Hope for a Fearless Physical

Does the thought of a checkup or trip to the doctor bring on intense fear, rapid heart beat, shortness of breath? You may have Iatrophobia - a fear of doctors.

By Barbara E. Fox, Ph.D.

Have you noticed how our girl-talk has changed? I find my conversations now peppered with lighthearted references to secretly scary signs of dreaded diseases. We are of the age when health issues may begin to pop up. Yet despite our well-honed abilities to take care of others, many of us never quite get around to taking care of ourselves. You’re not alone if you’ve shown fear, reluctance or outright refusal to investigate worrisome symptoms or comply with doctors’ requests. It may not surprise you that some of us Boomer women haven’t been to the gynecologist since the youngest child was born or can’t bring ourselves to schedule that dreaded colonoscopy. Those bumps under the skin? We’ll worry about that another day. Whether because of embarrassment, ignorance or sheer terror, ignoring our health is a passive ticket to trouble and undermines our sense of empowerment and self-esteem. The causes for delay are many. An intense fear of doctors is called iatrophobia. It commonly coexists with a more general fear of getting ill or contracting a disease. It can also encompass irrational fears of needles, seeing blood or being touched. Women who suffer from iatrophobia may have a generalized anxiety regarding medical exams, procedures or treatments. They may also fear losing control, failing or dying. Physical symptoms such as dizziness, shaking, nausea, diarrhea, rapid heart beat or shortness of breath may accompany these worried thoughts. As a child, Peggy was repeatedly hospitalized for kidney problems. In her mind, doctors became associated with pain, bad news and separation from her parents. She has vague memories of being restrained for treatment and to this day, the sights and smells of hospitals make her queasy and bring on mini panic attacks. These feelings and sensations lurk in the background every time she has to interact with a medical environment although rarely do specific memories of her past surface. So Peggy avoids even routine physicals at all costs. Laura was sexually molested as a child. Despite therapy, she became increasingly uncomfortable with visits to the doctor as she matured. On a subconscious level, she likely re-experiences the sense of violation and invasion each time she is asked to change into a gown or is touched by a doctor. Joanne barely knew her grandparents. They all died when she was quite young, but there was much stress in her household along with worried, secretive adult conversations. She didn’t quite understand what was going on but she grew up with an intense fear of ever being sick. Now, Joanne ignores aches, pains, and the occasional worrisome symptom because it makes her feel “weak.” Her denial of symptoms masks her strong fears of becoming ill and dying. She works hard to deny that she’s aging due to a fear of her own mortality. Reluctance to go to the doctor isn’t always due to trauma or intrapsychic conflict. Most of us have automatic thoughts that pop into our heads without our bidding. Often these thoughts follow predictable but unhelpful patterns. We know they may be illogical but we rarely challenge them. Is it really true that a bad headache invariably means a brain tumor? Of course not. Yet because it is a possibility, the prudent course is to get the symptoms checked. The problem comes when we become so frozen with fear that we’re unable to take care of ourselves. We need to learn to identify, challenge and replace these unhelpful thoughts with more rational ones. Women also put off doctor visits because of simple procrastination. The more stress we feel, the more we tend to focus on the easiest tasks and postpone dealing with complicated or difficult ones. Some of us put off attending to a troublesome symptom until “after the holiday” or “after the birthday” because “I don’t want bad news before the (event) ? .” This often backfires, because when we realize how long the problem remained unattended, guilt and self-blame take over (how could I have waited so long?) and even more fear builds up. Most of us recognize that it’s not helpful to passively live in fear, symptom-surf on the web to self-diagnose or wait until all conditions are perfect to take care of (your) our health. It is helpful to empower ourselves with as much information as possible, so: Educate yourself to signs of common health threats Develop a relationship with a compassionate, competent doctor Resist the fear of embarrassment. Don’t project that if all turns out well, you were “overreacting.” Consider counseling if your fears are intense.

In her new book, How To Talk To Your Doctor, Patricia Agnew offers this advice: Write down exactly why you’re afraid so your fear becomes something specific to be confronted instead of free-floating anxiety Bag the guilt and self-blame Confess your fears to someone you trust.

Don’t minimize the girl-talk, either. Not sharing your concerns about your health with trusted family members or friends is associated with additional delay in going to the doctor because you do not get encouragement from others to take care of yourself. This may be costly if something serious is going on. We need to banish wait-and-see attitudes. Proactive steps save and prolong lives.

Barbara E. Fox is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Mt. Laurel. She received her Ph.D. from S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, and has worked with diverse populations and age groups. She has a background in special education and is also a certified school psychologist. Contact Dr. Fox at girlfriendz@girlfriendzmag.com.