What Needles Taught me About Fear Over the Weekend

It's not every day we get a chance to face our biggest fears. And yet, this weekend I got just the chance to do that. Over this past weekend, my fear of needles taught me something new about fear in general.

Ever since I was a little boy I had a fear of needles. One shot gone wrong was more than I could take, and it left a lasting impression on my young mind.

Fast forward to this past weekend, and I'm now over that fear mainly because I had no choice but to get over it. My days of taking needles in my legs is now over.

Regardless of the outcome, there are a few key takeaways from this I learned that I want to share with you. Here's what needles taught me about fear over the weekend.

1. It's Mostly in your head

Think back to all the times you were scared of something. Now think about how scary it actually is. Not so scary now is it? That's the first thing I learned over the weekend.

Back when I got shots in kindergarten, the teacher made it sound scarier than it actually was. As for me, I wasn't fazed by it, until my fourth shot that day.

I knew the needles were sharp and that scared me, but I went through with it. The first three were fine, pinpricks in my arm with a little pressure. The fourth one though, that one hurt like hell.

The first lesson those needles taught me over the weekend is that the fear you feel is simply your mind trying to protect you from another potentially painful experience. 

I don't know why the last one hurt so much, but looking back at all the times I've had needles, the painful ones were always the exceptions.

2. It's NEVER as bad as you think

Everybody's brain is a drama queen. Everything is over-dramatized for the sake of stopping you from doing something painful or stupid. It's a shame this fear response is quite inaccurate.

Do keep in mind that feeling fear is completely natural. Even courageous people feel fear.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather acting in the face of fear. The only thing separating you from being brave is getting past your internal fear response.

When I was told that I'd have to take a needle into my arm, I was scared. As in, holding my mom's hand scared. I was mentally prepared for horrible pain, as I've become accustomed to when it comes to needles in my arm.

Instead of getting excruciating pain for a brief moment, I got a gnawing type of pain for about 10 seconds; it wasn't scream-inducing, but it was uncomfortable. 

Once it was over, I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. The only pain that remained was the soreness from the needle.

While the experience may be a little bit bad, it's never as bad as your mind makes it out to be. Learning to take action in the face of fear is the way to get over those fears.

That being said, taking action on its own isn't enough.

3. Fear is rooted in trauma

As mentioned in my previous post, many people are carrying trauma with them from childhood. This trauma holds them back from achieving their full potential.

My fear of needles came from my traumatic experience with needles in kindergarten. It was so painful at the time, and that's the part that stuck with me.

The reason why this moment helped me to get over my fear was that I'd done the inner work to get over my trauma weeks before. All that was left was to obtain the proof that proved my trauma wrong.

Although this experience cemented my getting over my fear, it was only possible because I had done the proper inner work to overcome my trauma.

"Living in fear is not living at all" - Sejuani, League of Legends

Video game quotes aside, allowing fear to rule your life is a one-way ticket to being miserable. It's been done to death at this point that the pain of regret is worse than the pain of rejection.

By getting over your fears, you'll be one step closer to living a more fulfilled life. When all else fails, at least you can say you tried.

- Karl