For me personally I like to hear people's experiences through the lens of severe anxiety, so here is a breakdown of my two doses for anyone who is putting theirs off due to fear! ❤ *of course this is only my experience and yours may differ but mine is fairly textbook.

Dose 1: Went to a walk in vaccination centre. I told the intake nurse I was terrified of both needles and side effects. She sat with me and let me know what the real side effects could be and gently dismissed the not real ones I had in my head. She took me to a private room with a bed to lay down on and offered me juice and cookies which was super sweet haha. She said I could sit there and relax for as long as needed before the shot but I told her if we didn't do it now I may run out lol. 

The actual shot- I know you've heard this before but genuinely it barely hurt. Felt more like a pinch than a needle and it was done in under one second. After it was over I had a massive panic attack and felt faint so they gave me the juice box and got me cold paper towels for my head. Panic attack lasted 5 minutes but I laid there for 25 minutes to make sure I was alright and they never asked me to leave earlier. 

Side effects:

Day 1- no side effects.
Day 2- sore arm only.
Day 3- nothing!

Dose 2: Same experience with the walk in centre. Everyone is super nice and doesn't care if you act like a baby, they have seen it all and just want you to be vaccinated and healthy! Shot managed to hurt even less, still had a panic attack but this time came prepared with my own ice pack and the panic lasted less time. Didn't need to stay longer than the 15 minutes.

Side effects:

Day 1- felt fatigued that evening, not super bad but just wanted to nap off and on.
Day 2- the part I was worried about, flu like symptoms. I had a low grade fever and muscle aches. It definitely wasn't pleasant but it only lasted 6 hours and I was able to fall in and out of sleep. By 2pm my fever was gone and my body aches went down to a dull soreness. Still a bit sleepy and my arm hurt a 4/10. Took Tylenol and Advil and drank a LOT of Gatorade and was able to play Minecraft the rest of the day.
Day 3- all better!

The process was definitely way less scary than the months of anxiety I had leading up to it! The chances of having a severe reaction is literally one in a million and even if it happened all the staff are trained for that!

This post isn't to convince anyone to get their vaccines, just an in depth breakdown of what it was like if you're like me and don't find vague information helpful enough. Stay safe ❤