Sick to the Max

I learned a new word recently. Catastrophising (or catastrophizing if you're a US speller) is: to view or talk about an event or situation as worse than it actually is. I read about a similar idea in a newspaper article too. It was about the Mars/ Venus theory and the idea that 'maximisers' are usually attracted to 'minimisers' and vice versa. I didn't get far into the article because for some reason I thought they were talking about bra types, got distracted and stopped reading.

Anyway, it's easy to maximise and catastrophise when you're sick and away from home (like I was for a couple of days this week). I blame travel books. They make it seem like a quick trip up the coast is fraught with peril. For those who dare to get on a plane and travel overseas, half of the guidebook is taken up with warnings of sicknesses, scams, rip-offs, landmines, pick-pockets, dodgy roads, overpriced guesthouses, wars and other inconveniences. I see the tourists on the plane with their guidebook in one hand and their lunch menu in the other. 'Fresh garden salad,' they read aloud to their travel buddy, 'And what is this about Japanese Encephalitis?'. 'Roast BBQ duck with rice or beef with mashed potatoes... and TB, typhoid and malaria.' They consider the cheesecake for dessert and wonder, 'Omg! Did we get vaccinated for dengue?'

On arrival, it is easy to think that every small complaint is something very serious. It probably isn't. You probably don't have an exotic skin disease. You just didn't scrub your ankles properly and there's three days' build-up of grime changing the colour of your skin. You probably don't have a fever. It's just hot here. After four months of attempting meaningful development work, you probably don't have clinical depression. You're normal and you've had a crap day.

Try to remind yourself before wondering about where your body will be cremated that you probably just have: a cold, a headache, food poising, a common virus, worms or a hangover. Nothing that a few cheap pills, some time in bed and a couple of fresh coconuts can't cure.