A doctor is a licensed health care professional, who is trained and qualified to diagnose the symptoms and treat patients with medication for their illnesses and medical conditions.

Most of us avoid going to the doctor, there are many reasons for this, we might know someone who has had a bad experience after being to the doctor, or we may have had a negative personal experience after going to the doctor, whatever the reason, when we are sick, going to the doctor is the best option under the circumstances, if we want to regain our health.

Some people are afraid of doctors due to superstitious beliefs and misleading stories that are not based on fact, it is not worth losing your life over half truths.

Those who suffer from a fear of going to the doctor, behave in a certain way which makes it difficult to get medical treatment.

Some of these behaviours include being constantly stressed and worried about whether the doctor is going to put you through a series of medical tests, give you an injection or diagnose some life threatening illness.

All these thoughts and assumptions can make us anxious, experience fear which makes our body shiver, even when the weather is hot, having difficulty breathing normally, the heartbeat is faster than normal and an irrational fear of death.

People become afraid of doctors because they might have had a bad experience during a previous visit, we must remember the medical profession is just like any other occupation, doctors can make mistakes, they are human, blaming them for you ill health is not the solution.

Some of us are more sensitive than others and we find it difficult to get adjusted to seeing a doctor's office, clinic or a hospital, when we see patients who are sick, it makes us feel sad and gives us the constant feeling that something is wrong and we do not belong in a hospital, we want to get away as quickly as possible.

Although needles look scary, the doctor needs to give us medication with the use of an injection, the fear of needles is so great, that we would rather avoid going to the doctor , instead of getting the medicine through the injection and getting cured.

We need to make a serious effort, to put an end to our fear of doctors. Some of ways we can do this are:

Try not to focus and spend too much time on deciding in advance, what the doctor is going to say and do, keep your mind calm, relaxed and do something that makes you happy.

When you are feeling worried about going to the doctor, it helps to reach out to someone, it could be anybody, a family member or a friend who will support you and help you to maintain your composure.

Try to be on time, when an appointment to see the doctor is scheduled, that way you do not spend too much time in the waiting area and getting distracted by watching the other patients and thinking negative thoughts.

We must remember that being afraid of doctors is not going to cure us of our illness, be honest to yourself and give the doctor a chance to help you to overcome your illness and stay in good health.