Posts Tagged ‘helpless patient mode’
Have You Ever Been in Helpless Patient Mode?
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This post by Michelle Robson, the founder of the awesome women’s health website EmpowHer.com, is the second in a series of National Women’s Health Week guest posts. Michelle founded EmpowHer after experiencing her own horror story with the health care system. The site she created is dedicated to helping women improve their health and well-being. They provide up-to-date medical information, access to leading medical experts and advocates, and a devoted community of women who ask questions, share stories, and connect with one another in a safe and supportive environment.
In this article, Michelle describes a situation that each of us has probably found ourselves in at one time or another: what she calls “helpless patient mode.” Sound familiar? Read on…share your story if you’re so moved…and be sure to check out EmpowHer.com.
I really believe that women tend to go to a certain state of mind when they’re patients and relying on a doctor’s care. It’s called “helpless patient mode.” Ironically, when we have a sick child, spouse or other loved one, we can be a doctor’s biggest nightmare. We’re brilliant and strong when advocating for a loved one. A mother will do an inordinate amount of research and will carefully question the pediatrician when her child is ill. But when she is ill, it’s another story altogether. Women tend to do what their doctors tell them to do. We don’t listen to ourselves, to our guts. We simply want that doctor to fix us, give us that magic pill, and quick, so we can go about doing all the millions of things we do to take care of other people.
I admit that I’m totally guilty of this. Big-time. In fact, my hysterectomy may not have even happened if I hadn’t succombed to the all-too-easy “helpless patient mode.” I may have chosen another option if I’d been aware of the other options and hadn’t relied so completely on what I was told was my only option.
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