Personal Information

[DDNatureLover]

I haven't been to see my doctor in quite a while, since my budget is tight, but I have been planning to go back in a few months when I can afford to do so. I logged on to our neighborhood Facebook group the other day, though, and saw that someone posted in the group about the place she works now accepting new patients. It turns out that she works at my doctor's office. I don't know her, and don't even use my actual last name on Facebook, so she wouldn't recognize that I'm a patient, other than if she looks at my chart and sees my street address. I don't really feel comfortable with people in the neighborhood knowing my medical conditions/history. In the past, I probably wouldn't have minded quite as much, but ever since my stalker came into the picture, I've become very cautious about who sees what information, who I divulge personal information to, etc. Now I'm a bit bothered at the idea of going back to the doctor's office, although I probably still will go. 


Does it bother you if people know your personal business? Are you a private person? 

 

[Alex]

I'm extremely private and wouldn't want anyone to know any of my business. When it comes to medical issues I keep it quiet. These days I don't need to go to the doctor at all, and I am much happier that way. When I did have to go to get repeat prescriptions, I was lucky in that the surgery was in a good area and the receptionists were really helpful and friendly.


I can understand your apprehension that someone may know you and has access to your business, but they will know they have to be professional and to remain quiet. I once saw my therapist in a shop where I was working, and he saw me and I tried to ignore him. He didn't say anything, but I thought he was about to and I walked away. If he had said anything to me it would have been bad.

 

[HappyKoi]

There are laws about confidentiality in medical and mental health offices.  When I was first in my social work courses in college, that was the very first thing that we learned, and it continued to be emphasized in every class after that.  If this person breaks that confidentiality, she will not only be fired, but there might be charges brought as well.  Medical professionals take this very seriously.  Even if she sees your address, she can't tell anyone about it.  She can't even ask if you're the same person.  
I understand how you feel- I have a stalker, too.  I'm really careful about who sees what and what I divulge.  Even when I post, I'm careful to leave out any information that might personally identify me.  I'm 99% sure he won't see these, but once that trust is broken, that's how it is.  If your neighborhood is small, and it seems like it is, your neighbor might find out anyway, but in this situation you can be sure that she will keep it to herself.
One little tip- be sure to tell the people at the front desk that you do have a stalker, and if someone asks about you or says that they are waiting for you, they are not to tell anyone.  I've had to do that at a few places I worked, and the staff were always really good about not telling my stalker that I worked there.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I haven't had any bad experiences with my personal information itself... but I have had some weird thing going on in social media. I don't had my instagram account on private since about a week ago, because I thought that it was kind of selfish to do it, because, come on, they're just pictures. But the other day a person liked about 50% of my pictures, and I have a relatively big amount of them... and they also commented an eye emoji in about five of them... and it really, really freaked me out. I have it on private now and I know that this doesn't mean anything but I feel way more safe now.

 

[Panic57]

i don't put any of that information on Facebook because they don't protect your information.  I'm very skeptical that any social media site actually protects your information since they alwasy seem to have some hacker that steals your information.  I feel bad that you have a stalker though, that's scary.  I don't put my real street or city or any information that could pinpoint where I actually live.  I have a post office box that I send all my mail to becasue I want to avoid strangers finding me randomly.  Call me paranoid but my mom has had her identity stolen like three tmes already and I think that has to do with how active she is on social media.  

 

[hades_leae]

I always want everything about me to be private, and I don't want people who are close to me sharing my personal life as well because it's my business. My sister once gave my phone number to someone who is in the family that I don't talk to. This really made me upset, but I wouldn't be mad at her, I just told her that I didn't want her sharing my personal information even with someone in the family. She could ask me if that's what I wanted, but don't automatically assume.


That alone should let you know how I feel about social networks, you can see all types of personal information on peoples profiles, and I don't care to see any of that information.

 

[amy88]

I guess I do worry these days a bit about personal information and security - when you hear so many true stories about people's information being compromised, especially online, it can be pretty worrying. With those of us with anxiety I think it is even worse because I know personally I get stressed about the idea of identity theft and things like that. I try and really minimize the amount of stuff I have online just for my own safety.

 

[Azelma]

Does it bother you if people know your personal business? Are you a private person? 

Yes and yes. I like to keep my things private, both on- and offline. When talking online, I try to keep all personal and identifiable information to a minimum, if for nothing else than to satisfy my own paranoid tendencies. In the real world it's a bit different, but sometimes it feels exactly the same - like in the case of our neighbor, who can't keep anything to herself and thus I have to watch very carefully what information I relay to her, because there's a good chance in a day everyone in the neighborhood knows it too. That's exactly why I haven't mentioned any of my mental troubles to her. They're my business, not the neighborhood's.

 

[Choochoo]

I mind very much so. I grew up in a family and household where I did not have even a drop of privacy during my formative years so now that I am older I can't get enough of it and I feel I value it way more than the average person does. A lot of factors in that household caused me to be this way, I guess, but I'd say that one plays a major part in it.  

 

[DDNatureLover]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes to keep my personal information private. I'm well versed in HIPAA and confidentiality, but that doctor already (finally) got rid of his entire staff one time because they weren't professional at all. I don't know about this person, and I don't want her knowing my information. She hangs with the wrong crowd here in the neighborhood, the ones who do drugs, etc., so I don't want her seeing my private information, and I don't want her participating if I get procedures there, either. She could be a very nice person, but I prefer to keep everything separate. It seems when I open up and tell anyone something, they have a tendency to blab it, so I mainly keep to myself these days. My stalker is an online stalker, but I do worry about it being taken to the real world, so I'm extra cautious. 

 

[fuzyon]

I used to be really private about stuff, I got to the point where I didn't even want people to know where I lived let alone delve into deeper details but that was a period in my angsty teenager years so I'm past that. Nowadays I'm not that concious about personal information, I try to talk freely with everyone and give them reasonable information about me (of course, if I just met a person I'm not going to tell them my life story).

 

[kgord]

Yes, I wouldn't want anyone on Facebook knowing my personal information, but since you said you use a fictitious name, I think that you should be safe. It is difficult sometimes to know about how much to divulge, but I would think that anyone knowing about any medical conditions I had, on Facebook friend or no friend, I would keep that info private.

 

[misszerable]

I'm also quite protective about personal information and I don't post much information in it like schools attended or companies I've worked for. Even my birthday info is a sham. I use my real name though because I want old friends and relatives to be able to trace me, I once got mad at my cousin for tagging me at a beach resort because I don't want people to know what I have been up to. I hardly post on FB walls and when I do, they usually involve painful memories like when I had to post a message to tell relatives and friends that my sister had died. It was the easiest way to let everyone know. 

 

[clair02]

If you keep telling the world that your 'budget is tight' that becomes the story of your life and it becomes the reality that you live. Stop saying that and start telling the story of 'how you will make your budget fit' and watch that coming true!

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

I don't really have that much private and confidential information to worry about. So my doctor knows my medical condition. No big deal. The nurses know, too. No problem. So does the pharmacist. And my children. Don't see how the information about my medical condition is going to cause me any problems.

 

[x0xLikeMex0x]

I'm quite open about my health issues, but when it comes to personal information, I've become more protective of it over the past few years. For example, my Facebook friend list is filtered. I used the filter so that even my own family can't see what I post. Only a few friends aren't filtered. I've also put all of my old albums on Facebook on "Only me" mode. And I only accept friend request if I actually have spoken to the person in real life.