Ever since I was a child, I didn’t like going to the doctor. No, that was an understatement. I hated going to the doctor. The disdain I had for it continued well into my adult years. I didn’t know why I dreaded going. I just did. And, when I became an adult, I began making the conscious choice to avoid going to the doctor altogether.

I didn’t know why I hated going to the doctor until recently.

My avoidance of the doctor was for multiple reasons. First, there was the loss of control. I felt herded like a farm animal as they poked and prodded my body with very little input from me other than to answer the questions they had on my profile.

Second, if I didn’t have a specific complaint, the doctor would pass through quicker than a fast-food restaurant drive-through.

Finally, and most importantly, I didn’t like my bad decisions being recalled by me or by my lab work. I knew I hadn’t been exercising enough and my diet was full of sugar, fried food, and carbs. Going to the doctor forced me to face the truth that my health wasn’t always a priority. And that made me feel bad.

Going to the doctor forces us to face the health decisions we made throughout the year. Many of us aren’t ready to hear it. Additionally, many of us don’t know what the stream of lab numbers they generate on our behalf actually means.

I knew about high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes (“the sugar”), and prostate cancer from my father – but that was it. Going to the doctor not only forced me to face the consequences of my health decisions, it made me feel inadequate while doing it.

So, how did I get over it? I made a few changes in my attitude and behavior that had a profound effect on my experience at the doctor’s office. Here are the five ways I got over going to the doctor.