Sick again!?

Carol Anne was a hypochondriac. She had never gone to a psychiatrist to get a formal diagnosis, but every morning she woke up with signs of yet another illness. She had been texting her doctor at least once a month to make sure she wasn’t actually sick. Today Carol Anne woke up feeling light headed. “Oh, no,” she thought. She walked to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. She also took a spoonful of $80-a-jar Manuka honey and put it in her mouth. This honey, though expensive, carried many health benefits. She then took her multivitamin and prepared breakfast.

As she knelt down to get the pan from the cabinet, she realized her stomach hurt, too. “What could this be?,” she asked herself. She opened her laptop and typed her symptoms. In less than a second, she was flooded with results ranging from a cold to cancer. Her kind started to race. “I am genetically predisposed for cancer. Could it be?”

She reached for her phone to text her doctor. Then she remembered the three questions she should ask herself before texting her doctor 1. Have I had the symptoms for more than a week? 2. Did I become more nervous by Googling my symptoms? 3. Have I already asked the doctor about these symptoms? Having looked at the questions, she put down her phone. She put some water to boil on the stove. She would make herself a cup of tea and meditate. After, she would wait six more days to see if her symptoms were still there. Then, she would call the doctor.