RecurringThoughts
07-30-2013, 11:23 AM
I've been realizing that a lot of my health anxiety seems to be related to my inability to trust my doctors and other health care practitioners, and I am wondering if anyone else has this issue. For instance, my HIV worries despite multiple tests seem to linger because I ask myself such questions as "what if the person administering the test did it wrong?", "what if the technician read the results wrong", and "what if the technician didn't go through the multiple steps to maintain sterility in the clinic and exposed me to HIV or some other blood-borne disease?", etc. I find that I focus on the idea that all humans are fallible regardless of their career choice. Everyone makes mistakes and these people might be directing me along a path of thinking I am healthy -- even being convinced of it themselves -- when in actuality they might be making erroneous diagnoses.
If anyone else finds they go home after a check-up questioning the conclusions made by their clinicians, my questions for you are: do you have coping mechanisms for this habit? What tools do you use to convince yourself to accept the results and trust your health-care provider?
Now, I just want to mention that I would appreciate it if people don't post horror stories of misdiagnoses. I know that reading something like that will "fan the flames" of my anxiety, so to speak, and would rather avoid being exposed to that altogether. Thanks :)
If anyone else finds they go home after a check-up questioning the conclusions made by their clinicians, my questions for you are: do you have coping mechanisms for this habit? What tools do you use to convince yourself to accept the results and trust your health-care provider?
Now, I just want to mention that I would appreciate it if people don't post horror stories of misdiagnoses. I know that reading something like that will "fan the flames" of my anxiety, so to speak, and would rather avoid being exposed to that altogether. Thanks :)