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Just like many fears, the one of doctors also has a name—iatrophobia. The exact number of people who have this phobia is hard to pinpoint, but surveys indicate that up to one in three Americans avoid hospital visits when they think they need one, most probably due to this fear.
Registered nurse and certified health coach Jennifer Jenkins explains that having such a nervous feeling before an appointment is a normal brain response to uncertainty.
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"The amygdala—the part of the brain designed to detect potential threat—becomes more vigilant when we don’t know what to expect. Today, many people are constantly exposed to fear-driven messages about disease through media, commercials, and online content, which conditions the mind to anticipate negative outcomes," Jenkins says.
"Our nervous system learns from our environment—and what we repeatedly focus on grows in our awareness. When healthcare has previously felt overwhelming or invalidating, the body remembers that too, reacting before we even step into the office."
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Having such anxiety can affect our well-being by activating the body’s stress response and raising cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure, a temporary pattern called 'white-coat hypertension,' Jenkins explains.
"When stress becomes chronic, the nervous system remains in a sympathetic 'fight-or-flight' state, and no organism can heal or thrive while the brain is signaling danger. In this state, the body prioritizes survival functions—not digestion, immune repair, or hormonal balance—which helps explain why long-term anxiety is associated with inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, heart disease, and impaired immune resilience," she says.
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Anxiety can also cloud our thinking, which is the opposite of useful during doctor's visits.
"Anxiety can also make it harder to think clearly, communicate needs, or remember instructions during appointments because higher-order brain centers don’t function optimally when stress is high. Supporting the nervous system back into a regulated state improves clarity, confidence, and overall health outcomes."
Lastly, nervous feelings associated with doctors can prevent people from seeking medical care, even when they're feeling unwell, which can have negative outcomes for our health.
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Jenkins acknowledges that a doctor's communication style can impact a patient's comfort level, but ultimately, the anxiety stems from our internal interpretation of a situation.
"However, burnout is currently high among healthcare professionals, and if a practitioner is stressed or rushed, patients can sense that energy and react to it. This doesn’t make the doctor “responsible” for the anxiety—but it can be a contributing stimulus," she explains.
"True empowerment comes from understanding that we control our internal state, not someone else’s behavior. At the same time, healthcare works best when both sides show up with presence, compassion, and respect."
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Since the anxiety people feel towards doctors mostly comes from their internal world, they can take steps to calm their nerves before seeing a doctor.
"Slowing the breath—especially longer exhales—communicates safety to the brain and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, where rest, digestion, and healing occur. Meditation, visualization, and intention-setting help shift brain-wave patterns from high-beta (anxious, hypervigilant thinking) into slower, more coherent rhythms where creativity, memory, and emotional regulation improve," Jenkins suggests.
