Treatment can include at the anxiety treatment center IPZO in Nijmegen. There they see the registrations increasing since January. “Normally we get a registration once every two weeks, now there are two to three a week,” says psychologist Jan van den Berg of IPZO. “Those are the really serious cases, but we are also called much more often for information and tips.”
‘Prikangstkliniek’ in Amersfoort
In the Meander MC in Amersfoort there is now a special clinic for fear of injection. Attending physician Henk Schenk has seen the number of applications double in recent times. “I now have about 40 people on the waiting list. Former patients are also knocking on my door. If the vaccine is more available, they want me to administer it to them, instead of the massive vaccination locations.”
According to Schenk, extreme fear of injection occurs in about one in a thousand people. “That means that there are at least 15,000 Dutch people who cannot take the vaccine because of their fear. That is a problem. But it can also be a boost to really work on getting rid of your fear. “
Schenk and Van den Berg both expect to get even busier. After all, it will soon be the turn of the younger generations for the vaccine. “There is less fear of needles among the over-70s. The protective reflexes are much more active in younger people,” says Van den Berg. “It is evolutionary. You want to arm yourself against things that can cause infections or bleeding.”
Negative experiences from a person’s childhood can also play a role. Schenk: “If your parents drag you to the clinic as a child, it has a significant impact for some. Sometimes even trauma occurs.”
Most people can be helped by treating it in a calm and pleasant way. “You have to make people feel good,” says Schenk. “It doesn’t have to be a hobby, but that fear can be treated.”
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