Why You Should NEVER Ignore That ‘Something Isn’t Right’ Feeling
Americans don’t like going to the doctor. Much of this hesitation may boil down to cost, according to a 2018 survey by NORC at the University of Chicago — which is its own subject too big to fit into a single blog post — but there are many other reasons we may avoid those small, windowless rooms with the brown, sticky-papered chairs. In fact, we avoid the doctor even when experiencing recurrent symptoms, sometimes for a year or more.
As someone who hates going to the doctor herself (much of my fear is connected to an autoimmune issue I’ve had since childhood, and the PTSD I carry around regarding the stress, confusion, and surgeries caused by it), I can understand the resistance to booking an appointment. Even though I work in health, and am acutely aware of how important it is to uncover and treat a disease or condition as soon as possible, ignoring lingering symptoms usually seems less terrifying than sitting in that windowless room and receiving answers.
But here’s the thing — we can’t side with our fear. Especially if our intuition has been nudging us with a “man, something isn’t right” alarm.
Recently, I had one of those nudges. A week of nudges, in fact. Without going into detail, I was having a few easily ignorable, but still “hmm” symptoms that caused me, whenever I had time to think about them, a little bit of anxiety. But I’m busy. And my autoimmune issue had been quiet. Maybe I was just imagining them. Besides, I wasn’t in pain, and the symptoms weren’t really affecting my daily life.
I sided with my fear for about two weeks. And then, simply because I know too much due to my job, I finally made an appointment to talk to a doctor.
That appointment led to a diagnosis of exactly what I was afraid of, as well as a bonanza of anxiety and additional doctor visits. Had I gone earlier, I probably could have lessened the amount of medication I needed to take and would have certainly lessened the number of weeks it took to treat it.
Things have quieted down, but it was a stark reminder that A) my intuition is almost never wrong, and B) the answer is always easier to treat than the non-answer.
Almost every chronic condition has a better outcome when discovered earlier. A few examples:
Colon cancer: When caught early, there’s a 91% 5-year survival rate, vs. an 11% survival rate if it’s caught later
Breast and prostate cancers: When caught early, the five-year survival rate for individuals living with breast- and prostate cancer is 98% and 100%, respectively. Survival rates remain high 10 years later
Type 2 diabetes: Early screening for prediabetes can help reduce the possibility that an individual will develop type 2 diabetes
Mental health conditions: Early detection of mental health conditions, especially in younger adults, can help people receive the treatment they need and start to recover
Autoimmune disease: Treating autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as early as possible may affect how quickly the disease progresses
Fear is a tricky thing. It can bamboozle us into thinking everything will be easier if we just go along with it. But when it comes to your health, shoving fear out of the way and facing the issue head-on will always, always, always put you on a more empowered path.
Stay informed,
Stay flexible,
Stay curious,
~ Jess