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Things I Would Never do as an Immunologist with an Autoimmune Disease | Part 5: Skipping Medical Appointments

Allergy & Immunology
October 14, 2022•3 min read

Last week, we talked about the role of managing our mind… 

And I definitely needed to lean on those tools A LOT this past week. 

We got hit with yet another daycare-itis: respiratory crud for me and tummy bug for the girls. 

It is really HARD to respond rather than react when you aren’t feeling your best. 

I was thrilled that these concepts were fresh in my mind after teaching our group coaching clients about the difference this week and leaning into HOW we actually learn to respond > react more often. 

One of the other topics I teach about is learning to acknowledge HOW & WHY we have this tendency to sabotage ourselves…

We tend to follow particular patterns when we get stressed. 

Learning what those are and being able to acknowledge your human brain being human is a HUGE step in the right direction. 

It is National Primary Care Week & National Breast Cancer Awareness Month so let’s chat a bit about how we can react vs respond to things like doctor’s appointments. 

Let me share how I used to react to doctors' appointments…

Avoidance and People Pleasing. 

I also tend to freeze and forget my questions. 

Even though I am a doc, I still get stage fright when I am on the exam table.  

In the past, I have also had a tendency to want to put off scheduling appointments. Aki definitely called me out on sugarcoating my answers during an Ob visit when I was pregnant with our oldest too. 

Those people-pleasing tendencies…even though I KNEW my ob wasn’t going to judge me after seeing her for years… 

Anyone else? 

Just me? 

Yes, I am a doctor. Yes, I know better.

But yes, I am also human. 

I have had to work hard to learn how to recognize and respond to these natural reactions that I have under stress. 

To recognize, pause, reflect and then respond. 

This is really important when we tend to procrastinate. I just finished reading the popular book“Eat that Frog”which covers 21 different strategies to stop procrastinating.  The idea is that tasks are frogs and we should eat the ugliest biggest frog first.(Its a great quick read!)

But it’s critically important that we don’t put things off when it comes to our health because…

Prevention & early detection are key. 

So if you needed a reminder to schedule a check-up with your primary care physician. Here it is. 

Go do it now and then come back to read the rest…

I’ll wait.

Mr Bean Waiting GIF by MOODMAN

 

Below is a reminder about where these common medical tests and procedures fall into the mix because …

In addition to your primary care physician, the US Preventative Task Force is a great resource for up to date recommendations based on your age and sex. 

Here is the link to see what you should be screened for: https://health.gov/myhealthfinder 

 

P.S. I love helping clients learn and experiment with these tools to discover their own power and tap into their inner wisdom. If are looking for support in this work,

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