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How to overcome my fear and anxiety about going to the gyno
I am a married 26 years old and have been to the gyno one time. I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and take medication to help me in dealing with it. I have developed extreme fear and anxiety about going to the gyno and I have an appointment in Feb. because I have a lot of pain in the lower right hand side. The anxiety is so intense and I have become obsessed with worry and fear in going. I do not know how to overcome it even though I am on my medication. I also read some self help books on fear and anxiety. At this point I do not know what to do... I know I need to go and how important it is to get checked but I am loosing sleep and constantly debating in my head about how I am going to make it thru the examination. Please let me know if you have any suggestions on how to overcome this because I can not take it anymore and it is consuming my life!
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One practical thing you could do is call your doctor's office, explain about your anxiety, and ask if you could have a 'dry run.' You know, a tour of the office, and then have a brief chat with your doctor about what exactly you can expect on your examination day.
If your doctor isn't willing to offer this service, then you might want to shop around for a more understanding person.
You may also want to consider whether or not your medicine is at the right dosage for you; if this anxiety is persistent and about more than just this visit to your gyno, then you may need to have the meds adjusted.
If you've only gone to the gyno one time, then it's a still a relatively unknown experience to you. It's common to have a fear of what we don't understand. Take some time for you by talking to your doctor or female friends who can help explain how the visit works. This should help alleviate some anxiety.
I would also question if you had a bad experience at your first visit. A healthy woman with no gyno-related problems should still be having regular check ups - this means seeing your gyno every single year. If something happened at the first visit that made you uncomfortable, it's definitely best to question whether you would want to return to that doctor.
One final thing you might do is sit down and make a concrete list of everything that scares you about going to the gyno, no matter how irrational you may think the fears are. Put the list away and come back to it in a few days time when you are feeling calm. Go through each item and work through it.
For example, if you are afraid of possible pain, that fear can be alleviated by asking for info here, reading a more health-based website, visiting your doctor, or talking to friends.
You're right in saying that it is definitely important to have a check-up; this is especially true because you've been experiencing pain. Even if you feel like nothing will help you, it's best to remind yourself on the day that you need this check-up because your health is a top priority.
Best of luck.
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