Will I Get Sick And Will I Die? Now Tell me True and Do Not Lie: I Never Know When I’m Going to Get Sick Or Catch Some God Awful Disease
You are a worrier and you tend to be a hypochondriac. You worry if your pulse beats a little too rapidly. You worry if your eyesight is getting worse. You worry if your gut aches and your bowels don’t move. What could this mean? Health is on your mind and you think of all the sickness that is out there just waiting to get hold of you. Germs are to be avoided and you don’t want to be around someone who has something you might catch.
There’s nothing worse than having to go into a doctor’s office or hospital outpatient center and having everyone around you coughing and sneezing. You try to look the other way and edge away from anyone who could appear sick. But wouldn’t you know, the person with the hacking cough, the one who has told the nurse about an impending need to vomit plops down right next to you and looks to you for pity. Oh please. Go away.
You hear about a flu spreading and want everyone in the household to take vitamins of all kinds to ward off illness. Where are the bottles of Vitamin C and Echinacea when you need them? You insist everyone has their own handkerchief and issue a caution not to sneeze all over someone else. You hate to be around crowds during cold and flu season because all those germs are floating around, waiting to target you. Yep. The disease bug is like a bullet headed your way and you do everything you can to run the other way. But your natural pessimism jumps in and tells you that you can run but you cannot hide.
When you go to the doctor and complain you think that you probably haven’t told him all he needs to know to make the right diagnosis. When he does say what’s wrong you wonder if he knows what he’s talking about. When someone you care about gets sick, you panic, thinking of all the bad consequences that could happen. Anyone get headaches? What about a brain scan PDQ. You read up about things you think could be wrong with you so you can do a better job of describing yourself but sometimes the more you read the more you are convinced that there is more to your ailment than you thought before.
If you are really concerned about a serious illness, yours or someone you love, death is on your mind and you have no idea how you are going to deal with it. Sometimes you get so worried that with a disease you already have yourself dead and buried before any tests come in. Chronic or life threatening disease is a real challenge for you because if the disease doesn’t get you, the worry might. Same goes for your worry about a loved one. No amount of reassurance can convince you that things will be OK and a recovery is coming. You are a wreck inside, even if you are able to put on a brave front for strangers.
Worry about sickness and illness of all kinds can drive you batty and keep the fear factor always close by, always a danger. The stress gremlin is ready to step in and cause you misery, so you have to be watchful. You tell yourself you can’t let down, can’t relax, can’t be spontaneous, because look what happened when you weren’t watching. Sickness snuck in the door. You never know what could happen. Be careful and watch your step, you say.
All the while the clock is ticking, time is passing you by, the years pass, and you can truthfully say that you have missed out on so much because your worry and anxiety kept you from reaching out and grabbing a handful of goodies in life . Instead of having your hand out you were fretting about some terrible disease that might or might not strike you and yours.
Be not afraid. You are going to learn how to handle your physical ailment worry and keep the wolf away from the door, clawing for your attention. He’s a nasty fellow but he can be dealt with so don’t run away. Ways of dealing with your worry and anxiety so they don’t become the Great Wolf of your life are just ahead for you to discover. Hang in there.
More to come in the next blogs.
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