Keeping calm at the doctor’s: Strategies to ease stress, anxiety of healthcare appointments

Feeling anxious about going to the doctor’s is a fairly common and normal reaction that most people experience, considering there’s nothing fun about medical appointments. No one enjoys being in a sterile environment and undergoing all sorts of tests and medical procedures, especially if they’re dealing with serious health issues, so it’s perfectly understandable that you might feel a bit nervous in these situations, regardless of circumstances.

However, the fear of doctors stops being an inconvenience and turns into a real problem when it starts taking a toll on your health life and affects your relationship with healthcare providers. This can discourage you from seeking the care you require, even when you have all the reasons to worry and it’s clear that you should go to the doctor ASAP.

If you’ve reached a point where even the mere thought of scheduling a checkup makes your heart race and your palms sweat, and you postpone medical appointments or ignore your symptoms altogether because you’re too scared to walk into a doctor’s office, there’s a high chance you might be suffering from iatrophobia – a medical condition characterized by an intense fear of doctors and medical settings that affects about 3% of the world’s population.

It can be difficult to determine if what you’re feeling is just normal medical anxiety or iatrophobia, but whatever it may be, it’s certainly better to address the issue early on, preferably before it turns into a full-blown medical condition with wide-ranging consequences for your health, so here’s what you can do about it.    

Improve your health literacy.

The reasons people are apprehensive about medical appointments are varied. It can stem from bad past experiences, the thought of painful procedures, or the fear of receiving a serious diagnosis. All these are perfectly justifiable motives that can trigger feelings of anxiety and panic, making individuals act irrationally at times.

However, in many situations, the distress is caused by an acute lack of knowledge. People fear what they don’t understand, and with medicine being a complex discipline that requires a high degree of specialization, the majority of people have difficulties deciphering and grasping medical concepts. This lack of education can make one mistake myths for reality and believe all sorts of medical fallacies that fuel their fears.

If that’s the case for you, the simple fix is to improve your health literacy. When medical information ceases to be a mystery, and your knowledge of healthcare topics broadens, your mind will no longer drift towards worst-case scenarios or replace facts with fiction, and medical appointments won’t seem as scary anymore.

You’ll find plenty of helpful resources, both online and offline, addressing a variety of medical topics that might interest you. For example, a guide like Medical Negligence: What It Is and How It Occurs can shed light on the realities of medical malpractice and what victims can do about it. So, take advantage of these resources to boost your medical knowledge and take control of your fears.  

Have someone accompany you to your appointments

Some of your concerns may also subside when you are around a close friend or family member. Having a loved one by your side might provide you with a sense of calm and comfort when your worries begin to sneak in. People you trust can offer emotional support by listening to your fears without passing judgment, providing an alternative viewpoint that can help you see things differently, or just striking up a conversation while you’re in the waiting room to take your mind off of your bad thoughts.

Moreover, when a third person is in the room, witnessing the conversation you have with your doctor, you can feel more at ease knowing they are listening and taking notes. A second pair of ears guarantees you won’t miss out on important information because of your nervousness.

Be honest about your anxiety

It’s common for people to try to overcome fears by simply ignoring them. However, acting unconcerned and pretending you’re fine when you’re actually scared to death won’t make your stress and anxiety go away. On the contrary, bottling up your emotions can backfire and make your anxiety worse.  

Instead of trying to hide something that every competent health professional will eventually notice and waste precious time in the process, you should be honest with yourself, but most importantly, with your attending doctor, and tell them exactly how you feel. Opening up and discussing freely with your physician about your fears may seem like a daunting thing to do in itself, but it’s the smartest approach in this situation. After all, doctors are in the best position to offer reassurance and ease your concerns. It’s their job to listen to all your worries and issues, no matter how absurd they might be, and help you overcome these problems.

Give therapy a try

If all else fails and your medical anxieties worsen despite your efforts to keep them in check, you should consider seeking professional support. You need to accept the fact that there is only so much you can do on your own, and from one point on, the intervention of a healthcare specialist is the only thing that can help.  

A mental healthcare professional has the necessary knowledge and experience to support you and will know exactly what course of treatment to prescribe so you don’t have to deal with these aggravating fears alone. They’ll be able to tell if your anxieties are normal or if you have iatrophobia. Whatever the case may be, getting help from a professional is the most efficient way to get an accurate diagnosis and proper treatment.

You don’t have to accept medical anxiety as normal and just learn to cope with it, even if it’s rather common. By employing the right strategies and getting the help you need, you can take charge of your emotions and enhance your life and health.