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Too afraid to go to my GP

Posted , 6 users are following.

emma47738
emma47738

Hi all,

Hope you're all ok!

I just wondered if anyone else really struggled with going to the GP with symptoms? I know a lot of people with health anxiety attend quite regularly but i cant seem to find the courage to do it.

I'm socially anxious also and even the thought of just speaking on the phone to the GP makes me feel sick. I know that this is counter productive but i don't know how to overcome it. I worry so much about being a time waster and of what people think of me but I also don't want to live the way I currently am forever.

Any help appreciated 😃 x

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • doubting
    doubting emma47738

    Edited

    emma,

    I know how you feel , I think. I wrote a letter to a local hospital asking for help. That was nearly two weeks ago, don't know if they will respond. I think maybe A person has to be referred by their GP. I don't know what I'll do if the hospital contacts me, I mean, the bottom line is, sooner or later, I have to talk to SOMEBODY. can I go there? I don't , but I really can't face going to my GP with this. I don't now what to say to you.

    I wish you well and all the very best. Shall be watching this one with interest. Fingers crossed eh?

    regards, doubting.

    For what it's worth, I'm too embarrassed.

    • emma47738
      emma47738 doubting

      Posted

      I know exactly what you mean. I feel like I won't know what to say. Someone made a good point below that there are a lot of telephone appointments at the moment due to the pandemic so maybe you could write down your biggest concerns and when they happen etc to help you if you wanted to make a call.

      Hope you manage to go and get the help you definitely deserve!! x

  • Jeanne76
    Jeanne76 emma47738

    Edited

    Hi, Emma, our surgery uses Patient Access where you can fill in a form to be triaged by a doctor. They ring you back and offer you an appointment. Most are telephone consultations at the moment unless they feel you need to be examined. You might find it easier to write how you feel and what you would like them to do for you. Most people feel a bit apprehensive about a visit to the GP, don't feel that you are on your own. Remember that you are very important and without patients they would be out of a job! They would much rather you went with something rather than sit worrying about it at home. Good luck. Think about something nice to do once you've got it over with!

    • emma47738
      emma47738 Jeanne76

      Posted

      Thank you Jeanne, i'll look in to whether my GP offers the same. I do think a telephone conversation would be better for its just making myself do it.

      Like the idea of planning something nice after its done. I'm going to set myself a target to do it in the next week, I know ill be relieved once i have so I'm going to hold on to that thought.

      Thanks for responding x

    • Jeanne76
      Jeanne76 emma47738

      Edited

      Best of luck, Emma. Let us all know how you get on 🙂

  • jan34534
    jan34534 emma47738

    Edited

    So Emma, when I was younger I was exactly like how you were describing. I felt like I almost wasn’t deserving of somebody listening to me especially a doctor. I felt like they would think I was weird or wasting their time or just about anything like that .

    However, as I gradually got a little older I had a change of heart.

    I started to realize that if I didn’t take care of myself which included seeing the doctor when needed, then I wasn’t being on my own side. I was placing more importance on what I thought other people would think then getting myself some help.

    And 99% of the time what we think other people are thinking is not actually accurate. I am a former nurse and I can tell you that doctors are there to do their job and move onto the next patient. They’re not thinking that we are wasting their time. Remember, this is their job. They are getting paid a lot to see us. and they get paid the same amount whether you come in for anxiety symptoms or diabetes or heart problems or whatever. so they don’t care what you’re coming in for they just do their job and Move On.

    Also, everybody has a right to see a doctor when they have a concern. So get tough with yourself and be confident. Honestly people don’t care as much is we might think they do. They want to give good health care but they really don’t care that we are scared to be there. They see hundreds of patients and we are just another one.

    So if you want to go then go! I can pretty much tell you what the doctor would do. If you were having anxiety symptoms they would just do a check up to make sure you are generally healthy, maybe a test here or there and if everything looks to be good, they will tell you it’s just anxiety. There’s nothing much else they do except maybe prescribe a medication for anxiety. You can take it or leave it it’s up to you.

    I Learned not to care what other people think anymore. It doesn’t matter to me especially if they’re strangers. they have nothing to do with my life so who cares? Be confident in yourself.

    But really that’s about it so I really suggest that if you are having anxiety and anxiety symptoms, speaking with a counselor can be very helpful. don’t be shy about that because counselors really enjoy helping people with anxiety and other issues. It’s great to talk to somebody who can help!

    • emma47738
      emma47738 jan34534

      Posted

      Thank you Jan. Ironically I work for the NHS in a phone based customer service capacity and I know that its true that you don't think of the call once its ended and i'm more than happy to help people.

      I agree that I need to work on my confidence and tell myself that my appointment with the GP isnt a waste of their time and Im just as worthy of the help as anyone else.

      Have you ever had CBT at all? I paid for counselling three years ago when my health anxiety first began but it was only slightly helpful because I didnt feel it gave me any coping tools. Im interested to try CBT though.

      x

    • jan34534
      jan34534 emma47738

      Edited

      i’ve had a little of CBT and I found it helpful. The main thing is working on changing how we think. We have these built-in ideas of what is true in our brain , A lot of which are working against us. For example, when I was growing up I always thought everybody was so smart and knew way more than I did and I somehow empowered them in my mind. But like I said as I got older I realized that The way I was thinking was not based on fact at all. They weren’t smarter or more knowledgeable or more important. I wasn’t giving myself credit enough. So until we change our thought patterns, nothing else will change. That’s when I started listening to motivational talks on YouTube and journaling.

      I faced the things that were holding me back such as overthinking, over analyzing, negative thinking, fear-based thinking etc. I would start working on them daily in order to slowly reverse the negative thinking patterns I had created for so long. It is actually possible to change that built in pattern if we continually work on it. So if one day I say something negative I immediately reverse it and find the positive and say it out loud. I’m finding that one day at a time I am definitely starting to come out of the bad thinking.

      WE owe it to ourselves to be the best possible versions of us. And that’s because we do matter, we are just as important as anybody else!

  • ann63282
    ann63282 emma47738

    Posted

    hi see if you got video chat its connected to your practice i had one last year she can see me on the mobile and you can see her i had to do it as i couldn't get to doctors with leg so she took a look on my mobile then she referred me to the hospital

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