There are many reasons we may avoid going to the doctor. For some people there is a sense of fear. My husband has always done his best to stay away from the doctor. I never really gave it much thought until one day he kept complaining about an ailment and I asked why he doesn’t just go to the doctor. His response was, “I don’t want to find out that something is wrong.” Even when we know something is wrong, sometimes we are afraid to actually hear about it.
Now the particular ailment that my husband was complaining about wasn’t what brought on fear. It was that in the process it would be discovered that something else is wrong. So I asked him, “Wouldn’t you rather find out that something is wrong early on?” Clearly, he has this sense of fear that I would guess he is not alone with.
Then there are other reasons that people may avoid going to the doctor. I have heard many people say, “All they are going to say is that it’s just a virus.” They make assumptions about what they are going to hear and so they don’t want to waste the time going.
Other times people avoid going to the doctor because they are so sure they already know what is wrong. Recently a friend of mine had mentioned that her daughter was running a temperature. She was positive it was an ear infection. A day or two later she ended up in the emergency room with her and stayed for an overnight visit because her daughter actually had pneumonia, with fluid build-up. She had misdiagnosed her daughter.
Avoiding the doctor isn’t a very good idea. Misdiagnosing yourself, assuming everything is fine, or even being afraid to hear bad news are never good reasons to stay away from the doctor.
Lately in the large church I attend, I have been hearing story after story of cancer diagnoses. I cannot believe the number of people who have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer. Many times the cancer has spread or gotten so far that treatment is much more difficult. If some of these conditions had been caught early on, they would be more treatable. Sadly, many of them avoided getting to a doctor early on.
Staying healthy requires check-ups and seeing a doctor whenever you are experiencing an odd symptom. There is never a good reason to avoid seeing the doctor.
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