A Patient’s Self-respect

Job 12:13 - To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.

Many times, as we sit in a doctor’s office waiting for the doctor to come in, we feel anxious. We become unsure if what we’re experiencing is bad enough to see a doctor.
 
Having self-respect with others is an important part of who we are. We may seek out those who will tell us the truth, but do it in such a way that we won’t feel we are less of a person.
 
These things can also be true of your relationship with your doctor:
 

• We wonder if we’ll be believed.
• We wonder if we’ll be able to clearly tell them why we’re there.
• We wonder if they’ll treat us kindly.
• We wonder if they’ll listen to us completely.
• We wonder if the doctor already has a game plan to make the visit be over quickly.
• We wonder if we’re worth the doctor’s time.

 
And that’s where the rub is – our self-respect as a patient is a fragile thing. It’s easy to break off the bird’s wing leaving it unable to soar once more.
 
Try to remember, you aren’t just taking up a physician’s time. They are paid to see us not the other way around. We are in affect the employer and they are the employee. Rise up and find respect in the fact that their job is to help us become well.
 
These situations are not only for the one who is seeking a medical doctor’s help, but also for our mental health. Sometimes mental health is more difficult to treat than an injury or illness we’re seeking relief from.
 
Though you may be seeing a mental health doctor for referral to a therapist, or are there for medication review, it can sometimes make you feel your issues aren’t that important.
 
What if it’s something big like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or a bipolar condition? It’s important that we convey our symptoms and ask for help. So how do we approach an appointment and still keep our self-respect?
 
Mentalhealth.fitness posts an article titled, “Bringing it up: 13 Tips for Talking with Your Physician About Depression.” The article contains suggestions when talking to your physician about mental health issues such as recognize that, although you may feel uncomfortable, you are sharing a legitimate medical concern to get the help you need.
 
It’s important that you remind yourself when speaking to your primary physician that you are worth their time, and taking this step, though it may be difficult, will make all the difference in your self-respect as a patient and your healing journey.
 
One more thing, God will give you the wisdom that you need to express your needs to a doctor and can give the doctor that same wisdom and the understanding that you need as their patient.

Learn more