How not to be afraid of doctors

When we were young most of us were afraid of going to the doctor for an injection. There used to be stories like your tooth being snatched at night rather than to visit a doctor which even many adults ae still scared of doing.

However, as we get older, this phobia affects us more because the body wears out and chronic and neglected diseases begin to emerge. For thsi reason, everyone should learn how not to be afraid of doctors and begin going for regular check-ups.

Why are doctors feared?

The fear of doctors may be an unconscious feeling but it may also be due to previous negative experiences. Psychologists often tell us that problems come from childhood including the fear of doctors but that is not always the case.

The problem with fearing doctors is that it is widespread and it even has a name which is jatrophobia. This is a condition in which a person is afraid of any medical staff, manipulations and just anyone who has a medical gown.

Cause No.1 Bullying
In some cases, mothers use doctors to threaten naughty children. If a child is told from adulthood that doctors punish people rather that helping them then they will perceive doctors to be bad people.

Cause No.2. Negative memories
If you have undergone painful medical procedures especially at an early age then this impression will last a long time and the image of a doctor will always be associated with pain and discomfort. This is why even adults are afraid of dentists because when they were young their teeth were drilled or the nerve was removed and that caused a lot of pain.

However, other unpleasant experiences are not always associated with pain. If you were in a hospital with bad conditions, doctors will always be associated with loneliness, cold wards and poor food. No one would want to go back there.

Cause No.3. Fear of diagnosis
Some people refuse to go to the doctor because they are scared to know the state of their health. They are afraid of a deadly disease that they may end up ignoring the signs and symptoms and prefer to be treated using traditional remedies rather than going to the hospital.

Cause No.4. Fear of medical error
Another common cause of fear is fear of one life during certain medical procedures. Some are even scared of measuring their pressure. In most cases, people are normally afraid of blood transfusions, anaesthesia and surgery. The reason for this fear is medical error. Patients are afraid of getting hurt or of not recovering from .anaesthesia

We deal with fear with awareness of the problem

The first thing to do is to understand where the fear originates. I you cannot do it yourself, you can see a psychologist. If there is a lot of fear, it will be associated with the object of phobia. However, it is better to try and overcome the fear on your own but still consult a specialist.

If the fear is as a result of a negative experience from childhood or intimidation by doctors, you can deal with it on your own or with the help of people close to you. To do this, you should learn how to be patient with doctors. If your parents devalued your feelings after injections or blood transfusion, and they said it was not painful, support yourself or seek help from someone close to you like your partner. Remember the main thing is that you went to the doctor out of your own free will because you needed to. Of course, it might have been unpleasant and painful but the procedure helped you to feel much better.

After undergoing medical procedures, take a walk in the park, take a cup of coffee in your favourite café, eat something delicious or take a break from the normal home routine. Ensure that the visit to the doctor is associated with something pleasant. After a few visits, you will eventually stop being afraid of the doctor.

If you are afraid that there will be mistakes or misinformation, ask your doctor about your condition when you go for the appointment. Feel free to ask the same thing several times and share on what you have researched about the disease. After all, it is your health and you have the right to know everything about it. You may need to consult more than one specialist until you find someone whom you are comfortable with. This is a perfectly normal situation that many patients face.

If you are afraid of being treated in the hospital, think about what exactly you are afraid of. Is it the bad conditions, rude staff or the outdated equipment? When you find the cause you can choose a clinic that has the best facilities according your preferences.

Plan with your friends and family so that they may visit you regularly and bring you homemade food if the doctor allows it. Carry with you a book, laptop, book, notebook, some pencils or knitting equipment. You can do anything in the hospital so long as it does not interfere with other patients. Do the things you love the most and relax even if you are under drips and injections.

If you are scared of hearing a terrible diagnosis, it is only a specialist who will help. This is a deeper problem, because it is the fear of managing one’s life. It can also be related to the fear of losing your normal way life or total denial of death. You cannot cope with such situations on your own therefore you have to work with a psychologist.

How not to be afraid of doctors during procedures?

Here are the things you should do if your are afraid of doctors during procedures:

• Fear can prevent many procedures from being a success. For instance it will be impossible to measure pressure, ECG or an MRI. If you have a tonometer at home, you can take the measurements on your own and take to the doctor the recorded readings.
  You can also warn the doctors that you are unwell so that they may not have a rapid pulse, stuttering and tremor and perceive them to symptoms of the disease.
• If you are scared of injections, do not look at the syringe during the injection. Think about other things like politics, the weather, cats or you can simply look at he ceiling in the office. Remember to breather deeply and slowly.
• If you are not afraid of injections but you are scared of blood, just look away because no one forces you to watch the procedure. It is better to turn your head away than look closely the end up losing consciousness.
• There are two reason why patents fear operations The first is the fear of a dysfunctional outcome of the intervention. The fear is of not recovering from anaesthesia.
  
  If in the first case you do not believe the results of the procedure, you may select a doctor based on feedback from other patients. Talk to those who have been operated on by a certain surgeon and meet him several times before the actual procedure. In the second case, remember that the chances of not getting out of anaesthesia is less than dying while crossing the street, usually only cases per million.

How do you prevent the development of phobia in a child?

The most thing is not to portray the doctor as an evil character who will punish the child for their bad behaviour. Such stories are often dealt with by parents who cannot deal with their children on their own. Such practice is not approved by a child psychologist because instilling such fears can cause harm in the future.

If the child is afraid of going to the clinic because of panic, the game of playing doctor will help. Buy the child a toy medical kit and play with him doctor. Let him measure your temperature, give you an injection, examine the throat and then you do the same to him. Make this games diverse so that the child will no longer be afraid of doctors of any specialty.

To ensure that the baby is relaxed at the clinic, carry their favourite toy and find an interesting activity that both of you can do. Be calm because if the child notices that you are nervous, they will also begin to have fear. After aa successful trip to the doctor ensure you praise the child for being calm.

If the child is afraid of doctors and may be you are supposed to visit the doctor, take them with you. Allow the baby to observe that the procedure is safe and painless.

Another method that will help is if you explain to your children why they should not be afraid of hospitals because you will also be helping yourself if you also have the phobia.