Any 40 year olds having your 1st dose this week/soon?

[VaccineAnxiety]

I need a hand hold..I’m trying to force myself to get this vaccine but as with everything when you force yourself it’s even harder..anyone in my boat?

I am going to sound very patronising, but the OP is not well, so don't feel comfortable targeting her ( and believe me , I am constantly calling out other people).

I am going to sound very patronising, but the OP is not well, so don't feel comfortable targeting her ( and believe me , I am constantly calling out other people)

I do agree, with you. However it appears clear to many of us that endless threads saying the same things seem to be making the OP much worse. In a way she is creating her own misery, and people's kindly meant replies are adding to that misery, or rather anxiety. Each thread she seems to feel worse than she did in the one before. I do think that deliberately creating a distance between herself and her daughter because she is so convinced she is going to die, actually tips things over into something quite serious. And of course impacts on her daughter as well.

OP, I wonder if you have considered that had you had the vaccine on one of the occasions you attended, your anxiety regarding the vaccine may actually be much better now. Equally had you made a firm decision not to have it, your anxiety may have lessened there too. The endless shall/shan't could be the thing that is creating the MOST anxiety for you, and either decision would perhaps be good for your mental health. Making a firm decision now, one way or another, could be the very thing that helps you the most.

@MareofBeasttown you don’t sound patronising and it is honourable that you are supporting the OP and I would too until the moment I heard her call what is probably the biggest medical saviour in recent times, the ‘clot vaccine’. Disrespectful, scaremongering and unnecessary. And have you noticed how the OP has run off probably to start yet another thread about her ‘anxiety’.

The team, led by researchers from Barcelona's IDIAP Jordi Gol institute, found that rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE) – a combination of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism – were roughly 1.3 times higher in people who had received either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines than in those who had not been vaccinated.

Perhaps more shockingly, the EMA-funded study found that rates of VTE were eight times higher in people who had been infected with COVID-19.

So from this scientific data why is AZ the ‘clot vaccine’ more than Pfizer is? More importantly why is Covid-19 not nicknamed ‘Clot-19’. Why? Because that doesn’t suit the anti-vax narrative. Nothing to see here. Move on.

I mean it’s one thing to put yourself at risk and not have the vaccine. It’s quite another to start numerous threads about it causing potential anxiety and unhelpful nicknames to others. These threads should be SHUT DOWN. OP good luck. Have the vaccine or don’t have it. It’s your risk. But now is the time to stop whining about to to anyone that will listen and trying to put them off too. I mean even look at the bloody thread title.

@Blessex I’ve not run off - I’m here just exhausted mentally to keep saying I’m not an anti vaxxer or some other anti vax stooge as you keep saying.

You sound angry/ I’m not here to have a fight.

Anxiety is not clear cut - the easy way to explain is - record yourself saying negative things like ‘it won’t work, you’ll end up dead, it’s all falling apart’ - play it in a loop and now carry on with your daily routine- go to work, cook, shower , look after kids, but you cannot take the e ear phones out of mute- that is what it feels like. It’s exhausting- you will act irrationally’ my throwaway comment of ‘clot jab’ is exactly that- driven by irrational anger that I’m in this loop

Don’t judge everyone by the tags- a lot of people are not anti jab or pro jab - we are just normal people who are put in a unnatural scenario where everything has become cumbersome

Not everyone will agree or understand but that’s what it is…

I need to step out of this thread and all social media- I want to get the vaccine but my anxiety is what is holding me back

I’ll try again this week/end to see if I can push myself…

@VaccineAnxiety maybe then change your narrative to ‘Clot-19’. Given the evidence that is what would give me anxiety. Not being protected from Clot-19.

Read the science in bold above. That will surely help than randoms on the web opinions. And read the reports of doctors and nurses in ICU telling us that the last words of people put onto ventilation is - can I now please have the vaccine. Answer no. Too late. That should help.

Ps these unvaccinated ICU patients begging for the vaccine in hindsight whilst using up vital hospital resources which could have been used for other terminally or long term ill patients. Maybe that will soothe the anxiety somewhat. Yes I am angry. Go get jabbed.

Maybe that will soothe the anxiety somewhat

You clearly have no idea how anxiety works.

@PurpleDaisies and you clearly have no idea how constant threads scaremongering others work. There is anxiety and there is making others fearful check out the multiple threads and the thread title ffs.

Thread title: Calling all other over 40s….where are you….and how can I project my anxiety onto you to make you feel worse. I will give you misfacts and new nicknames for the vaccine - clot vaccine - just to make my new posse feel bad too. And I will do thread after thread about it. To make you all feel even worse. It’s transparent @PurpleDaisies

How did you get on @VaccineAnxiety?

I'm guessing you'd have posted if you'd managed to have the jab.

I do feel for you, my mum (who died last year) had crippling health anxiety. As well as general anxiety, agoraphobia and she also suffered with severe panic bless her

I often think about her and there is no way she'd have been able to get the vaccine. She wouldn't have had it in her. Hoping for better things to for you

(Mum died suddenly at home and not of Covid)

@Crunchymum thank you very much for checking on me and also thank you for being kind and understanding- I decided to step away due to the name calling and borderline bullying attitudes of some posters.

Yes I’m like your mum - crippling anxiety is driving me as supposed all the other name calling which was bestowed upon me.

To answer your question - I’ve been up all night as I wanted to make myself go and get it done- I’ve been crying, was exhausted in the morning. Husband just said do whatever you want but don’t tell me-

I’ve rung a pharmacy which is doing vaccination everyday from Monday until next Saturday so I’ve got a couple of chances- I spoke to someone and informed them that I’m very nervous and if there would be someone to support me

He informed that there would be a qualified vaccinator and the pharmacist-

I’m just going through the motions telling myself that I HAVE to get this done

I’m been in tears all morning and now- I just feel lonely and scared. I’m convinced (or my anxiety has me convinced) this won’t go well for me…

I’ll update if I get it done..

Thank you again for your empathy

I've seen a few if your threads and I recognise genuine anxiety.

I'm sorry you've had so much hate on here.

You'll get there in the end!!! Keep well.

@VaccineAnxiety

Do you have any other anxieties normally, or is it just the vaccine that's stressing you out? I ask, because your husband doesn't sound particularly supportive, and if you face this on a regular basis with him with other things, it must be very hard.

I was very worried about getting my vaccine done too. I think knowledge is power - deciding where you'll get it done, working out which vaccine you'll get at that venue, deciding what to wear (something with no sleeve would be ideal!), deciding when to go, making a plan for how you'll get there and get back, etc.

Once you've mapped all these things out in your head, you have a plan. You can then pretty much get through the day on autopilot, and disassociate yourself a little from the experience.

Plenty of people will tell you're being ridiculous and just to get it done. Ignore them. You are worried about the vaccine, but you're also worried about Covid. You're not some insane anti-vaxxer, you're just someone who wants to get the vaccine and is not unreasonably scared of the unknown.

I mean, the unknown is scary. It is. There's a reason why we feel all kinds of emotions when we do something brand new to us, no matter how safe or easy it might feel to someone else. You're not being ridiculous. You're just being you. You have a different set of lived experiences to everyone else in the world. No one knows what it's like to spend a day as you.

The trick is to accept all of that. It is scary. No one is going to convince you otherwise, because until you get that first jab, you won't know for sure, for yourself, that it's totally fine. So, accept that you're going to wake up on your planned vaccination day and you're going to feel uncomfortable. Focus on dealing with that. Focus on staying calm, on continuing to breathe, and following through with the plan you've made to get up, get dressed and head to the vaccination centre.

If you really are worried you won't be able to hold it together, write a note in big letters you can keep in your pocket that says something along the lines of 'I'm really anxious, but I want to get this done. If I talk, I might cry - can you please help me stay calm?'

All of the vaccinators and volunteers are lovely. They want you to get this done, so if your husband isn't exactly a pillar of support, don't be afraid to rely on the kindness of strangers.

I've seen and heard all kinds of stories - honestly, I know you feel really isolated, but there are plenty of others who have been similarly scared and got vaccinated anyway, with the help of lovely vaccination centre people who have gone above and beyond when asked for help. So, don't be afraid to ask for help - even if, as I said, you have to hold up a note because you're struggling not to tear up.

One final thought from me - you could have pretended to everyone you'd had the jab. You haven't. You've been honest, and you've been brave in admitting your own anxieties. This is step one towards actually getting the jab done. You're making progress. You can do this. I promise, you are stronger than you think.

Wishing you nothing but positivity and kindness. x

OP these threads never help. Go to your GP. Not about the vaccine but about your severe and crippling anxiety.
Plus you have say you’ve “done” CBT. It can take weeks and months of practicing he techniques taught. So I doubt you really have.

These threads never help anyone - it isn't about anxiety it is about spreading fear.

Am sorry to see you are still really struggling with this OP. Try and ignore the nasty posters (especially the ones saying you are spreading fear). I have seen your other posts and know how lonely you feel about it all.

Are any centres near you doing walk ins with no appointment needed? You just turn up? I find that if I have a date and time for something, I hyper focus on it and get in an awful state... then I I end up cancelling it and never going. There might be a day when you just think that you are strong enough in that moment to walk up to a place and ask to have it done.

@lavieengris @XenoBitch

Thank you for your understanding- to answer your questions

I am trying to plan and visualise- that’s why I rang the pharmacy and enquired- although my voice got all trembly and I was in tears so quickly ended the call but got what I wanted- mostly

I’ve checked the route and parking as well

I was actually trying to do something similar last night- by reading the stats etc on adverse reactions, I thought those data will assure me that it’s a low chance- I stated going down the rabbit hole and came out more anxious and also with more new possible reaction a than I went in - hence the reason for my breakdown today

Maybe I should consider writing it down like you suggested - when I’m anxious I breakdown more when I try to talk

I might consider getting it done over a weekday as supposed to a weekend- I don’t know, my anxious brain keeps saying that maybe I’ll get better help incase of an adverse reaction as supposed to the weekend- irrational I know

I was a normal human- not the wreck that I am today. Moving to this country- no friends and family was hard- but I was like a horse in blinkers and concentrated on my career- anxiety started when pregnant and never let go off me

Husband is not a emotionally available person- he has seen my breakdowns but I think deep down he feels I should just try harder to be normal. I think now he has lost patience hence the do whatever you want- it’s ok, he wants to live his life and I’m a hinderance

I am ignoring the horrible comments- people don’t understand anxiety and hidden behind a keyboard it’s easy to bully someone-

@VaccineAnxiety If getting the vaccine on Monday makes you feel better than getting it on Sunday, why not plan to get it done then? If it's one little thing that makes you feel more comfortable, why not? Every little thing that makes you feel better all adds up.

It sounds like you've had a tough time in recent years and dealing with Covid has been the last straw. A lot of people who are merrily posting horrible things probably started this pandemic with a better support network behind them.

For now, I think I'd put your relationship in a box, so you can focus on this vaccine. Once you deal with the jab, you can unbox the relationship and think about what you need to work on and how you want things to change. One problem at a time.

You've checked out the route and the parking, good. So you know how you're getting there. It's a walk-in clinic? Do you know if it's a Pfizer/AZ/other clinic? If you don't know what type (you should be be able to check online), have you run through how you would feel if you were told it was a certain type?

Do you work? If so, do you have the phone number for who to call if you feel under the weather the next day? Have you found some painkillers and left them next to the bed in case you wake up achey the next day?

Do write that piece of paper. You might not need to use it, but it could be a comfort knowing it's there.

There will come a point where you've planned everything that you don't need to make any big decisions on the day, and can just follow through all the decisions you've already made beforehand. Any changes on the day will be little decisions, and little decisions are bearable.

I think you're doing really well. You called the pharmacy. You're getting closer to getting it done. Other people might not understand, but with every little step you make to getting it done, take a breath and congratulate yourself. Those little steps are going to take you to the finish line.

@VaccineAnxiety Hello OP, did you make any more progress in getting your vaccine? Just wanted to check in you and see if you were feeling OK.

@lavieengris thank you for checking on me- very kind of you

I’ve come off all social media- stopped looking at news papers. I’m only answering your post here and not looking at anything else.

I need to first be calm to be rationale

I’ve ring the gp surgery and have a call back booked for tomorrow- I’ll try and get my mind in order to articulate my worries

I’m taking each day at a time-