Cyberchondriacs. That’s the name that’s been given to those who are completely obsessed with Googling any and every symptom of any illness that they may come across. Anything from coughs to runny noses to fatigue, consider it whacked in a search engine and thoroughly researched. Then there are the hypochondriacs that are visiting the doctors any spare moment, convincing themselves that there is something much more wrong with them than the doctors are letting on. The media doesn’t help — there are scaremongering stories coming out about how cancer was diagnosed as a cold, and how many times people have had to go to see a professional before being told the correct diagnosis.
And then there’s those who don’t think that what they’ve got is worthy of being checked out. Those who think that they can put it off until another day. Those who don’t want to cause any trouble or bother to people who are paid to be troubled and bothered. Those who think they’re being silly and making a drama out of nothing. It’s these people that need nudging and a gentle reminder to get themselves checked out before something dangerous happens.
What could go wrong?
If you don’t see your doctor for regular checkups, you could be hiding a myriad of different illnesses without realizing. Our bodies have strange coping mechanisms, and any sign that you are ill is often covered up unless it can’t be. Lumps can appear and disappear, bruises can come and go and your headaches may put themselves off for a couple of days; as previously mentioned, it is your body’s way of trying to get back to rights. This doesn’t mean that the problem has gone completely.
But I’ve been so careful…
Some things naturally occur within our bodies, others have external contributing factors. For example, some cancers can occur naturally – it’s just in our DNA – whereas others have other causes attributed to it, such as mesothelioma cancer from exposure to asbestos (more information about this can be found at http://www.mesotheliomahelp.org).
Bodies heal what needs fixing
In some cases, like when you have a cold or the flu or a water infection, your body just needs time to get over it. It is true that for most illnesses, your body has the antibodies and defense systems set in place to fight them off. For those that it can’t, you will need to bring in extra help – and this isn’t something silly or shameful or bothersome, it is something that you are entitled to in this medically advanced day and age. Our ancestors didn’t work towards cures for them to be pushed to one side, and when you consider all those who don’t have such easy access to treatment, we are very entitled and privileged to be able to book an appointment to get ourselves seen to. Take advantage of what we don’t give a second thought to; you never know what could be wrong – it could just save your life.
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