Mindfulness and needle phobia

[Annette]

I've had a fear of needles for most of my life. For many years I wouldn't have injections or blood tests. A sympathetic dentist helped me adjust to dental injections (I usually try counting backwards from 1000 in 3s - after 20 years of practice I'm very good at it!). And a course of CBT got me to the point where I can cope with blood being taken without fainting, as long as I can lie back rather than sitting bolt upright.

But yesterday in A&E I had a canula inserted in my arm for the first time so I could have a CT scan. It was painful at the time, and I was uncomfortable with it for the whole three hours it was in. The condition they've found would need surgery to correct, so I'm faced with the prospect of more canulas - this time being left in for much longer.

The nurse who put the canula in pointed out that once the needle was removed there was only a tiny amount of very narrow plastic tube left in my arm. But I could still feel it - possibly because of the residual sting of the needle going in. It wasn't the absolute amount of pain that was the problem, it was the awareness that the small amount of pain signified something in my vein, and things to do with veins and arteries make me queasy - which is a bit of a problem because the condition they've found is in one of my leg arteries!

While I was lying waiting for the results of the scan, I tried to use some mindfulness to cope with it. As I understand it, you try to soften your attention around the pain, accept it, be curious about it. But whenever I tried this, drawing my attention to the pain made it harder to bear. I tried to relax with my eyes closed to drift off to sleep (I'd had very little sleep the night before) but that was no better. The only thing that I could do was keep my eyes open and watch the busy-ness in the A&E - the distraction did help a bit.

Can anyone advise how I might be able to use mindfulness to cope with this, please?

[JonW]

I had the same phobia for most of my life. But needles no longer bother me. Mindfulness is 100 per cent responsible for that change.
You didn't mention your mindfulness practice, Annette. How long have you been meditating? Do you have a daily practice? If so, what kinds of meditation do you do?
If you don't have a mindfulness practice and would like to know how to begin, we'd be happy to help you with information here on the forum. So please holler if that's the case.
All best,
Jon

[Annette]

I came to mindfulness a few years ago, but my formal mindfulness practice is very sporadic. There are periods when I meditate for 5-10 minutes every day, sometimes a bit longer, and then I get out of the habit of it and stop. It's normally a mindfulness of breath meditation - I don't like body scans very much, and I feel silly doing metta bhavana because it feels cheesy to me.

Informally, I try to be more aware of my surroundings, more accepting of problems (eg trains being late or cancelled when I really, really just want to get home!) and less judgemental of others. I think that's had a bigger impact on my life than formal meditation.

I'm encouraged to hear that you used mindfulness to deal with your needle phobia - how did you manage it?

[JonW]

Hi,
Well, I was a few months into practice when I had to undergo major surgery on my teeth and figured it was as good a time as any to be mindful about something that had always terrified me (the needles particularly). And though the surgery (three long dental sessions in all) wasn't exactly pleasant, it was a breeze compared to what I used to put myself through in the weeks leading up to a dental visit and during my time in the chair.
I guess that's when I realised that I'd become fairly grounded in mindfulness practice. The key for me was doing the 8-week course with a great teacher (Nick Diggins, Brighton, UK). Although I was getting a lot from the book I'd been reading (Finding Peace In A Frantic World), the group course really nailed it for me. And my practice has been daily ever since. I haven't suffered from anxiety or depression since that time, having suffered badly for most of my life.
For me, it's all in the grounding. And absolute commitment helps. Mindfulness is now a huge part of my life. As my website might indicate: mindfulpilgrim.com
All best wishes,
Jon

[Annette]

Do you mean it was just that you practice mindfulness regularly that made you not worry so much about needles, or that you were using specific techniques when you were having the treatment to cope with it?

I've done a couple of mindfulness courses online, and am currently following a mindfulness MOOC, but somehow I can't seem to establish a formal practice that lasts reliably for more than a few months. Informal mindfulness practice has given me a slightly more laid back attitude to life, decreasing my natural tendency to worry.

[JonW]

"Do you mean it was just that you practice mindfulness regularly that made you not worry so much about needles, or that you were using specific techniques when you were having the treatment to cope with it?"

Both, definitely both.
JW

[Annette]

Can I ask what kind of mindfulness technique you use at the time of treatment?

My problem is that I was doing what I thought was recommended for dealing with pain by mindfulness, and it made things worse. Anything that directed my attention towards it, eg trying to accept it, be curious about it, soften around the pain etc, simply reminded me that I had this thing in my arm that I didn't like. Distraction was the only thing that seemed to help at all.

How do people deal with pain, in general, with mindfulness?

[Gareth]

Take a look at this blog I wrote about pain:

https://www.everyday-mindfulness.org/embrace-the-pain/

[Happyogababe]

Hi Annette,

I suffer a great deal with pain, I also have a trying time at the dentist. What I've found really helpful is body scan (I didn't like it much years ago) and Vidyamala Burche's book 'mindfulness for health', which is an 8 week course and provides insight into primary and secondary pain and how to respond to it differently.

I've found that the more sustained my practice the more benefits I see. I have been for treatment at the dentist today, I had an injection and barely noticed it, I was aware of my body and breath and that seemed to hold my attention. I had a slight bit of discomfort for seconds and instead of my usual reaction of tensing I found just the slightest beginning of tension that subsided quickly. I found myself observing bodily reactions with curiosity (breath too, which remained deep and calm). This, for me, is a real breakthrough.

I have started noticing feelings of anxiety sooner and I now observe it and give it space, I have noticed it dispersing when I do this.

I hope you can find something that works for you.

[Annette]

Thank you, Jon, Gareth and Happyyogababe - you've given me some things to think about.

I'm still unsure about how focusing on the pain that is causing me to feel faint will help to stop the faintness - it just seems to make it worse. I've read that there's an automatic physical response in some people, a vasovagal reflex that decreases the heart rate and blood pressure, leading to fainting. I don't know whether meditation could override that kind of response.

I will try (yet again) to develop a general meditation practice, in the hope that it will help, as it's helped you all.