Tampons Help!

How do I get over my fear of tampons? I tried it once and had a bad experience. It took me like an hour to build up the courage to try and I guess I didn't put it far enough in cause I could feel it but when I tried to pull it out it hurt soooo much and by the time I pulled up the courage to pull it out (like 4hrs later) it still hurt so bad even though it was fully soaked. I really want to be able to use them but I'm so afraid it's going to hurt again! Please help!!!!! (P.S. It's like 2 years later now)