I am 22 and have never been to a gynecologist. I have a severe form of iatrophobia (that's the medical name for a fear of doctors!) that fixates specifically on gynecologists and other healthcare providers that work in that general area of the body. I don't know where this fear came from, but it is genuinely the worst anxiety disorder I've dealt with, personally. It's on my mind 24/7, I get these sorta twitches/convulsions whenever I think about going, and I can't even say the word "gynecologist" out loud without feeling like I'm going to throw up/die. I've been doing exposure therapy for this fear for almost two years now, and even though it's still super super bad, I have made small improvements! For instance, I used to have to type words like gynecologist and vagina like "6yn3c010615t" and "v@61n@" in order to minimize my fear response, but now I can type them normally with only a little bit of that scary feeling.
All of this is to say, I'm horrifically terrified of going to one. This is obviously a big issue, but it's even worse as I have some health issues I would directly need to discuss with them! I have been having bad periods since my first cycle, and I suspect I might have endometriosis based on my symptoms (pain with urination only on my periods that is directly related in intensity to how painful my cramps are, bad cramping that is barely helped by things like nsaids and heating packs, cramping outside of periods, extremely clotty and heavy periods, etc). Things have been getting worse lately, and I can't really ignore it anymore. I'm working with my therapist to help me prepare to finally face my fears for real very soon, but I wanted to see how other people without my intense phobia experience these appointments. Everything I find online is extremely negative and frightening, which really does not help, so I was wondering if anyone has any positive experiences of going to a gynecologist they'd be willing to share. Additionally, could anyone share any tips/tricks that help make these visits/exams more tolerable for you? I'm trying to make a list of things I could try and do to help minimize my anxiety (i.e. asking to leave my top on during the exam, bringing a comfort item/fidget toy, asking the doctor to go slowly and explain what they are doing and why, etc).
Obviously I know no one likes going and that it's not a fun activity anyone is excited about, but if you have any positive experiences at all, I'd love to hear about them.
Thank you!
[link] [comments]