Since last week I think I’ve worried less. Really. Or at least I’ve thought more about worrying and what it isn’t doing for me. I ask my husband if I seem a bit less angst-ridden than normal. His response is a noncommittal “maybe.” To me that’s progress because he’s usually the one who is much more cognizant of my worrying than I am. Why is that?

So I feel ready to tackle this week’s assignment – worrying before a doctor’s appointment. I don’t mean right before. From the moment I schedule an annual exam, check up, or physical, I think about all of the hidden maladies that might be lurking undiagnosed. But worrying prepares me for anything that might happen, right?

Um, wrong.

Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, Ph.D., M.S., P.T psychologist, physical therapist, and author of “A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness” patiently listens to my main excuse for worrying before doctor’s appointments. I think it’s a solid one.

“One of my lungs spontaneously collapsed about ten years ago,” I say. “I spent three days in intensive care while a team of doctors and residents tried to figure out what caused the tear in my lung.” I didn’t add it remains a mystery to this day, even though that’s the way I think of it.

I wait, wondering if she might tell me that I have cause to worry or at least be cautious.

But she doesn’t.

“A lot of times we confuse possibility and probability. It could happen,” she replies.

I feel triumphant for a second. Yes, it could.

“But what’s the probability?” she asks.

Hmm. Because I haven’t had major health problems in ten years, the chance of a recurrence is low. But isn’t there still a chance? And shouldn’t I be ready and armed with my shield of worry?

“Differentiating between possibility and probability is really important,” she tells me. “When we worry about a possible illness, we accept the worry like law.”

Okay, guilty as charged. Whenever I go to the doctor, I wait for the bad news. In my mind, the doctor pulls out a chart and tells me that the level of something is elevated, which is a sign of real trouble. I think my body is like my ’99 Jeep. They’re both reliable, but at some point, a belt is going to break or an organ is going to fail and it’s not going to be pretty. Granted, I do seem healthier than my Jeep. I definitely stay out of the doctor’s office more than the car stays out of the garage.

Dr. Lombardo kindly reminds me of how destructive stress can be.

“Stress changes everything in our lives. It can cause a rash that makes no sense at all. It affects gastrointestinal and even memory functions.”

I’ve heard of the risks associated with worrying, but never really considered that I might do physical harm by worrying – it just doesn’t fit with my Jeep metaphor. After my lung collapse, I made a complete recovery even though I hadn’t “prepared” myself by worrying that it might happen in the first place. Besides, even my active imagination couldn’t have done anything about the stabbing pain and sensation of no breath on one side of my body.

“What if you do have something else going on? Because it happened once before you can be convinced it’s that again,” she says. As a physical therapist, Dr. Lombardo has worked with patients who had severe health problems or recovering from accidents. “I wish I had appreciated my life before this happened,” is what they tell her.

I don’t want to waste my health on worry. The next time I make a doctor’s appointment, I’ll conjure up the image of wearing a winter coat while sitting on the examination table. Maybe I’ll add in boots and woolen mittens too. Perhaps Dr. Lombardo’s analogy will remind me how pointless worrying is about something that hasn’t happened. Yet.

Next week’s assignment is how to reign in my worrying about health problems – both real and imagined for my loved ones. For some reason, not everyone appreciates frequent reminders to go to the doctor, not even if they’re written on sticky notes with a little heart.

- Jennifer Taylor lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and Burmese cat. Her website is www.jrtaylorweb.com

Photo Credit © Jose Antonio Sánchez Reyes | Dreamstime.com

Tags: anxiety, self-help, self-projections, stress, worry