Understanding ‘Appointment Anxiety’

 

Anxiety can rear its head in many ways and one, in particular, may sound quite familiar to most people. This variation manifests itself before important appointments and can be absolutely crippling. Whether it’s waiting for results from a doctor’s test or moments before a job interview; fear of the outcome can lead to extreme physical and emotional distress. For this blog, we wanted to delve into those feelings a little more and offer a few coping mechanisms.

 

The website Cure Today touched upon this trend, offering some real examples of “Appointment Anxiety.” If you were diagnosed with cancer, for example, that in itself can create a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (aka PTSD). In essence, the shock of hearing those words from your doctor can make you fearful of every medical appointment moving forward. And that is totally justified.

 

Others who have had uncomfortable situations with MRI’s or PET Scans may experience extreme anxiety if medical tests are recommended. Again, think of it like PTSD within the realm of a hospital or doctor’s office. There is actually a term for this called “scanxiety.”

 

Obviously, these types of feelings can lead to serious problems. On the one hand, you could be undergoing tremendous stress when thinking about an appointment such as this. Worse though, people may begin avoiding doctors altogether. In that instance, they are denying themselves medical attention and care; which could put their health at serious risk.

 

One coping skill offered up by the Cure site was to openly discussing these difficult feelings. Whether it is a family member, a trusted friend or a trained counselor, it is important to not let these emotions remain bottled up inside. These types of conversations can help with validation, as you would come to understand how normal appointment anxiety really is.

 

It can also be helpful to find a relaxing outlet before a scary calendar date. Whether it’s listening to calming music or a helpful audio book, try to find a routine that can ease the jitters.

 

And it never hurts to have a trusted confidant join you for a stressful appointment (if possible). Having someone there by your side to lean on can be extremely helpful, regardless if the news you receive is good or bad.

 

These are all considerations that can hopefully reduce the nerves people in these situations may be experiencing. Of course, getting in touch with one of our anxiety specialists can also be a very positive step. Never forget, our door is always open.

 

Depression On The Rise Among Med School Students

On the surface, you would think that medical students have a lot to be excited about. They’re on a path toward a lucrative and rewarding career and, let’s face it, just getting into an M.D. program alone is something to be proud of. But, according to new research uncovered by CNBC, that is not the case. Apparently young doctoral interns are suffering from depression at an alarming rate.

The article starts out by highlighting some serious challenges that these young people face. Challenges that many who are not close to programs like this may be aware of. For starters, most medical students suffer from sleep deprivation, peer hazing and harsh deadlines that could impact their graduation. And apparently, it only gets worse from there. After completing the schooling component, these student have to spend up to two years as residents, literally thrown into the fire of trauma cases, emergencies and demanding supervisors.

Issues like this have not only led to a large amount of depression cases among this set (as much as 50 percent), but also an increase in suicides.

“During the first year of training, rates of depression go up, risk of suicide goes up, anxiety goes up and part of what we’re studying is why that is and who’s at risk and what environmental elements put them at risk,” Dr. Srijan Sen, a professor of depression and neurosciences, told CNBC in the article. “We find that many of the interns may start out fine, and about half get depressed by the end of the year.”

Indeed, in a survey shared by The Washington Post, it was revealed that roughly 10 percent of all U.S. medical students have reported having thoughts of killing themselves during the first year of their program. The same research also showed these 20-somethings suffer from depression at rates that are 15 to 30 percent greater than that of the general population.

And sadly, the data revealed that superiors in the field are not doing much to help. In fact, they may actually be exacerbating the problem.

“Rather than receiving support in these situations, these students often suffer humiliation from senior clinicians,” writer Nathanial Morris explained in The Post. “This hierarchy engenders a culture of bullying toward medical trainees. More than 80 percent of medical students report mistreatment from supervisors. I’ve seen classmates shouted at, cursed at and mocked in clinical settings. A surgeon referred to me as ‘Helen Keller’ because I couldn’t suture fast enough.”

We understand that depression can impact people from every background and within every profession. If you know any young people who may be putting too much pressure on themselves (via med school or not), please reach out and let them know there is help available.

 

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