Before a Medical Appointment That Frightens You
For the days before a scan, a test result or a visit you have been putting off. It helps you get your questions down, bring someone with you, and sit in the waiting room without the fear filling every hour until then.
Health · Anxiety · Body · 8 items · whenever you need it
The checklist
- Write your three biggest questions on your phone — having them in front of you means the ones that matter get asked.
- Note when your symptoms started and what changes them — that answer is hard to assemble on the spot.
- Ask one person to come with you or be on call — a second set of ears catches what you will not hear.
- Pack water, a snack and something to read — waiting is easier when your body is not also hungry.
- Say out loud what frightens you most about today — naming it leaves you with one worry instead of all of them.
- Put both feet flat on the floor in the waiting room — a steady base gives your body something solid to hold.
- Ask the doctor to write down what you must remember — notes carry better than a memory that is already busy.
- Decide what you will do straight after the visit — a plan for the next hour keeps the day from stopping there.
Use this checklist Free account: tick items off and keep each day's record.
How to use it
Run through it whenever you need it, honestly and without scoring yourself. A checklist is a way of noticing, not a test: an item you cannot tick is information about the day, not a verdict on you. Over a few weeks the pattern of what gets ticked and what does not says more than any single pass.
With a free Theraglee account the checklist remembers each pass, so you can look back. Without one, you can still read it here and keep your own copy.