Overcoming Iatrophobia, or Fear of Doctors and Medical Care
by www.Sedona.com
We think it’s fair to say that going to the doctor is no one’s favorite thing to do. You get poked and prodded, questioned and who knows what you’ll find out about the inner workings of your body. Yet most of us grin and bear it. After all, it’s for our health.
For people suffering from iatrophobia, however, going to the doctor is not just uncomfortable or unpleasant -- it’s utterly terrifying.
It can be the doctor himself or entering a hospital that sparks the fear, or it can be something more abstract, such as a fear of what the doctor may tell you. For others iatrophobia actually stems from a fear of death, and associating doctors with illness and dying. As a result, these people will avoid visiting a doctor or dentist for just about any reason, with obvious potential health consequences.
“Most people have mixed feelings about doctors and the medical system,” says Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training of Sedona Training Associates. “We are bombarded every day with reasons to worry about our health and about the state of our medical system.”
So for someone who is harboring an intense fear of doctors and medical care to begin with, having to weigh the possibilities of illness can be unbearable. But allowing this emotionally based fear to control your actions can be dangerous.
“If you react emotionally you may make poor decisions when it comes to taking care of your health,” Dwoskin says.
Not to mention that, as with all forms of fear, when you are afraid of doctors and medical care, you are holding in your mind thoughts of illness, anxiety, surgery and medical procedures -- everything that makes the fear seem more real and more scary to you.
The Absolute Importance of Letting Go
The more you focus on your fear of doctors, the more you are reacting based on your feelings. Yet feelings often give a skewed view of what’s really going on. Unlike following your intuition, which is the inner knowingness that will not fail you, your feelings can lead you astray.
In the case of iatrophobia, for instance, your feelings may cause you to forgo medical care when it’s necessary. This is why letting go -- a process that is taught by The Sedona Method -- is so important.
“The best thing to do is to release the feelings you have about doctors, hospitals and your various treatment options,” Dwoskin says. “One of the ways you can do this is to let go of the feelings you have either about your own medical history or the history of those close to you. When you let go of the feelings you have about your medical history you allow yourself to approach what is required for you now with a greater feeling of openness and an inner security.”
And, ultimately, this means that you’ll make the right decisions for you and your health -- and you’ll do it from a place of confidence and peace, never from a place of fear.
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