How Can I Stop Being Afraid of the Vaccination?

Many patients I speak to are afraid of the vaccination.  Not simply of having an injection – although that may be part of it – but of potential side effects.

Three of my close family members developed serious side effects after being vaccinated, and the news is full of stories about dangerous blood clots.  Here in New Mexico  about half the population has been vaccinated but I know from my conversations that there is a great deal of fear.

I have never had a flu shot in my life.  As a holistic doctor of Chiropractic I have always relied on the body’s ability to repair itself. Time and time again with my patients and clients I have witnessed the body’s amazing power to heal.

Fear of the vaccination or fear of dying?

But faced with the reality of the pandemic and either dying alone in a quarantined hospital room gasping my last breath, or taking one of the vaccinations, I chose to be vaccinated.  

After the vaccinations rolled out, I waited. I wanted to see if there were any adverse reactions, and sure enough, the after effect statistics started pouring in. My thought was, I’ll wait until they iron out the kinks and then do it.

Since my husband George, also a chiropractic physician, is still practicing and seeing patients, we decided to wait for the Johnson & Johnson “one and done” vaccine to become available. He went first and I kept an eye on him closely for two weeks afterward. He did fine, and I was relieved.

Meanwhile, three close family members of mine had received the two-part vaccination and developed tinnitus after their second shot. Two of them had other ill effects that were very concerning and it spiked my fear again about having it done.

When I finally made my appointment to be vaccinated, I felt deep dread in the pit of my stomach. What’s going to happen to me? Am I going to get tinnitus too? How is that going to affect my private client sessions, my career? What if the vaccination ignites some hideous side effect and ruins my happy life? Suffice it to say: fear of the unknown was my predominant feeling.

The choice seemed limited. Death by Covid vs side effect and still alive? I kept my appointment.

The day of the vaccination

I was agitated as I drove myself there. I even got lost and – subconsciously - made myself 15 minutes late. Now I was afraid I was too late to have it done that day. When the nurse assured me I could still have one, I was back to being afraid for it to happen.

I was sitting in fear, alone in a room, waiting for her to administer the shot. It happened so fast, I felt nothing at first. They advised me to stand by for 15 minutes in case of a reaction. I sat in my car outside the door.

The injection site on my arm started throbbing, with a sort of whirling sensation under the skin. I wanted to panic, but I remembered what I’ve told my clients thousands of times. Fear is not a healing energy.

Fear is not a healing energy

Fear actually makes things worse! When your mind gets carried away with fear, you can develop psychosomatic symptoms!

To learn more about psychosomatic symptoms and the vaccines click here, here and here

In those 15 mins inside my car I tapped for every single concern and fear I had surrounding this damn vaccine. Fear of it unleashing something horrible, fear of the blood clotting disorder linked to the J&J, fear of tinnitus, fear of a hidden side effect in the future. I was thorough.

Before my 15 minutes were up, my arm stopped hurting, and I felt calm and confident.

I thought to myself; “You old scary cat! Tapping got you out of that one too! Duh!”

Truthfully, I should have tapped for fear sooner.  I knew the tools to reduce my fear but I was too caught up in everyone else’s fear consciousness. It was dominating my life.

I’ve re-learned a valuable lesson from this experience. Note to self…WHEN IN FEAR JUST TAP!

If you’re reading this and you’ve never heard about “tapping” before, here's a video for a quick explanation.

From all the tapping for my fear of side effects, I shifted internally, I could feel it, my confidence soared. I never thought about the shot after that day. Two weeks later and I’m going about my business as usual with no problems.

Actually, I feel great physically. Feeling grateful, bright, shiny, and energized, as if a fog had lifted…and it has. The unrelenting year and a half of oppression by a deadly disease, the lockdown, the fear of the unknown, the helplessness, the hopelessness, the isolation, has vanished.

So, my message to you is to face up to your fears and own them, release them with tapping, and get yourself vaccinated!