We all fear for our health in some way or another. And it depends on our age, our circumstances, where we live, whether we have kids...the list is endless and ever-changing.
Teen fear issues like acne, weight gain or loss and relationships. I remember when I was about 16, obsessing that my appendix was going to rupture. There was no rhyme or reason for this (turn out it did rupture, a couple of decades later, long after I stopping thinking out it!) but teens can focus on anything for no apparent reason, and obsess over it.
Almost every new mother I know has feared SIDS like the devil it is. How many times have we gazed at our newborns, placed on hands on their tummies to feel them rise and fall, and checked them 15 more times just to make sure. Then we fear ill effects if we do vaccinate and ill-effect if we don't.
There are issues of physical, mental, sexual, emotional and spiritual health.
Most of us fear cancer at some point, even if it's just waiting for the results of a pap test, routine mammogram or blood test. We may worry what menopause will bring....will we get Alzheimer's....who will care for us if we get old and need help? Some of us just don't want to get old. Many of us have or will battle depression - in one of more of it's many forms. And 48 million of us in the US have no insurance to pay for any kind of health issue we may face.
Some of want less money spent on tobacco research and more money spent on autism, AIDS and cancer. We are frustrated by big Pharma and doctors who push drugs needlessly but know that drugs are necessary in controlling or curing many diseases. Many of us have been saved by pills, chemo and surgeries. Yet we want more natural methods of healing but worry about bring pushed aside in favor of mainstream techniques.
Of course, this isn't to say that we're spending our days and nights fighting our health care fears. But we all have them. Some are deep down and surface only occasionally, others are at the forefront of our lives.
Tell Us
What are your biggest health concerns and where do you most want to see changes? If you had Bill Gates kind of money, where in healthcare would you spend it?