Gotta get me a shot

I don't have much fear about getting Delhi Belly. I have quite a strong stomach, I'll be in good hands and I barely felt a twinge of anything the last time I went to India for two weeks. Maybe I was born with a lot of good bacteria that does strong work or something.

But I did have a HUGE fear of having to get injections as a preventative measure. Cause I didn't get them before my last trip and my husband was 'highly encouraging' me to go get them this time.

When I was much younger, a small girl, I developed a phobia about needles and bees. My dad and I think that somehow they are connected (sting/needle...it works). I would scream bloody murder if a bee flew anywhere near me. But it was worse for my parents if I had to go to the doctors.

One year, I found out that I was going to be getting an injection. Probably one of those things that you have to get every few years or so. I don't know why they did it, but they left me on my own in the examining room. There was a huge black plastic bin for garbage. When the nurse returned to give me my shot, I wasn't visible. Yes, that's right, I was in hiding in the bin. I cared more about getting a shot than about getting into garbage.

As I got older, I continued to have problems with shots. As a sophomore in college, I was required to get another MMR as my generation's shot didn't 'take' or something like that. I went in, trying to be calm. And I was. But after I left the room, I sat down and passed out. I could see the black veil coming over my eyes. It wasn't a good feeling.

I decided once I began to teach and had to help with a blood drive that I needed to get over it. And the only way was to actually give blood. I have a desirable blood type, so it made sense. The first time, I both passed out and threw up. I still feel sorry for the nurses who had to deal with me for one hour. The next time, I just passed out. And it got better and better. I was still anxious, still felt a bit sick/dizzy, but I felt that I had beaten this phobia through the power of CBT.

So now, three years after having not gotten a shot or given blood (not sure why), I had to go and get injections for India. And the fear returned. Would I pass out? Would I get sick?

Well...I did some of my old breathing and self-talk stuff...and I was fine. Yes, I was anxious, but I didn't even feel a touch dizzy. But man, that Typhoid injection really, really hurts later on...I could barely move my arm for two days and even now, a few more days later, I can feel the site where the shot took place!