As a patient, when we go to our doctors we have a lot of anxiety. There is a lot about our conditions and how they affect our life that we want to talk about to our doctors. We carry a mixed bag of hope, fear, anxiety and discomfort with us. This makes expressing ourselves even more difficult at our doctor’s offices.
Will the doctor shut us down if we want to explain everything we have on our mind? Will they listen? Even if they listen, will they really understand or care? Even if they understand and care, will they be able to help? Will they judge me for my condition? Will they think less of me if I tell the truth? Will they fire me as a patient and force me to start finding another doctor? What will happen if I can’t do what they ask of me?
Is my doctor ready to deal with all aspects of my complex condition or will I be thrown around like a ball between different doctors, so each would look only at one corner of my issues? Will I have any say in all this? What are my rights and how protected will I be if I stand up for my rights? Will I be RED FLAGGED if I speak out? If I don’t want to fight but only need to get better, will they see that?
I want to be responsible for my health, so I do my own research. Will they take into consideration what I say about my findings? Or will they laugh at me or brush me off like I am wasting their time?
When they respect me, do they really respect me or this is just BEING PROFESSIONAL?
Twenty years ago, no doctor would even look at anything alternative to the mainstream medicine. Now most of clinics claim to be interdisciplinary and it has become chick to have a naturopath or osteopath on board. So who decides to accept or reject something that may help me? Is it all medical evidences they care about or is the market trends? Will I have any say in this process?
Hundreds of questions rush to our mind when we go to our doctors and we never get a chance to get answers to all of them. It is understandable that no doctor would have time for answering hundreds of questions. But it is reasonable to ask for our doctors to be open to hearing what we have to say within the limits of their time. Being open minded is an attitude which has nothing to do with time availability.
If we expect that when we go to our doctors we may face a wall of rejection for our views, needs, opinions and choices, then it is normal to feel anxious each time we go there.
We need our doctors to be more open minded about the subjects of their work: OUR BODIES AND MINDS.
WE NEED MORE OPEN MINDED DOCTORS.
