Put the search downCalm

unbry

Put the search down

A short book about looking up symptoms online and reading until you find the frightening answer

21 chapters11,811 wordsAbout 54 minFirst edition

What's inside

·Before you startThis is a short book and you can read it in two or three sittings. It's about one habit. You notice something in your body, such as a twitch, a headache…2 min
1Ten to elevenIt's a Tuesday night, ten to eleven. You're in bed with the light off, and the muscle in your left calf is twitching. It's a small flutter under the skin…3 min
2Why searching seems sensibleI don't want to start by telling you the searching is silly. It isn't. People who look up their symptoms are mostly trying to be sensible about their…2 min
3"I'll look it up, and then I'll know"The search starts from a simple idea. You have a symptom, somewhere there's a page that says what causes it, and once you've read that page you'll know…2 min
4"I need to rule out the worst"You knew by five to eleven that twitches are common and very rarely serious. You kept reading because "very rarely" isn't "never", and you wanted to get…2 min
5"It calms me down"Sometimes it does. You search, and you find a page that says it's nothing, and you feel your shoulders drop. That relief is real, and it's the reward that…2 min
6"One more page and I'll be sure"At half past eleven you nearly stopped. You'd read enough to see that the odds were heavily in your favour. But heavily isn't entirely, and the thought…2 min
7"Better safe than sorry"This is the argument that defends the habit when everything else has been conceded. The searching may frighten you and cost you sleep, but you'd rather be…2 min
8"But the symptom is real"It is. I said so in chapter 1 and I'll say it again, because people with this habit are often told, or tell themselves, that it's all in their head. The…2 min
9"It's always at night"Look back at the history you checked in chapter 1 and you'll probably find that most of the long searches began after ten at night. There are some plain…2 min
10"The forums are where the real stories are"Official pages are cautious and general. They say "usually" and "rarely", and they tell you to see your GP. A forum has people on it. They describe what…2 min
11"What if the doctor missed something?"Suppose you do what this book keeps recommending. You see the GP about the calf. She asks her questions, tests the strength in both legs, taps your knees…2 min
12"It happened to someone I know"For many people the habit has a starting point. A colleague went to the doctor with backache and was dead within the year. Your father ignored a cough. A…2 min
13"I'm only being an informed patient"You might object that doctors want patients who take an interest. They do. A patient who understands their condition is easier to help, and nobody wants…2 min
14What the searching costsYou may think of the habit as costing the odd bad night. Add it up more carefully. Most of this chapter is my own reckoning, and I'll say where a study…2 min
15What to do with a symptomYou'll still get symptoms, and some of them will need attention. So stopping the search can't mean ignoring your body. You need something to do with a…3 min
16When the urge comesYou can agree with every chapter so far and still find your thumb typing the symptom at ten to eleven. The urge to search is strong, and it's had a lot of…3 min
17The decisionThis chapter asks you to decide something. It comes late because at the start it would have sounded like being told to stop worrying about your health…3 min
18Long-term conditions, children and bad nightsWhen you have a diagnosed condition. People living with a long-term illness have real reasons to look things up, and real symptoms to interpret. The one…4 min
19Ten to eleven againIt's a Tuesday night in early summer, ten to eleven. You're in bed with the light off, and there's a dull ache behind your right eye. It's been there…2 min
·NotesThis book gives general information. It isn't medical advice, and it can't tell you whether any symptom of yours matters. If you're worried about a…6 min