Fear is a normal state of our psyche when danger arises. It forces the body to take measures to protect itself. But when fears turn into a painful state that paralyzes the will and feelings, then it is no longer worth talking about its biological significance.
Such painful states of panic fear (phobia) have many different causes and objects. Fear of doctors is one of the social phobias that can lead to disastrous consequences for a person. And the more absurd this phenomenon, because the purpose of the doctor is the gift of he alth and well-being. Fear of hospitals and doctors of various specializations is the topic of this article.
This is far from uncommon
Everyone can remember moments when they were afraid of doctors. Most people manage to overcome this fear or simply try to hide it from others and not share their experiences with anyone.
Iatrophobia (from the Greek words ἰατρός - "doctor" and φόβος - "fear, fear"), or iatrophobia (fear of doctors) is inherent in 30% of the world's inhabitants. This is confirmed by the results of social surveys. At the same time, the leaders causing this phobia are dentists, gynecologists and surgeons - in that order. Therefore, the phobia of fear of dentists has a separate name - dental phobia or stomatophobia. The fear of injections is called trypanophobia, and the fear of surgery is called tomophobia. But we will use the general name of the phobia of fear of doctors and hospitals - iatrophobia.
When fear becomes a phobia
For a normal person, anxiety and concern about their he alth and visiting a doctor, especially when there are objective reasons for this, is the norm. The exception to the rule is the hypochondriacs, who feel good only when they feel bad. But when does a simple fear or anxiety become a phobia? You should think about it in the following cases:
- Fear becomes obsessive and irrational.
- Fear develops according to a clear program when a stimulus appears.
- The development of fear is exponential, with increasing intensity and persistent flow.
- The patient persists in being critical of his fears.
You are definitely an iatrophobe
If you or your friend is constantly interested in folk remedies and alternative medicine recipes, and if necessary, a meetinga person in a white coat, you develop excessive sweating, severe anxiety, nausea and dry mouth - you are on the way to a phobia. Add to this problems with blood pressure, uncontrollable trembling, sudden weakness and lack of adequate perception of the situation, and the patient has all the symptoms of a fear of doctors.
Psychotherapists identify several stages in the development of phobias. But you should know that this is the path to neurasthenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, hysteria and other mental illnesses that are treated by another doctor - a psychiatrist, and often in hospital conditions.
Your own doctor
Diagnosis of phobias, their stages and clinical picture is the business of specialists. Only a professional will be able to analyze all groups of symptoms (physical, psychological and behavioral), interview the patient and his environment, assess the dynamics of attacks of intense fear and make a diagnosis - anxiety-phobic disorder.
Avoidance disguise
To get rid of debilitating experiences of anxiety and panic attacks, anxious people use the method of avoidance. In the absence of a traumatic stimulus, as a rule, patients show a critical attitude towards their phobia. And this is one of the proofs of its existence.
By the way, the fear of doctors is far from the most harmless in the list of social phobias. After all, the patient does not go to the doctor, often starting the disease to a critical stage. Or self-medicate - folk remedies, lotions or even mantras. And if the disease reallyserious, the expression "heal yourself to death" is no longer a joke. And the meeting with the doctor, which the patient was so afraid of, will take place. Only a doctor is likely to arrive in an ambulance.
Completely different reasons
Phobia of fear of doctors in general and specific specialists in particular develops for various reasons. Our psyche is multifaceted, and the emergence of pathological fears is also diverse. Here is a list of just a few:
- Personal experience. Pain, unsatisfactory consequences of treatment, dislike for the doctor impose negativity in the subconscious, form the worldview and attitude towards doctors and medicine in general.
- Experience of long-term ill relatives, friends, acquaintances. Long and unsuccessful treatment can form a persistent negative attitude towards medicine.
- Information of the media and television. That is why today there are so many series about good doctors. Isn't this an indicator of the number of iatrophobes in modern society.
- Vivid negative childhood memories. Children tend to exaggerate the situation, they experience more vividly and more emotionally perceive the world around them. With growing up, children's impressions are even more exaggerated and contrived, they can go into the subconscious and emerge as a reaction of fear to certain stimuli of the senses (smell, color, sound).
- Gene memory. Oddly enough, but sometimes the development of fears is facilitated not by personal memories, but by the memory of generations. This area of psychiatry is still developing, butcertain precedents already exist.
Fear of doctors: what to do?
Mild phobias may be invisible to others and controllable by the patient. Fear of dentists or any other medical professional is quite common, but most manage to overcome their fears and manage stress on their own.
Here all means are good - a friend's hand, self-hypnosis, relaxation or mantras. More severe forms of iatrophobia require corrective therapy. The modern branch of psychiatry and psychotherapy has a fairly wide range of tools. From group and individual therapy to the use of pharmacological agents. The psychotherapist you need to contact will select a safe and effective method of treatment.
Who has big eyes? At fear
People in white coats accompany modern man from the moment of his birth. A born baby constantly sees doctors and often their appearance is not associated with pleasant sensations. Everyone who gave their child a professional massage in infancy will agree with this postulate. This is just a massage, and what can we say about taking tests and other unpleasant procedures. No wonder kids are afraid of doctors.
The task of a responsible parent is to instill in the child an adequate attitude towards visiting a doctor and a medical institution. What is clear, it is not so scary. To explain to the child the essence and necessity of the procedures and to support them emotionally means not to aggravate the fears that have arisen. Don't scare the kidspeople in white coats! Believe me, they are already afraid of them.
Unfortunately, neither we nor our children are immune from disease. And the adoption of adequate, albeit more often and unpleasant, methods of treatment is the key to a speedy and successful recovery. And iatrophobia comes at a high price.
Summing up
Remember, the only doctor that patients are not afraid of is the pathologist. This is, of course, a joke. Modern medicine has already reached the level of service delivery, when the patient can choose both the doctor and the means of his treatment. There are enough examples - the woman in labor herself decides on anesthesia, and today there are plenty of options for removing stones from the kidneys.
Remember, your he alth is in your hands. Regular preventive check-ups, he althy and wholesome food, moderate sports activities will minimize your communication with people in white coats. Love and take care of yourself and the people you love. Stay he althy!
Phobias you didn't know about
In conclusion, I would like to list a few phobias that have arisen in our century. Some sound pretty weird, but that doesn't make them unimportant:
- Autophobia. The disease of the 21st century is the fear of being alone. Paradoxically, advances in technology only exacerbate such fears.
- Allodoxaphobia. Fear of someone else's opinion. Some are so afraid of knowing what others think of them that they become willing autophobes.
- Chronophobia. In our age of great speeds, fearthe passing and lost time breeds workaholics who suffer their first heart attack at the age of forty.
- Retterophobia. Fear of spelling mistakes. Yes, and it happens. Those possessed by this phobia do not write SMS and are afraid of computers.
- Ritiphobia is a phenomenon stimulated by advertising. Women are afraid of the appearance of wrinkles. But why women?
- Consecotaleophobia. The popularity of sushi among European gourmets has led to a phobia of Japanese chopsticks.
- Agmenophobia. Such people can be seen in supermarkets rushing from checkout to checkout. Their fear is based on the belief that the next queue is moving faster.
- Nomophobia is the fear of leaving your mobile phone at home. The very thought of it makes the nomophobe shudder.
- Haptophobia. Fear of being touched by strangers. Avid drivers of personal cars experience an attack of this phobia in public transport.
- Decidophobia. It often occurs among young users of social networks, when they cannot even choose socks without consulting with all their friends. Don't believe? Ask the shop assistants and they won't tell you that.
- Selahophobia. Movies about sharks have led to the appearance of even such a fear. Moreover, residents of areas very far from the oceans.
- Terrorophobia. Panic fear of being at the epicenter of a terrorist attack.
- Paraskavedekatriaphobia. Such people are horrified when the 13th falls on a Friday.
