We’ve all seen, or perhaps heard, of the TV shows that follow people with embarrassing medical conditions. Of how they get their diagnosis in the hope that other sufferers who are too embarrassed to visit their doctor can benefit from their humiliation… yet, aside from the obvious entertainment factor of these shows, they serve a genuinely good purpose, which is to remind us that we are all just human – and we all have, or will have, a condition that we aren’t necessarily comfortable disclosing.
Indeed, in a world where image matters more than ever, in part due to the focus of our online lives with selfies taking over the internet and bloggers, magazines, tv shows, and advertisers all telling us how to live our lives and fix our problems… life can feel somewhat overwhelming, particularly if you have a medical condition that’s embarrassing.
In that vein, this article looks at how to treat embarrassing conditions, but rather than look at specific conditions and treatments such as botox for underarm sweating, this article is going to look at some general principles to follow in order to treat your mystery condition.
STEP ONE: STOP PANICKING
The first step, is to stop panicking. We all have a touch of the hypochondriac’s about us when it comes to embarrassing conditions – often presuming the worst, but feeling too embarrassed to seek advice, meaning we live in a state of purgatory, worrying about something when we might not need to.
In this sense you want to view the issue on face value – see it as bad as it is and be mindful of what it could potentially indicate… but don’t see it as worse than it is.
STEP TWO: ONLINE RESEARCH
The caveat with online research is that if a normal, healthy person, did any type of online test or looked at the symptoms of a particular mental health condition – then almost all of us would relate to a fair few of the symptoms.
In today’s world of empowered consumers, thanks to the internet we are often doing our own research and then presenting it to our doctor telling them what Google tell them to be the problem. Not only is this infuriating for doctor’s but it means you often end up getting much more anxious than you need to be.
Therefore, do some research to look into possibilities – but view them as such, possibilities as to what it might or might not be… with possible remedial solutions rather than absolute advice.
STEP THREE: GET IT CHECKED OUT
The final step, and the one that makes the most sense yet we are often too embarrassed to do, is to go and get the issue checked out by a professional. Just remember that people in the medical profession will have seen a lot worse than what you’re presenting, and they’re trained to treat conditions and symptoms rather than people – meaning, they’re not going to be judging you as a person… they’re just going to be viewing Symptom A, B and C – with a view to figuring out what’s going on.
