By David Edge
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Can you remember the time you first went to a doctor? That experience has made you either afraid of doctors or gave you a warm fuzzy about doctors? Either way that experience was something that has made you, you!
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There are many reasons folks are afraid of doctors. That fear can range from what’s it going to cost, the thought of sitting in a crowded waiting room, to which doctor should I go see? Sometimes it’s a simple fear of something like needles to take a flu shot. Some of us are just afraid of receiving bad news, so we just pretend or ignore the symptoms in hopes they’ll just go away. These simple things can cause panic attacks or night-mares that make people simply not want to go when they need too.
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There’s an actual name for people who are afraid of doctors, it’s called “iatrophobia”.
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Folks who are generally afraid of doctors will get increased heart palpitations, wring their hands, and can actually get physically ill just with the idea of going to the doctor. If you think about it, that’s quite an issue, as the very person who can fix you is exactly who you don’t want to see?
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Some people develop the same attitude towards a doctor visit in the same category as avoiding a restaurant that they had a bad meal or got sick from the food they were served. You just don’t go there anymore. The real difference is that skipping a meal at a restaurant won’t kill you, but not going to the doctor when you’re sick can result in your death.
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So what was your first visit to the doctor and how do you feel about it? Can you remember? I know for me I was about 6 or 7 and was climbing a big old oak tree at my grandparents’ house and made it to the top, only to miss a branch on the way down. I fell the last 10-15 feet, receiving a large cut requiring several stitches. My mom wrapped me in a blanket, threw me in the car and off we went. This was an old country doctor who was very experienced and totally put me at ease by saying that “why this cut isn’t much of nothing” in a very grandfatherly way. All of a sudden my cut didn’t seem like a big deal to me as he gave me a local and the few stitches I needed. I even got a piece of hard candy he just happened to have in his lab coat pocket. So my experience at that young age left me with a favorable impression of doctors.
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Now, I just know, not everybody can relay a nice story about their first experience with a medical situation, and of course that is what makes each of us have our own fears or comforts, and that feeling makes you, you.

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So don’t find yourself wondering about your medical coverage or your share of the financial responsibilities of your Medicare plan. Give us a call, we can help!

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You might even get a piece of candy!