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hospital anxiety

Bowie Fan

i just spoke with my mum on the phone n my grampy was un well this mornin and hes now in hospital and she asked if i want to go and see him after school

Id like 2 but medical places give me terribl anxiety and i usually have a melt down so im not sure I should

But i also feel bad n know ill be angry with my self if I don't go so im not sure what to do

Parents

  • It might help you to try and work out precisely what aspects are the problem, although there are many things there which are potential triggers. I also intensely dislike going to medical places.

    If just being inside the hospital is difficult, if you can find out exactly which ward he is in then find the building plan online and work out the shortest route that might help you to limit the amount of time inside there if it is possible, and see if there is a closer entrance than the main one. Obviously this only works if you are any good at route finding!

    Explain to your mum that you want to visit but can you limit the time there to maybe ten minutes or however long you think you can handle, and then if she still wants to be there longer if it is OK for you to go back to the car, or to sit on a bench outside, or a bus shelter if it is raining, or whatever you can think of.

    I don't know if you are better to try and ignore all the scary and overwhelming stimuli or if you are better off spending a couple of minutes taking it in at the door before entering the ward.

    When you do get to his bedside try and focus on him rather than what else is going on.

    I think you know it will be better for you and your family if you do try and visit him, but it is also better for you and them to try and avoid a meltdown. If it is possible for you to have some time between school and the visit for you to do whatever you find most calming, and then also plan to have some calm time to recover when you get home after the visit that might help.

    Do you have noise cancelling headphones, dark glasses, or other things which help reduce stimuli? I don't, but they seem to help many people.

    There will very likely be times in the future you will have to go into hospitals so it is a good idea to try and find ways to make that bearable. Just pushing through can make the experience increasingly aversive which would make it harder each time so it is better to find coping strategies.

  • in reply to AuTriker

    Hi thx so much for ur reply and suggestions. all worked n went well i focused totally on grampy and it got me thru it. like I was immune to every thing else going on there

    mum said the same as u bout limiting the time n we both agreed 10 mins would b enough n it was i was drained by the time we left. have noise phones but forget them lol n no sunglasses but it was ok luckily

    Ive relaxed to night, just listen to some music and chilled out :) 

Reply
  • in reply to AuTriker

    Hi thx so much for ur reply and suggestions. all worked n went well i focused totally on grampy and it got me thru it. like I was immune to every thing else going on there

    mum said the same as u bout limiting the time n we both agreed 10 mins would b enough n it was i was drained by the time we left. have noise phones but forget them lol n no sunglasses but it was ok luckily

    Ive relaxed to night, just listen to some music and chilled out :) 

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