You may be thinking: Why don’t I understand everything my doctor says? She/he is so nice and I believe her/him, but I don’t always understand and I get embarrassed to ask more questions.
I know my doctor had told me something about the name of the medicine and when to take it, but I don’t understand how it will make me feel, and I don’t want the doctor to think I’m not paying attention or that I can’t remember.
Then yout doctor changes the subject and your not finished and then confusion comes in with a thunder and my emotions are racing. The story starts, “Oh, she’s busy, I must not have been paying attention. What’s wrong with me any way?”
You're fine. Did you know that for most people their blood pressure is at it’s highest when they are in the doctor’s office? "Why?" you may ask. Well, it’s because they are worried that it might be too high and they get anxious and when you get anxious your blood pressure goes up. So there you go. So, often when we become worried or a little afraid our mind gets lost in the worry and we lose track of our thought. Sometime, we get so much information that it takes time to sort it all out and this feels difficult because we live in an impatient world.
The following is from my book, Know Where you Stand
And How to Get Where you Want to be
Metta,
The Map, The Formula, The Equation
Confusion is seeing more than one possibility.
I hate being confused, It disturbs my equilibrium
I had my mind made up
And now what to do?
Confusion makes me feel vulnerable
And uncertain.
Sometime it makes me defensive
Because I don’t know why
Oh confusion
Your such and intruder.
Why can’t you stay in your room and behave yourself?
Well excuse me!
I, Confusion, am your friend,
And you want me to stay in my room?
You’d give up your intelligence,
Your creativity,
Your ability to be more-
Simply for a moment’s comfort?
Don’t you know that confusion means seeing
More than one possibility?
For goodness sakes!
Confusion is a gift of vision
Born from intelligence.
So, from now on when you find yourself not understanding the information clearly, or becoming confused, don’t get upset with your self. Pause, take a breath, and remind yourself that your wonderful mind is getting overloaded because it can take in a lot of data, and it needs time to sort it all out and our mind requires clarification to make good decisions.
Have compassion for yourself and give yourself the same kindness and courtesy you would give a friend and ask for the help you need to reduce the anxiety.
Write down questions before and after appointments. They’ll know you were listening and be grateful that your clear about the information they gave you.
Remember, confusion can be a sign of intelligence.
For more, go to the web site: http://www.metta4all.com/
With Metta, Barbara Wright Ph.D.