8 Reasons Why Someone Is Afraid/Overwhelmed With Getting Diagnosed With Sleep Apnea

In this episode, hosts of Sleep Apnea Pathfinders Podcast David and Juanita discuss 8 reasons someone may be afraid or overwhelmed with the idea of being diagnosed with sleep apnea.
 
 The reasons may vary and there may be many more reasons which cause someone to be stuck or put the process of being tested for sleep apnea.  
 
 Those reasons are:
 1. it doesn't feel like the right time to add anything new to our routines to our lives and to our schedules. And sleep apnea is no exception. Not knowing who to turn to get clarity on what you may suspect, as an emerging health issue adds to the hesitancy. A lot of people don't know if they need a referral. Or if they can go to their regular doctor or if they need a sleep specialist. 
 
 2. A second reason why this may be overwhelming is that other stressors may not allow us to really deal with additional health issues. Oftentimes, we're dealing with multiple things simultaneously, such as challenges at work, being in a caregiver role for other family members, and their health issues. And also just being a parent can be downright challenging. Our stress levels may be off the charts, and the thought of dealing with an emerging health issue is just too much. And we put that in the backseat. 
 
 3. How can we fit another health routine, when other health issues make us feel maxed out, you have a health issue. And that's, that's all your brain can handle. Sometimes you may be getting support, that helps out but adding another issue maybe too much. It's hard to get past our own mental barriers of dealing with multiple health issues simultaneously. 
 
 4. Our current medical issues may be a major health issue which takes your singular focus.  These major health issues may have more prominence and the impact of not following all available treatment options would have a significant impact on your quality of life.  While the sleep community are making inroads to help society understand the far reaching impact of untreated sleep disorders on our quality of life, a majority of people out there will do what you mentioned at the start of this episode, put sleep and most likely a potential sleep disorder on the back burner. 
 
 5. Another reason may be the prospects of the resulting medical bills. Sometimes that's a major concern for for folks in deciding whether or not they want to really go for this.  So some may put the sleep study and treatment  process on hold until they can find a way to comfortably deal with the financial cost. 
 
 6. Listening to horror stories from other people about what went wrong during testing, or the process of being treated.  Some are afraid that their experience will be similar to someone else, who didn't have an optimal experience.  And this fear can stop their process. 
 
 7. There are some people who are really fearful about wearing a CPAP mask.   This is a common concern.  Do I have to wear a mask? Do I have to wear it every night? And how long do I have to wear it? I don't like anything on my face. This is this can be a challenge for some people.  Juanita talks about a process that can help desensitize them to wearing the mask and help them adjust.
 
 8.   Someone may feel overwhelmed once its suggested that they get a sleep study is that they can fall into analysis paralysis.  We start to an over analyze every detail we can think of.   But this runs the risk of stalling the process.
 
 These issues are not barriers which should keep someone from starting on their path to address sleep apnea.  Juanita & David are sleep coaches who collaborate with clients to help them adjust, cope and get unstuck.