Mom Talk

Anyone else freak out over aches, pains and other ailments that come and go or come and stay?  I have been a bit of a hypochondriac for as long as I can remember.  When I get a headache, I think “brain tumor”, not “too much stress”.  As I talk to other people, it seems like some of us are just wired that way.  I have to force myself to wait a while before going to the doctor when I have an unusual symptom and I’m the queen of internet research.  I can find the scariest diagnoses you ever saw for something as simple as a case of acne.

I began to realize how ingrained this type of behavior can be when my almost 4-year-old began noticing things about her body and asking me if it is normal.  She looked at the veins on her eyelids and asked if I have them, too.  She poked at her collarbone and asked what that is and if it’s normal.  I assured her both times that she is completely normal and okay.  I’m hoping that giving her the reassurance I never had as a child will somehow help her not to obsess the way I do.  Unfortunately for me, knowing that “normal” can be different for everyone never offered me much comfort.