Fear of Blood Tests

Fear of blood tests is surprisingly common. Phlebotomists are used to helping patients relax as they take blood samples all day. These are the experts who know all of the tricks and the best ways to make you feel at ease. But it is always good to be prepared! I have had regular blood tests for years and they used to really cause me problems. Over time I learnt to use  self-hypnosis to help me have quick and pain-free blood tests. I have sympathy for you if you struggle with blood tests. Maybe it would help you to learn self hypnosis too?

What is Self-Hypnosis?

It is said that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The hypnotic trances we go into every day are natural and normal states, which we drift in and out of at different times. How many times have you been so lost in a book that you have nearly missed your train stop? Your brain already knows how to go into trance naturally. So we can apply this trance to every day events, to help us achieve things.

Learn Self-Hypnosis

You can learn how to go into self hypnosis which is a focussed, relaxed state. This is something I teach my clients and you can practise this from day one. Once you learn how to get yourself into a focussed trance state, you can make everything you choose to do in life that much easier.

Top Tips to Let Go of Fear of Blood Tests

1. Sip water for 24 hours before the test. Not drinking enough makes it harder to find those elusive veins! Drinking too much just before can skew the results.
2. Keep yourself warm… really warm. This helps the veins appear more easily as the blood moves further to the surface of the skin to cool you down.3. I walk briskly just before I arrive and try not to sit still for too long.
3. Once inside the cubicle, I chat, chat , chat. About anything which takes my mind off what’s happening. By doing this I am using  a different part of my brain, which means I feel less sensation and more relaxed and therefore not I am not tensing up my muscles.
4. Take slow, deep breaths. This engages your parasympathetic response which makes you feel relaxed and makes it easier to find a vein.
5. Tell the phlebotomist which side or vein is better for you.
6. If it doesn’t happen right away, I go away and make a new appointment. Having had the human pincushion experience, I now take control and come back another day.
7. If the blood test goes really well, do a little happy dance on the way home! Your brain will associate a good feeling with the event for next time.

When is a Fear a Phobia?

If reading this blog post makes you wince and you don’t feel able to even read it, you may have a phobia. I have successfully treated lots of people with needle phobias, and ones to do with medical procedures. So get in touch to create a plan to get over this with hypnotherapy. It will make your life so much easier and necessary procedures and tests more manageable.

Email zeenat@zeenatahmedpeto.com

or call me on 07961 389 030 to discuss how I can help you.

Read more advice here from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, London