Basically this means that I tend to self-diagnose symptoms or occurrences, which makes me rather dangerous. Maybe not so much a danger to others, I imagine, but definitely a hazard to myself! And my cynical, slightly pessimistic outlook often helps to build the drama...just ask my sister.
For example, one day I started experiencing spots in my vision and I was unable to look into the light, and the next thing you know, I'm sure that either I'm now a diabetic and going blind or perhaps I'm turning into a vampire! AHEM!! In actuality, I was starting symptoms for a severe migraine headache.
Or the numerous times that my car has started making a new noise, and after 10 minutes of Internet research I was sure that I had a blown head gasket or needed to replace the serpentine belt or have the engine rebuilt. Yes, nothing thrills a mechanic like a consumer acting like an expert and self-diagnosing their car's engine when the truth is that this same consumer struggles to remember how to pop the hood up or where to replenish the windshield washer fluid. I just know that my mechanic feels I should be committed.
I've stopped watching Dateline NBC or 60 Minutes and other shows like that for similar reasons. Seeing some horror journalistic story about some new fatal flu or learning about a horrendous accident involving a kitchen blender or hearing about the brown recluse spider that was found nesting under the toilet seat lid--well, these are just stories that I don't need to see or hear about. Trust me!
On the plus side, I have been right a time or two. Like the time I knew that I had Bell's Palsy in college, and my doctor was sure couldn't possibly have it. Well the tests proved me right, but that was purely an educated guess, and I'm quite sure that my odds of getting things right since have not increased.
I guess you could say that I like gaining knowledge and learning more about a subject, but that doesn't make me the master of much. Little snippets of information to a slight hypochondriac and a rampant arachnophobic personality along with a vivid dramatic imagination can be more than dangerous...yes, it can be downright perilous!
I often wonder why my parents named me Melanie, which means courageous. I know that nothing happens by accident, but really, that is just too ironic. I'm not courageous at all. Hmmmmm...
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