Reality check ahead. Today I had a doctor’s appointment and I have had many, many doctor’s appointment in my life. This appointment had been scheduled for a while, so I was fully aware this was an event today at 2:00pm. As I walked in, it felt like I was going to this doctor for the first time. I had not been to this doctor for six months, so it is not something I dealt with on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. Still as I walked into the office, my first thought was, “oh yeah, this is part of my life.”
This October will mark 30 years since the onset of a chronic health condition I have. At first, what I had was so rare that specialty doctors had to be brought in. Some doctors did not know how to deal with my case, so I was shuffled through a handful of doctors until I landed on one. Reality check ahead.
The hardest part every time was they would give me my “medical history” and I viewed this as a list of my defects. In 30 years, my case has been stabilized and everything has been under control. The doctor I saw today was in the “anemia and other blood disorders” which sounds kind of intimidating. While the department sounds daunting, it simply means the doctor I see is an expert and specialist in this field of medicine and someone who best knows how to treat me. Reality check ahead.
Looking reality in the eye can be hard at times as our first reaction is to reject and move away from this reality instead of facing it. If the reality is life threatening, many times a person does not have a choice but to endure hospital procedures and possible surgeries. What if your reality is not so urgent? What if your reality is something you would rather not give time and would be so easy to put off, but if you did go through the temporary discomfort, the result would make life much easier?
A client of mine who is a pharmaceutical representative said that her supervisor is pushing this person and others in this field to be more experienced in public speaking. This client has thought about attending a group like “Toastmasters” which is a group of people who come together to get better at public speaking.
The hard part about this is that some of the meetings are really early in the morning before work starts. Also, being in Toastmasters would cause you to face your fear directly. Public speaking is listed as a greater fear than dying for some people. When you face your fear, you grow stronger and that fear has less power over you.
Right now, if there is something you have been putting off, however small, give some serios thought into completing that task. You will feel better immediately and the weight of that task is off of your shoulders.
If you are looking for a therapist near you and a Google search is a great way of finding one. I happen to be a therapist in Charlotte, NC but am licensed to counsel anyone in the state of North Carolina. In Google, try looking for “psychotherapist,” “find therapist,” “therapy near me,” or even “counseling charlotte, nc.” If you feel like you have hit a wall you are not able to get past, call me at (704) 458-6298 or email me at jeffhelms@clearerthoughtspllc.com.
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