I dread going to the eye doctor like most people dread going to the dentist. I can hear you saying, "The eye doctor?" with scorn and wonderment in your voice. Yes. The optometrist. I like him just fine as a person, but I get completely anxious when it is time for my yearly appointment.
After careful thought, I've come up with a few reasons why I have this anxiety about the optometrist appointment. For one thing, I have extremely poor vision, so when I take out my contacts for the exam, I feel vulnerable because I can't see. Everything is a blurry mess.
The second thing is that my eyes are very sensitive to light. If I'm outside, I'm almost always wearing sunglasses. If I don't, my eyes water and burn and I can't see anything in that case either. The eye doctor's exam gives me both the vulnerability of not being able to see and subjecting me to really bright light. I blink excessively and tear up uncontrollably. I've had eye doctors become upset and impatient with me because I couldn't deal with the light. (That dude is not my eye doctor anymore.)
Finally, the third thing is that I feel like I'm being quizzed and I never know if I have given the right answer. You know how they say "Which is better, one or two? How about three or four?" I know this sounds totally silly, but I get anxious that I am not choosing the correct option. I feel like the doctor knows what it should be and he is quizzing me to see if I get the right. I hate it when he sighs and keeps flipping those little lens-thingees. Seven or eight? Twenty or twenty-one? (I exaggerate. He just goes back to one after awhile.) Also, that reading chart? I hate that thing. Ps and Fs don't look that much alike in real life! When they are tiny on that stupid chart, it's just to make me crazy.
My current optometrist knows that I have anxiety issues and he is nice about it. He gets through the unpleasant parts pretty quickly. He even teases me about my jumpiness when it comes to the glaucoma test - you know, the puff of air in the eye. I hate that, too.
I had to go to the eye doctor today. It was terrible, but then it was over and now I have new contacts, so all is well. I've got another year until I have to go again. Glad it's over!
2 comments:
I totally agree and for exactly the same reasons. Luckily my doctor is great and very thorough
and patient. I made my yearly appointment and he cannot see me until Nov 6.
I admit that since I got Lasik surgery, I just stopped going to the eye doctor. I think I went finally a couple years ago because it seemed like an adult task that I should do. It was fine. I don't have the same anxiety that you and Mom have though.
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