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Situational Phobias

Iatrophobia – The Fear of Doctors

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Deep Fear of the Doctor

Would you rather live with pain and discomfort than visit a doctor? Do you Google all your symptoms and worry you have a disease with a dismal prognosis, but still you can’t digest the thought of seeking help?

Visiting a doctor is never fun. How could it be? We only go when we’re sick and usually only receive bad news. The sight of needles, the smell of blood, the pain and discomfort that follows examinations, and the awful tasting medication they prescribe—any or all of these could trigger your phobia. But we go anyway. After all, survival is instinctive. And doctors help us to heal.

But what happens when fear and anxiety are so overwhelming that we just can’t bring ourselves to go? Do your hands tremble when you need to dial the number to your doctor’s office? Does your throat close up? Do your legs shake? Do these symptoms make you decide you’re better off self-diagnosing and self-medicating?

You most likely have iatrophobia or a fear of doctors. And that’s alright. After all, everyone is afraid of something. But you also know that seeking medical help is unavoidable. So how do you get past your fear? Understanding and acknowledging your phobia is an important step. Learning a little more about iatrophobia will also help you rationalize what you feel, why you feel it, and how to overcome your fear of doctors.

What Is Iatrophobia?

Iatrophobia is the intense fear of doctors. While iatrophobia involves doctors specifically, there are other phobias involving the medical community. Nosocomephobia is the fear of doctors and hospitals, and dentophobia is the fear of dentists. Some people with a less intense fear of doctors are said to have White Coat Syndrome. All these phobias have one thing in common: doctors.

What Causes Iatrophobia?

Several experiences could have led to the gradual increase of a fear-of-doctors phobia. Perhaps you visited a doctor expecting to learn that your persistent cough was a lingering flu but discovered that it was something much worse. Did a family member or friend recount a traumatic experience that left you trembling? Did you watch one too many doctor television series or spend too much time focusing on news about malpractices? Any of these examples could have instilled a negative image of doctors and left you questioning whether doctors can treat you accurately.

The bedside manner of a physician might have also come into play. Did you encounter one with a  presumptuous and dismissive attitude? Did a physician dismiss your concerns about being predisposed to diseases like diabetes, cancer, Huntington’s, etc., because your family has a complicated medical history?

Whatever your reasons, they instilled in you a fear of doctors. A little introspection could help you identify the root cause. And like any problem, the cause needs to be pinpointed before you can find a solution.

What Are Iatrophobia Symptoms?

Depending on the severity, symptoms of iatrophobia or fear of doctors can include some or all of the following:

Physical Symptoms

  • Trembling or muscular tension
  • Nausea or feeling like throwing up
  • Running, screaming, crying (small children)
  • Raised blood pressure levels or hypertension

Psychological Symptoms

  • Flight or fight response
  • Constantly canceling routine medical exams and postponing appointments

Coping Strategies for the Deep Fear of Doctors

What Self-Help Methods Can You Use?

Despite what some may say, your fear is real. Your physical and psychological symptoms may escalate when you encounter the source of your fear. If you’re reading this, chances are you may wish to be free of this cause of stress and anxiety. Try the following suggestions to calm yourself when your iatrophobia is triggered.

Distract Yourself

Gone are the days when waiting rooms meant reading outdated magazines or staring at walls and imagining the worst. Use your phone to distract yourself. Induce a feeling of calmness and normalcy by reading emails or surfing through social media sites. Play some soothing or calming music (use earphones, please) while you wait your turn at the clinic. These might settle your fears.

Iatrophobia Research

Many clinics and hospitals now have websites that feature their doctors. They explain which medical school the doctor attended, how many years of experience they have, and even share reviews from patients. Before you make an appointment, research the doctors available to you, and pick one with the expertise and training that makes you comfortable.

What Professional Help Can You Get?

If you’ve tried everything and found that you still cannot bring yourself to see a doctor, it might be time to seek iatrophobia treatment from a professional. If you can convince yourself that a therapist is not the same as a doctor, you might find this step easier to take. Counseling is a good start as speaking with a professional can help you understand your fears. They can also guide you and help you address issues. Take baby steps if you wish and speak with a trusted family member first. That should prepare you for therapy sessions.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT sessions are helpful in the treatment of phobias as they replace negative thoughts with positive, more realistic ones.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy has proven to be effective when treating patients with phobias. A professional will expose you to the things you fear, in this case, doctors. They do this through related images or videos. The premise is that confrontation in a safe and controlled environment will reduce the intensity of the phobia when it is triggered. Add coping mechanisms, and eventually, your tolerance level for your phobia will increase. These therapies might even bring your fear down to a level where you don’t feel like it controls your life.

What Else Can You Do?

Online Consultation

Some doctors provide internet-based or phone-based consulting, while others are open to making home visits. A little research will help you find a doctor that offers alternatives to clinic-only appointments.

Find a Clinic that Serves Children

If certain appearance-based elements trigger your fears—such as white coats and white, sterile walls—find a clinic that also serves children. They’re more likely to have brightly painted walls. You could even speak with your doctor about dressing less formally or not wearing the white coat during your consultation.

Share your Phobia

Doctors strive to make their patients comfortable. You could share your phobia with your doctor and ask if they’d allow calming music during the examination.

Avoid Google

Googling your symptoms can go one of two ways: either your results will show you that nothing is wrong, or your results will bring up graphic photos and symptoms to match. Neither will help your case if you have a deep-seated phobia.

Related Phobias: Tomophobia – Fear of Surgical Operations

Bottom Line

Phobias are common, and almost everyone is fearful of something. You are not alone in your predicament, and there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. A happier, stress-free, and less anxious life awaits you as soon as you’ve decided that you are ready to face your fear.

FearAZ.com is looking for personal stories of any 'fear of' or phobia. If you have an interesting story you'd like to share, we welcome your submission. If the story fits with our content and guidelines, we'll add it to our site.
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Your Fear Goes Up and Down

Are you someone who would rather climb the stairs than take the elevator? You call it squeezing in a workout after being sedentary the whole morning. Or perhaps you claim it's a faster route. These are both typical, normal, and acceptable reasons. But what if you need to be in the conference room on the eleventh floor in five minutes, and you're wearing your business suit and wingtips? Would you still prefer to take the stairs? If your answer is yes, then maybe it's time to take a closer look at your reasons for avoiding elevators. Elevators stir all sorts of emotions in passengers. From the discomfort of closeness to strangers to the sensations in our gut, elevators can be a source of the heebie-jeebies for many, but for some, they can also be a source of terror. Let's dig a little deeper into the latter, and see what this terror is all about and what can be done to manage it. To begin with, does being inside an elevator give you chills or the sweats? Or does it trigger an unpleasant memory? Perhaps you remember movies you've watched where something terrible happens inside an elevator. From Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Final Destination 2, or the king of all elevator horror films, 2010’s Devil, the elevator becomes witness to something sinister and horrible. And you want nothing to do with any of it. You know that you're not claustrophobic. You can deal with heights just fine, too. And you know that you're not going to be trapped inside. All of these contribute to a fear of elevators—but they don't apply to you. Yet being inside one does something to you. It's hard to explain.

What is the Fear of Elevators Called?

What you have is a fear of elevators, which is called elevatophobia. It is most commonly triggered by an experience of getting stuck inside either due to a power outage or technical maintenance. Hearing about other people's experiences or watching a movie about similar circumstances can prompt a fear of elevators getting stuck with you inside. Usually, claustrophobics and agoraphobics may also develop elevatophobia because the triggers and objects of these fears are related. Claustrophobia is the fear of closed and cramped spaces, while agoraphobia is the fear of being trapped without any means of escape. Put the two together, and the elevator becomes the perfect combination of both phobias. The space is limited and closed, with only one means of entry and exit. You can add another point of access if you consider climbing the cables like they do in the movies, but that certainly isn't ideal.

Symptoms of Elevatophobia

If for some reason an elevator stops due to an outage or some technical difficulty, passengers with elevatophobia may go into full panic mode. Even if the maintenance team advises that it will just be a matter of minutes, by then, the person's mind has become irrational with the fear of the elevator falling, being stuck for hours, or other unpleasant thoughts. You would expect a person to exhibit the following physical symptoms: Additionally, you would be filled with that overwhelming anxiety where you feel that you have zero control over the situation. You start fearing the unknown and are filled with negative thoughts about death and imminent doom. You become irrational and unresponsive.

Possible Complications of Elevatophobia

When the panic sets in, the possibility of emergencies related to pre-existing conditions may make themselves known. This might include serious health crises like heart attacks or asthma attacks. When this happens, fear becomes a medical emergency. Elevator rides do not last long; it's just a matter of minutes or even less. But the fact that a person can escalate from panic to a near fatal medical situation classifies the fear of elevators as a 'hard phobia.'

Trying Some Self-Help Methods

Your fear of elevators can likely interfere with your social and work life and relationships. Not everyone understands that elevatophobia, like most phobias, can be crippling. But don't be disheartened. Depending on the level of your fear and level of control, you can gradually face and manage your phobia. Here are some recommendations you can try:
  1. Make a List of Everything that Entails Riding in an Elevator This is a systematic approach to getting over your anxiety. By following a step-by-step process, you can identify where the fear kicks in at its strongest. You can write a list of steps like pressing the topmost button and waiting to arrive on that floor, watching as the door closes and opens, being alone inside the elevator, or having delays with the doors opening. Now try doing the opposite. For example, face away from the door or occupy yourself with your phone so that you are distracted.
  2. Create Your Fear Ladder Although the name says fear of elevators, it is not the whole process that scares you. There are just phases and parts of the elevator riding experience that cause you to panic. So go back to the list you initially created and label the fear level you feel. You can do it numerically, too, like ten being 'really scary,' six, 'manageable scary,' and one, 'not scary at all.' You can put the corresponding fear levels so you can focus more time and effort into activities that are more scary to you.
  3. Face Your Fear By now, you have identified what scares you the most. You can try repetitive action to minimize your fear and increase your sense of ‘normalcy’. Remember that the longer you expose yourself to your fear, the better you get at handling your emotions. If you are feeling overwhelmed, stop. Pushing yourself too fast and too soon can backfire. Modify your pace and go slower instead.
  4. Talk About Your Fear People by nature, unfortunately, are not quick to offer understanding and support. You need to tell them what's wrong before they can empathize. Talk to someone who you trust and ask for their support, especially in the initial phase of overcoming your fear. If you are too afraid to ride the elevator alone, you can ask them to go with you, and before you realize it, you are on your floor, and there was no indication of panic.
  5. Learn To Be Patient Be patient with yourself and your predicament. This is, after all, your fight against fear. It might take hundreds of elevator ride practices before the fear gets under control. Even then, there might be some hesitations and episodes of nervousness. These are acceptable and expected, so cut yourself some slack and congratulate yourself for every progress.

Seeking Professional Help

Along with self-help, you can always enlist a medical professional's aid to support you with your elevatophobia. Talking to someone who has experience with similar cases can be comforting, because you know that you are not alone, and this situation can get better. Talk to your doctor about the severity of your fears and the symptoms that you experience. Explain how you deal with it in an attempt to control it. An exam and a health history are made to ensure that there are no unrelated or underlying problems that your symptoms might mask. Usually, phobias like this are approached with a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Your doctor will talk about these options with you, and it's entirely up to you, with your doctor's recommendation, what you want to pursue. For psychotherapy, the most common type is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to help you find different ways of behaving, thinking, and reacting when about to step inside an elevator or when already inside it. With medications, there are beta blockers and benzodiazepines, but note that these can have side effects. Whatever these side effects are, you should promptly share it with your doctor.

Simple Tips to Overcome Elevatophobia

Elevators are not perfect, but their likelihood to malfunction, fall, or get stuck is very low. If you are not fully confident with this information, you can help overcome your elevatophobia by learning common elevator safety tips and basic elevator operations. These should help curb your mild fear until you become more self-assured. In addition to that, here are some of the things that you can do to gradually overcome your fear of elevators—both in getting on and riding one.

Conclusion

Yes, elevatophobia can be a challenge in today's world, but don't allow the elevator to win. Don't let it stop you from taking a job on the top floor or attending a social gathering on the rooftop. Sure, you can take the stairs if you insist and arrive winded and sweaty, with the party about to wrap up. But is this the quality of life you seek? Elevators are designed to make life easier. There are guaranteed ways to help you overcome elevatophobia. Take the first step and seek help. Soon, you’ll see yourself breezing through the floors with those arduous stair climbs little more than a memory.
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