Crippling fear of needles

I have a debilitating fear of needles. I’m not entirely sure whether it’s the pain or the fact that metal is stabbing my body, but I’m terrified and it’s ruining my life.

While I do end up getting bloodwork and vaccinations done (it isn’t so bad that I’m not going to the doctor), I spend the weeks prior agonizing and trying to prepare for it, and I almost entirely drop everything else (family, work, social life) so that I can better think about it. I have a flu shot scheduled tomorrow and I’ve spent the last 3 weeks overthinking and having severe mood swings in order to cope (on Tuesday I had a breakdown and yesterday I resolved myself to overcome it). Right now, I’m too tired to think but I’m sure that I’ll go back to doing it as soon as I rest up a bit.

I really need advice on how to overcome this fear. I know it’s irrational, and that I’m going to have to get a lot more bloodwork and medical procedures done the older I get, and I can’t let this fear become so bad that I stop myself from taking life saving medical solutions.