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JANUARY 11, 2019
AIKEN-AUGUSTAʼS MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006
AUGUSTARX.COM
WHEN WE LIE TO OUR DOCTOR Ok, maybe not flat-out lie. But maybe we don’t always tell the whole truth. Important details are left out. And not by accident. Studies show the practice is more common than we might think: more than 50 percent of us do, according to one study. Why is this so common, and why is it a really bad idea?
WHY LYING IS DUMB: 1. Doctors have seen it all. It’s pretty tough to shock them. Plus, they’re doctors, not judges of morality.
WHY PEOPLE LIE: 1. We’re embarrassed by something we have or have not done. 2. We’re afraid getting a bad diagnosis.
2. A serious condition will not disappear if you ignore it. Which is worse: getting a bad diagnosis, or not getting treatment for a bad diagnosis? 3. It just might work. Then again, if it does, death is fairly inconvenient too.
4. We want to please the doctor.
4. Telling the doctor you don’t smoke when your clothes reek of cigarettes will not please the doctor. Telling the doctor you floss daily when the evidence is clear that you do not will not please the doctor.
5. We hope to score some drugs.
5. They’re on to you. They know.
3. We can avoid treatment that might be painful, expensive, or inconvenient.
Hiding facts or lying to the very person trying to help us is strange behavior, indeed. It can transform a manageable medical condition into a life-threatening emergency. As for doctors, they may sometimes lie too, minimizing problems they detect, offering overly simplified explanations, and failing to tell hard truths that patients need to hear. Honestly, we can all do better, and that’s the truth. +
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