Does the doctor's office bring out the shyness in you? ...


#: 104330 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #Shy with doctors?
Fm: Diane 
To: :: Kevin C. :: 

Yeah, Kevin, thanks!

That is about as much as I wanted to know [about irritable bowel syndrome]!

DO NOT MOVE THIS MESSAGE TO THE DOCTORS' SECTION!! Next thing you know they
would want me to come in to the office, and then you *KNOW* what they might
want to do next! (sigh)

I just HAD a physical, and they just DID that to me, and I am not up for
having it done again for awhile!

That is surely one area I am shy in! (grin)


#: 104353 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #104330-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. :: 
To: Diane 

Don't worry, the message thread will remain here ...


#: 104870 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #104330-#Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. :: 
To: Diane 

Diane,

     I wonder if others are shy about going to the doctor.

     That's a hint, folks ... time to speak up!  Tell me, does the doctor's
office bring out any fears, apprehensions, self-consciousness?  If so, what
bothers you?


#: 105104 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #104870-#Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Lana M. ::
To: :: Kevin C. ::

Hi, Kevin!

Good lord, YES!  I'm *extremely* shy about going to the doctor.  I'll put it
off much longer than I should, simply to avoid the situation.  I always feel
that it's "all in my head" (even when I *KNOW* it's not!), that I'm wasting
the doctor's time, etc.  Then there are the sometimes embarrassing "invasive"
procedures that must be done in order for the doctor to make a diagnosis.

I've often said I'd die before I'd undergo a barium enema, and I MEAN IT!!!!!

Cheers!


#: 105226 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105104-#Shy with doctors?
Fm: Sharyn <tv> 
To: :: Lana M. ::

-L-a-n-a-:

        YOU PAY THE PHYSICIAN.  YOU ARE HIS CUSTOMER.  ___HE___ can waste YOUR
time.  YOU can NOT waste HIS time!!!!!!!!!!!!
HE works for YOU!!!  YOU do NOT work for HIM!!!  He is NO better
than you are    A T   A N Y  T I M E !!!!
        STOP thinking subserviently!!!
YOU are doing HIM the favor by being prepared to PAY him.  He is NOT
doing you a favor by being present!
It's long past time to allow for or encourage self-deification!!!


#: 105288 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105226-#Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Lana M. :: 
To: Sharyn <tv> 

Hi, Sharyn!

Oh, I know that, intellectually. <grin!>  However, when I'm sick, I never
think I'm "sick enough" to warrant a visit to the doctor, since I'll be taking
up a valuable "patient slot," and maybe there's someone else who really needs
to see the doctor who won't be able to get an appointment because I'm there,
with my piddly little illness.  Irrational, I know.  And what usually happens
is that I wait too long, and when I finally get to the doctor, the bug has
progressed to a point where it takes much more effort/medication/etc. to get
over.  It goes back to my childhood, when my mother always accused me of
"faking it."  I nearly died of a ruptured appendix when I was 10, nearly
developed rheumatic fever as a by-product of strep throat when I was 12, and
suffered with a broken shoulder for 4 days at 16 before she finally took me to
the doctor's office (NOT the emergency room).  When I do get sick, I always
question whether it's all in my head, or whether it's *real*.  (Like today,
I'm staying home with a 100.8 fever, sore throat, and all-over aches. 
Probably just the flu, so I won't see the doctor -- but am I exhibiting these
symptoms because of stress? because I don't feel like facing work today?  See
what I mean?)

Cheers!


#: 105316 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105288-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Linda W. :: 
To: :: Lana M. :: 

Lana,

   Me too!  I'm always worried that I'll go to the doctor and it will turn out
to be something he or she thinks is trivial.  I developed a kidney infection
over Easter weekend one year, only had no idea that's what it was.  The doctor
was furious with my when I literally dragged myself into his office Monday
morning.  I was sent directly to the hospital and from what he and others said
at the time, I probably came very close to dying.
   Is it really that we're just shy, or do the few gruff doctors out there set
us up for this sort of paranoia?  I recall once going to a doctor with about 4
different things wrong with me.  My mother-in-law, who'd been a nurse, had
recommended the doctor, so I thought my ailments were within his realm of
expertise.  Basically, it was a very hideous, expensive, and humiliating
experience.  I'd probably have never gotten back into the habit of going to
doctors after him, except that I got pregnant shortly after that and wanted to
get my baby off to a good start.


#: 105396 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105104-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. :: 
To: :: Lana M. :: 

Lana,

     As someone who suffers from the "white coat" syndrome, I can empathize
with you.  I almost never have a normal blood pressure in the doctor's office.
That should give you some idea of my anxiety level.

     I find that the anticipation of what will happen at the doctor's office
is at least as stress provoking as actually being prodded and poked.  That
doesn't mean that I'm not shy and stressed out when I get to the doctor's;
that too is a problem, especially if I have to describe embarrassing symptoms
to the nurses and doctor.

     I can't imagine that too many people would be eager to undergo a barium
enema, but your irrational stance puzzles me.  (It's not like the Lana that I
have come to know in this section!)  It's not the apprehension, even fear,
that's irrational--the BE is not the most comfortable or "dignified" test--but
the fact that you would put your health in jeopardy because you don't want to
undergo a safe, simple, routine diagnostic procedure.

     Why do you feel so strongly about this?  Is it something you've heard, or
experienced that fuels your fear?


#: 105411 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105316-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Lana M. :: 
To: :: Linda W. ::

Hi, Linda!

How strange (and coincidental!)  When I lived in SC (about 15 yrs ago), I,
too, put off seeing a doctor when I had a raging kidney infection, and ended
up being transported to the hospital and directly into intensive care.  I knew
I was sick, but I had no idea I was *that* sick.

I don't think gruff doctors really have that much to do with it in my case. 
My doctors have usually been pretty good (with one exception -- an ob/gyn I
had in the DC area was a real jerk -- tried to convince me that I needed a
hysterectomy over what turned out to be a relatively minor problem).  My
current GP is a woman, who is *very* down-to-earth, really listens, and pretty
much lets me direct my treatment, selecting from the options she lays out for
me.

For me, I think, it still harkens back to my upbringing, where illness wasn't
recognized as a valid excuse for shirking one's responsibilities or putting
burdens on others.  You're right in one regard, though -- it really isn't
*shyness* per se, but a different kind of problem:  continually questioning
what my body is telling me, and rationalizing the illness as being something
over which I have control.  I remember being told by my mother "if you'd just
put your mind to it, you'd be over the measles by tomorrow, instead of making
me wait on you hand and foot."  Of course, I *couldn't* get over the measles
by tomorrow, and so I felt guilty.  THAT'S where my reluctance to go to the
doctor comes from. (and yes, I know it's neurotic!) <grin!!>

Cheers!


#: 105549 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105396-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Lana M. :: 
To: :: Kevin C. ::

Hi, Kevin!

I firmly believe that there are *other* ways to diagnose, apart from a BE. 
For a long time, I've harbored a suspicion that the BE remains as popular as
it is because certain Dr.s want to get back at certain "difficult" patients. 
Nope, not for me.  I recall various other diagnostic procedures that I've had
to endure that also involved enemas (non-barium), and the entire procedure was
agony.  The fact that I was experiencing *real* pain was totally ignored by
those in attendance.  I can only imagine that a BE would be at least as bad,
and probably worse.  NO WAY!

Let me rephrase my original assertion -- there is NO WAY in the world that
I'll undergo a BE *while conscious*.  If there's a way to administer that
procedure while I'm under general anesthesia, then I *might* consider it, but
it would take a lot of convincing that it's really the ONLY way to diagnose a
problem.

Cheers!


#: 105636 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #104870-Shy with doctors?
Fm: Diane 
To: :: Kevin C. ::

Yes.

It turns me into a neurotic mess.

I've avoided all medical care except the necessary for the last few years. It
sprang from a very difficult time in my life after my dad suddenly died. I
think I am finally on top of it, but I spose it won't ever be an easy thing
for me.

Some of the procedures are so humiliating, esp. if you are a woman. However,
my doctor is a woman, and she is commonsense and easy going and not an
alarmist. She understands how to make things comfortable for her patients. I
like her.

I think where it all started, for me, was once when I had to have some x-rays
done. I took them to the specialist, he put them up on his lighted viewer,
took a look and shouted..OH GOD!! YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO HAVE THAT!!....followed
by intense silence while he examined them further. His office assistant saw my
distress, took me back to the examining room, and told me my problem was a
very simple and easily corrected one. What he saw in the x=ray, I don't know.
I just know I didn't have it!! Thank goodness!

Diane, who never wears white coats


#: 105709 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105288-Shy with doctors?
Fm: Sharyn <tv>
To: :: Lana M. ::

Lana,
        Ok!  I see your point -- it mirrors mine exactly, including the
part about being home today with a 101 fever. (actually, I'm not
home because of the fever.  I don't stay home due to fever unless
it's more than 103. I'm actually here to finish up vacation time
that has to be used before the end of the month (boy, do I have
a lot of work that I have to get to tho'.  Maybe that's where my
latest stress came from.  Have to cut the vac short tho' as I'll
need to go in to pick up tickets for my next trip.  And travel
gets my office work that much farther behind!  <sigh>)


#: 105794 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105549-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. ::
To: :: Lana M. :: 

Lana,

     Your characterization of the sadistic, enema-wielding doctor helps to
allay my waiting room jitters.   Thanks.  <grin>

     There are other procedures that can be used (e.g. proctosigmoidoscopy and
colonoscopy), but I think most physicians like to use these things in
conjuction with--rather than as an alternative to--the BE.  None of them sound
pleasant to me.  Maybe, with a little luck, we won't be faced by these
procedures.

     I realize that discomfort, even pain, has to be endured by patients, but
only the most callous health care provider would ignore patients' comfort
levels.  There is simply no excuse for that.  Were you shy in the doctor's
office before you were subjected to the painful diagnostic measures?


#: 105799 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105636-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. ::
To: Diane 

Diane,

     I know lots of men who are shy in the doctor's office (if they go at all)
because they hate rectal exams.  So, I can imagine how you and other women
feel about pelvics.

     It does help to have a good doctor, though, doesn't it?  My doctor is
gentle, understanding, and encourages me to ask questions.  It took me a long
time to find her, but the search was worth it.

     Would you say that embarrassment is the thing that causes you the most
problem?


#: 105929 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105794-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Lana M. :: 
To: :: Kevin C. ::

Hi, Kevin!

I've always been a little shy, but more along the lines of reluctant to waste
the doctor's time.  Not exactly shyness, per se, but still a roadblock to
getting me to the doctor.

In terms of what I'll call "pure shyness," I've always been "modest" -- in
other words, getting naked for a doctor is embarrassing for me.  Add to that
discomfort the discomfort of an "invasive" procedure (like a gyn exam), and
you're looking at one *uncomfortable* lady here!  If I know there's a chance
that some kind of embarrassing procedure will have to be done, I'll inevitably
put off a visit to the doctor.

Cheers!


#: 106115 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105636-#Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: George V. ::
To: Diane 

Diane,

That specialist who made that remark while examining your Xrays should be
debarred, or de-frocked, or whatever one can do to a dumb doctor.  Don't they
realize they're dealing with human beings?

He may be very competent medically, but he obviously doesn't give a hoot about
his patients' feelings.  Maybe he'd make a good veterinarian.  I don't blame
you for being turned off of doctors.


#: 106200 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105799-Shy with doctors?
Fm: Diane 
To: :: Kevin C. ::

No, it is never embarrassment, Kevin. I've had three kids and a major surgery,
a husband  and several lovers. It is very hard to maintain your modesty after
all of that exposure!

No, for me it is the unknown, and the waiting for test results. It is hard to
wait. I am quite able to deal (so far) with anything I KNOW, but the unknown
is harder. I have a vivid imagination. (sigh)


#: 106201 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106115-Shy with doctors?
Fm: Diane 
To: :: George V. ::

Thanks, George, for your kind words.

He got his reward. He died.

It was an inhumane thing for him to have done to me. The other medical gripe I
have harbored for years, was against a man who was an obstetrician in the Navy
when I was pregnant with my first child. I had a really rough pregnancy, and I
was terribly young, and nervous. This was mass medicine, with about 100 women
showing up on any given day for prenatal checkups. I was having a real battle
with preventing toxemia. I was 5'6" tall, and at 8 1/2 months I weighed 160
pounds. I'd gained only 17 pounds during the pregnancy, and was being very
very careful. One day I went in, and it was very warm, and I was perspiring.
The doctor said to me, If you weren't such a cow, you wouldn't be sweating.

Now...at that time I was awfully young and lacked assertiveness. I would
surely like to have that scene repeated!!! Same thing with the first doctor I
mentioned; then I sat dumb like a frightened rabbit. Now I would be able to
take a LOT better care of myself.

Do YOU talk up when your doctor bullies you?


#: 106273 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106115-Shy with doctors?
Fm: Hari 
To: :: George V. ::

George,

A friend of mine mentioned being horribly embarrassed when her gynocologist at
her campus clinic asked loudly (so all could hear) about some sexual symptoms.
The woman had apparently been diagnosing VD for so long that she had become
desensitized to the issue and had forgotten how humiliated people feel about
it.

I think that the medical system in this country has moved away from the
personal 'family doctor' type of caregivers to the almost mechanised health
care at large clinics and hospitals. In those places, they routinely see the
most bizarre of symptoms and forget that their patients don't routinely come
down with each and every one of these diseases <g>.


#: 106339 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106201-Shy with doctors?
Fm: Sharyn <tv>
To: Diane 

Diane,
        The military is where I got a lot of my BAD experiences with
Drs, too -- especially those who got quite vocal about having to
take care of goldbricks with minor ailments like the flu, or
pregnancy, or appendicitis -- they wanted to do REAL medicine (their
words) like treating bullet wounds, mine amputations, etc (notice,
tho' that they didn't want to be stationed in or around Nam, tho')
        But you did have SOME recourse, like filing formal complaints
with the Chief of Obstetrics, the Infirmary Commander, the Base
Inspector General, the Base Chaplain (you'd be surprised what they
can and are willing to do for people!), or even the Chief of
Medical Services, Department of the Navy, the Pentagon (and yes,
I have filed complaints only to find (in a couple of cases) Drs
reduced to corpsmen -- so it could have effects (tho' I admit one
circumstance was the result of a death caused by a refusal to
admit by a receptionist for acute meningitis (and she spent jail time
for it)) 


#: 106542 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #105929-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. :: 
To: :: Lana M. :: 

Lana,

     I hear what you're saying.  I'm more than a little shy, too, when it
comes to disrobing in the doctor's office.

     You said that you are reluctant to waste the doctor's time, and this
sometimes prevents you from going to the doctor at all.  When you actually
make it to the doctor's office, do you feel the same way?  For example, do you
fail to ask questions because you don't want to bother your busy doctor? I
know I'm guilty of that, especially when the question is embarrassing or
strikes me as being dumb.

     I often gripe about doctors who fail to keep their patients informed, but
sometimes the patient is at fault too when s/he is passive.


#: 106543 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106200-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. :: 
To: Diane 

Diane,

     You're lucky that embarrassment is not a problem for you.  I think a lot
of people forego preventive care because they are embarrassed about undergoing
certain procedures.

     Getting undressed in front of a lover is very different for me than
getting undressed in front of a doctor.  The latter makes me uncomfortable.
Maybe after I've had three kids, major surgery, a husband, and several lovers
I'll feel differently!  <smile>


#: 106576 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106543-Shy with doctors?
Fm: Diane 
To: :: Kevin C. :: 

Well, actually, Kevin and all you other doctor-shy folkses --
you don't GET UNDRESSED in front of the doctor. You are naked, but not fully
exposed. You get on part covered while another part stays covered, and so
forth.

Doctors do this for a living; they are not easily distracted from their
business. I bet if someone were to ask them an hour or two after your visit, a
detail about your naked self, they wouldn't be able to answer.

Lovers. on the other hand, are *very* interested in seeing the whole thing.
They have a  stake in learning all they can about you, and your skin, and your
body.

I am much more shy in front of lovers; I believe I have more at stake then.
What do you think?


#: 106743 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106542-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Lana M. :: 
To: :: Kevin C. ::

Hi, Kevin!

No, once I make up my mind to visit the doctor, I'm not afraid to ask
questions.  I tend to arrive pretty well-prepared, and my current GP is quite
responsive to questions.  She's very level-headed, certainly not an alarmist,
and provides me with straightforward answers.  As far as I'm concerned, there
are NO dumb questions!  If I don't understand something, or if I'm unclear on
a medical term, I'll ask.

Cheers!


#: 106765 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106201-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: George V. :: 
To: Diane 

Diane,

There ARE doctors who are concerned about their patients' feelings, but I'm
afraid they're becoming fewer and farther between every day.  Your story about
the Navy obstetrician was absolutely disgusting. 

A friend of mine, in the hospital for another reason, was told by a physician
that he had cancer and had something like a year and a half to live.  Outside
of the callous way the doctor said it, it turned out that the diagnosis was
completely WRONG.  That was about ten years ago and my friend is still
complaining about it.

No, I'm afraid I haven't talked up when my doctors have bullied me, but I plan
to in the future.  The last time I saw my internist he was trying to get me to
cut down on smoking my pipe.  He asked my how much I smoke.  I showed him a
half-empty tobacco pouch and said I would probably finish that by the end of
the week.  He looked shocked, put his hand on his cheek, and said, "Oh my
GOD!"  It was so phony it made me angry but I didn't say anything.  Next time
I plan to tell him right away that if he is sincere about wanting me to
curtail my smoking he is going to have to be a lot more realistic with me, and
no theatrics.

But yes, I have been bullied by doctors, and have reacted just as you did.  We
should all take lessons from Sharyn.


#: 106771 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106273-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: George V. :: 
To: Hari 

hARI,

I can see, and understand, and almost sympathize with a harried doctor who
wants to take a more impersonal attitude toward his/her patients.  But I can't
forgive it.  I can't forgive them not realizing that the people they deal with
are human beings with very sensitive emotions, and probably scared when they
see a doctor.  When I had a prostate biopsy, I had to wait an extra two weeks
until it was convenient for the doctor to look at the lab reports and call me
to tell me it was negative. 

Your story of the loud-mouthed gynecologist reminds me of the time when I had
been married only a few months and was sent to the drugstore to buy my wife
some Modess.  I moved close to the pharmacist and told him what I needed.  He
stepped back and said, loudly, "I can't hear you.  Speak up!"  I repeated my
request ever so slightly louder.  "Oh, MODESS!  Hey, Joe, get this man a box
of Modess!!"  One of my most embarrassing moments!


#: 106921 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106576-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. :: 
To: Diane 

Diane,

     I don't have a problem getting undressed in front of a lover.  I figure
that part of the role of lover is to accept you all the way down to your
warts.  (It will be interesting to see how others answer your question.)

     You're right; I don't get undressed in front of my doctor.  I do that
while she's out of the room, and she is very good about selectively uncovering
body parts and using drapes.  However, with my previous doctors (all males), I
*did* get undressed in front of them.  I don't know if this is a male
doctor/male patient thing or what.


#: 106942 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106765-Shy with doctors?
Fm: Diane 
To: :: George V. ::

I know, personally, some people who are doctors, and they are very nice, human
folks and I like 'em.

One of my children is married to the child of a Dr. We went to his house. He
made nameplates for us all. Mine said "Diane". His said "Doctor".

He cooked a big 'ol slab of beef on the BBQ and told us cholesterol was a
myth, and that we should NOT cut back on eggs.

Guess where he is now. Naww..I would like to tell you he died of stiff
arteries. But........one day he did fall off his chair his blood pressure was
so high. He dieted, exercised, and went off and built a house and lost 25
pounds. Oh, and he gave up eggs and beef. And now he is a believer.

I think the practice of medicine will be ever so much more effective when
doctors let us participate in our own health. Mine does. hooooray for her!


#: 107092 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106743-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. ::
To: :: Lana M. :: 

Lana,

     Just when I think I've got you people figured out ...

     Both you and Hari surprised me with your latest answers.  I'm glad you're
not shy when it comes to asking questions of your physician.  Are you equally
at ease with other "authority" figures?

Kevin C.


#: 107180 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #107092-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Lana M. :: 
To: :: Kevin C. ::

Hi, Kevin!

I'd say that generally, if I need to know something, I'm not too shy about
asking for information, no matter who the "expert" is.  Doctors, lawyers,
bosses at work, etc. -- none of these encounters involves "socializing."

Cheers!


#: 107346 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #106942-#Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: George V. :: 
To: Diane 

Diane,

Participate in our own health.  Hmm.  I don't know about that.  I rather hate
to place my health in the hands of someone as unreliable as I am.

I've been going for regular chiropratic treatments, specifically for a back
pain problem.  Part of the treatment is to see an exercise therapist who
prescribes exercises for me to do at home. 

For a while, everything was going well (although I didn't notice any
improvement), but then I found less and less time available for exercises.  I
finally realized I was wasting my money on the therapy.  I really should spend
15 to 30 minutes a day on these exercises, but even 3 minutes would be better
than nothing at all.  But I can't seem to motivate myself.

Who am I kidding?  Only myself, of course.  But it sure would be nice if I
could go to the doctor's office, describe my pain, get a pill and have the
pain stop.


#: 107537 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #107346-Shy with doctors?
Fm: Diane 
To: :: George V. ::

Ah, but George.

I do believe that is the reason we have such a problem with our medical costs
today.

Prescribing exercise involves only your paying for your office visit. No
product. No drug. No tests. Just a transaction between you and your doctor.

If you go and "describe your pain, get a pill, and have the pain stop", I can
guess it would cost you approximately $200 conservatively. The pill could only
be prescribed after certain basic lab studies were undertaken to put a name to
your pain; the drug company would have had to spend a lot of dollars (and
probably involved testing inhumanely on animal subjects first, just to start a
number of controversies at once here) to do research, to hire a detail man to
sell the drug to your doctor and to license it and create advertisements for
it.

I am sorry for the pain in your back, George. That can take the joy out of
even the finest kind of day. Perhaps if you did spend the 30 minutes a day,
and did see some improvement, it would be better, overall, for you, your body,
and everyone's medical care?

What do ya think?


#: 107771 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #107537-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: George V. :: 
To: Diane 

Diane,

Actually I don't think it's possible for a pill to solve my problem.  A pill
is not going to straighten out my spine, nor is it going to build up muscles
on one side of the spine while reducing them on the other.  I'm afraid
exercise is the ONLY answer.

I don't know whether your message to me inspired it, but I will say that I was
thinking of your message as I did my exercises today for the first time in
about a month.  I probably spent less than 10 minutes, but at least it was a
start.

Part of the problem is that all *I* want is to get rid of the pain, while my
exercise instructor is trying to teach me "fluidity of movement".  If she
could convince me that fluidity of movement is going to eliminate the pain, I
might be more motivated.


#: 107913 S8/Shyness Workshop
Sb: #107180-Shy with doctors?
Fm: :: Kevin C. :: 
To: :: Lana M. :: 

Lana,

     I'm funny when it comes to asking for information.  I have no problem
asking questions of my physician, lawyer, and accountant, but I suddenly
become shy and anxious if I need to ask a clerk where to find something or a
service station attendant how to get somewhere.