All of our feelings and emotions come from our brains - things like being happy, sad, excited, angry and worried. Feelings are normal, and something that everybody gets. 

​

Feeling worried is also normal, and although it doesn't usually feel very nice, it plays a helpful role in our lives. Worry, or being frightened or anxious, helps us to react to keep ourselves out of danger. If we found a tiger in our kitchen, that would worry us - and our brain would tell us to take action by running away or hiding. Our worries stimulate our brains to release a hormone called adrenaline. This makes us act to keep ourselves safe by fighting, freezing or running away - sometimes called the fight or flight response. 

​

One way to think about it, is that feeling worried is kind of like the brain's smoke alarm.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

A smoke alarm makes a loud noise when there is a fire, to let us know that we are in danger. This means we can leave the building and go somewhere safe. Sometimes, a smoke alarm can be too sensitive, and it might go off when there isn't really a fire - like when someone burns their toast! While this can be annoying, it is really useful as it makes sure that it doesn’t miss anything. The same thing can happen in your young person's brain - when their worry alarm works properly it can be helpful (like if they meet a tiger), but when it goes off and they aren't in real danger (like when they need to have treatment with a needle) it can be unhelpful. 

​

Sometimes feeling worried can make young people think they can't do something, or their worries tell them that they can't. Feeling worried about needles is very normal - half of all young people feel the same way - but sometimes young people can feel like they are alone in feeling this way. Sometimes they might need to have treatment with a needle, and that can feel really difficult when they are worried about them.

​

This resource was made to help you and your young person stop the unwanted thoughts that can make them feel worried, and to give them information about needles and how to cope when they need to have one. 

​

There is also a section for parents/carers to help you understand how your young person feels, and how you can help support them when they need treatment.

​

​