That Patient Feeling - some thoughts on the medical system

Well, I was hoping that this week's big stress would be going (or not going) to Steemfest3, as the prices go up in 2 days and I really need to make a decision by then.
But as you probably guessed, I was wrong. I found myself doing a brief stint in the hospital yesterday after some unforeseen medical issues popped up. It was nothing major (I'm fine! Don't worry about it), but for a few hours, I was a patient, something I'm not used to being. I dislike hospitals, generally, and avoid going to the doctor as much as I can (I think our society goes way more than they should, which only builds the patient feeling I will talk about). Alas, this was unavoidable, so in I went.
And I noticed, from the get-go how they get in your head, how you get to feeling helpless and “in need of care”. Because that's, after all, why you're there – to be taken care of. And it's this entire mindset. Few people are able to remain themselves, to remain strong, inside a hospital or even just a doctor's office. Mainly because a lot of us have this general mystified feeling about the human bodies – surely, these trained professionals know what's going on better than I ever will. And that's largely true, doctors and nurses are far more prepared to understand the human body than you and me. It is, after all, their job. But that prevents most people from questioning their doctors and that's not such a bright idea.
Myself included.

From the moment a nurse takes you in – come with me – you become docile. Sit here, wait here, come this way. You obey like a dog. You don't question, not even small things like what am I waiting for here. Let alone the big stuff – like meds.
You sit on your bed, where nurses drop by every other moment to ask 'how you feeling, sweetie?' and it gets in your head. I'm not complaining, I was treated well, but all this treatment only helps build the idea in your head that you are sick. That there's something wrong with you.
It's the same with any type of doctors – be it a surgical matter or a psychological matter, the more time you spend in a hospital or a doctor's office, the more likely you are to view yourself as a patient.
Because when you go in, you know it's nothing major. You know you'll be fine and you know you don't really need to be pampered and treated as impotent.
But you accept it, because you can't really argue – after all, it's just people taking care of you. How do you put up barriers to that?
And the next thing you know, you're meekly nodding along to everything the nurse is saying. They know best.
And they do know a lot, that's very true. But maybe you should question what they tell you. Maybe blind acceptance isn't the way...

After my brief stay in hospital, I was prescribed some medication. And I'm not meek, I'm not the kind to blindly follow anyone, but after four hours being fretted over on a hospital bed, you get to thinking maybe there is something wrong with you. You need to be taken care of.
It's a popular belief that you should trust your doctor and never question. But you can see how that is wrong. There are, in this world, several cases of people who die from prescribed medication. Because they didn't look into it. Or when they did, it was too late. And you owe it to them and most importantly to yourself, to check what you're taking in.
You might discover those prescribed meds are not quite so good for you. I found myself wondering – why do I need these?

For example, I was given painkillers, but I have no pain. The patient feeling tells you you should take the painkillers, even if you don't need them because you never know. But if you look up those painkillers and see that they have quite serious side-effects, maybe you think twice about it.
Even the doctor told me that it really varies from person to person, so what may be good for one might not be so good for another.
So maybe you should evaluate the situation. See where you are, if you feel the meds would be good for you or not.

You and me, we're not the same people. And obviously, the same treatment won't work for both of us. I might react very differently to the same medication.

But we all fall for it, if we're not careful. Before writing this post, I was eating and going through the pills – when am I supposed to take this, how much, you know, the patient attitude of following what your doctor told you. Not even stopping to see how you feel. Hey, if my doctor said this, she must know best.

You come across this belief often. And you scoff at it or at least, I do. Maybe the doctor knows better, but maybe you should think for yourself? You know, while you still can...

This is not a post against doctors, not in the slightest. It's a post against all the people who don't think. This is a post reminding you that these are people encouraged to push certain pills. A post to remind you that even the best doctors can sometimes screw up. A post to remind you to think for yourself, because in the end, you're the one most responsible.