on the left side of my chest that I've had since I was a kid. Been there for as long as I remember. And I never paid attention to it; it was just a part of my body. I even felt a little sad considering that I might not have it anymore whenever I get top surgery. Yesterday I went down a rabbit hole and landed on Melanoma. Which, of course, prompted me to look at my mole again. And again. And again. It's large, bigger than my other moles. Always has been, at least to my knowledge. I always thought it was cute whenever it crossed my mind. Now...now I'm just scared... I'm not asking for reassurance. None of us on here are medical experts (unless youre an actual doctor) (also insert OCD joke here). I sent a picture to my doctor, and she said that if it hasnt changed size that's a good sign. But she also suggested a follow-up with a dermatologist. And that's what scares me the most. All of this started yesterday, but I sent the message to my doctor this morning. And ever since then...I havent been okay. I can barely eat, and every time I try to I can barely swallow. I've isolated myself in the guest bedroom of my parents house. I cant move. I cant think straight. And...let's just say my thoughts havent been good. Like I said, I'm not asking for reassurance or medical advice. I just...I need help to not feel like I'm dying. I didnt mention that yesterday, in the midst of going down the rabbit hole, I realized how badly I didnt want to be afraid, and yet I also felt like I needed to be afraid. And I realized that that's what ERP is (at least for me in case it's different for everyone). I really did naivietely think that it was just going to be about avoiding compulsions. I didnt realize that accepting uncertainty would feel like a death sentence. And now this has happened. I just...I'm scared. And I dont want to be. I dont want to live in this reality where I'm sick and dying. I dont want to have to tell my family. I dont want to live in that world, but it feels like I'm already in it. My body is just preparing me for it. I dont know. I dont know why I'm even making this post. No one can help me, can they?
- Real Events OCD
- NOCD Therapy Alumni
- Existential OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- Health Concern OCD
- Date posted
- 9w
I have to get my wisdom teeth removed on the 21st, I don't know how to deal eith this as I have a fear of needles, blood/gore, sedation, and the biggest one that has nearly sent me to the psych ward multiple times already this summer: emetophobia. I genuinely don't know what to do besides beg my primary doctor for Xanax before the surgery. Whenever I am presented with a fear I have, like the list above, I will tend to shake uncontrollably to the point of having sore muscles and it looks like I'm having an epileptic seizure because of how violent I shake and that's simply not plausible if I need to be sedated and given shots before my surgery to knock me out. I don't know what to do anymore. I was prescribed zoloft because of the fears but my fear of being sick is so strong I can't even take the medicine because I'm afraid of the side effects, and I also generally don't like the idea of ssris anyways but that's the main reason. My girlfriend said she'll be there for me on the day of surgery thankfully so that's good and I'm not worried about waking up too much or tje pain I'm jist worried about the needles and getting sick because they stuff an obnoxious amount of cotton in your mouth when you get teeth like that dislodged from your face. I'm worried about choking on blood because I'll be laying down for the surgery obviously and that much blood will definitely go down my throat and i could be sick
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