What are you afraid of?  Is it ghosts? Is it witches? Or is it something many women face daily, an abusive mate or finding a lump in your breast? Is this fear adding unnecessary anxiety and stress to your life, which can negatively contribute to both instances? Is this fear preventing you from seeking the much-needed professional services?

You are not alone! Every day, thousands of women spend countless hours silently coping with one or both of these situations and are paralyzed by fear.

While spending time educating women about breast cancer, I often hear stories about why they are afraid to have mammograms.  Although these ladies fully understand the importance of the test, some of them adamantly refuse to have the screening performed. Some believe myths circulating in their communities, such as: “radiation from the equipment causes breast cancer,” while others fear the slight pressure felt during the procedure.

Let us learn to face our fears. Livestrong.com has shared some information on anxiety and fear:

J. Paul Caldwell, MD, author of “Anxiety Disorders: Everything You Need to Know,” and family practitioner for more than 25 years, describes anxiety as having two dimensions: the inner feeling of distress and the physiological changes of alertness. Feelings that go with anxiety include an unpleasant but vague sense of apprehension, a sense of unease, and intense concern about danger or threat. The physical symptoms may include headache; sweating; a racing heart; a tight chest; gastric discomfort; restlessness, and a fast, shallow breathing.

The anxiety response can come from a normal event such as thinking about a test you have the next day. When the test ends, the symptoms vanish, and you go on with your life. . . .

Fear shares many [of the] same qualities [as anxiety].

Fear is different from anxiety, however, because it “comes after an external threatening event, object or situation. Fear, an unpleasant experience, causes an alerting reaction physically. Fear happens when danger,” like a physical attack, presents itself. In fact, the fear we experience causes our heart to “skip a beat, and [we] become focused. The threat [we perceive] is external and real.”

I have personally experienced abuse and a lump in my breast. In each situation, I became anxious at the thought of the recurring abuse and became immobilized not knowing where to turn for help. I am sure this was the intent of my perpetrator. This allowed him to continue the abuse.

In the case of finding the lumps, my heart skipped many beats and my only focus turned to breast cancer and dying.  Fortunately, I became so concerned for the future life of my then newborn, that the fear of death and leaving him to be cared for without his mother pushed me to seek medical attention.

Years have passed since I faced my abuser, and since I had my first mammogram and learned that I didn’t have breast cancer. Now when October comes around, I can focus on helping women face their fears and seek the necessary help to have a Happy Halloween & and an Empowered Life!

If you are in need of a mammogram or counseling services, please contact me, Marilyn Calbert, through YWCA Women’s Health Outreach.