I've had one done in the past when I was younger, and that probably made my phobia a bit worse. I believe they had to hold my arm down and and basically force it. I'd like to think if I needed it for some other medical reason, I would be able to do so without a similar incident; but realistically, I figure that won't be the case.
It is fairly irrational, but the reason I haven't signed up is because it seems in order to get insurance, you normally need to have a blood test. Basically, I have this phobia when it comes to those; I recognize it is stupid, but I can't seem to get over it (maybe if I could have it done while knocked out, but it seems unlikely the people taking the blood would go for that). I’ve heard you can get term insurance without a medical test in the amounts required for cryonics (I think the premiums would probably cost me a few hundred dollars more per year; I’m 25 and in the US, so my risk of dying in the next 25 years should be low enough to not merit too large of an increase). Does anyone know if there are carriers that would do this?
"Another said: a superhero is someone who can save people who could not be saved by any ordinary means; whether it is few people or many people, a superhero is someone who can save people who cannot be saved. "
This seems to be a reference to (or at least influenced by) Fate/Stay Night, correct?
I've used a similar approach in the past to get myself to do things. One addition to it I find useful l is to also include a reasonable penalty of sorts for failure. For example, I will study for my test for the next two hours, and if I fail or attempt to weasel out of it, I will eat X amount of spinach. This way, even if you assign yourself an unreasonable goal and fail, you still have to pay a price, so you'll a. Hopefully assign yourself more reasonable oaths in the future and b. The effect of breaking the oath is "lessened" since you are paying a price for failure.
Intellect distinguishes between the possible and the impossible; reason distinguishes between the sensible and the senseless. Even the possible can be senseless.
-Max Born
In the NoVA/DC area as well.
Although you suggestion did sound strange initially, desensitization might be a good way to get over it. I’ll have to considering trying that as an option.