I is for Iatrophobia

Iatrophobia: fear of going to the doctor or of doctors in general.

Did you know this was a real thing? I sure didn't until I was trying to find a topic to write about for the letter I. :) But it is quite interesting that this is a phobia. I understand if people are terrified of, say, the dentist. I hear the sound of that high pitched buzzing drill and I freak out. When I was little, I used to bite the dentist whenever he stuck his fingers in my mouth... (sorry, Dr. Steed... shifty eyes...) So fearing a dentist I totally understand. But fear of going to the doctor?

I, personally, love my doctor. She is funny, nice and doesn't freak out over anything. If I showed up gushing blood, she would probably still be all chill. She's great. But when I was in the hospital when I had my baby, I had my share of annoyances with doctors... not that they were bad or anything. They weren't! I just was tired of being poked, prodded and made to feel like a science experiment. One morning, the doctor brought a whole entourage of med students with him for his rounds. They had laptops out, were nodding along with everything the doctor said, and all looked super serious and, well, medical. I was decidedly awkward, having this posse of doctors staring at my bare chest, up my who-ha and commenting on my hemmeroids. Awkward.

I read online a funny story about a doctor. An elderly patient became irate during a medical examination when he peeked at the doctor’s chart and saw that the doctor had written Major S.O.B. underlined at the bottom. The physician stopped him in mid-rant by saying “Major Shortness of Breath. But now they both apply.”

Ha-ha, at least it made me laugh! :)

So what do you think of the doctor? Are you afraid of them? If not, what are you afraid of?