The "OMG I'm dying" hypochondria/mental health thread

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

As we head into the cold and flu season, sharing the germs of everyone around you, is a sign of good breeding? Sounds more like a sign of being a moron(not meaning you). ~Handshaking~ is an antiquated notion, that spreads disease. FACT.
http://techcrunch.com/2009/05/09/han...l-lets-end-it/

Not to belittle you, because that is not my intent, but I think your phobia of handshaking is a tad ridiculous. If I were to meet you after this I'd grab both of your hands and hold them tight...just to see you squirm.

But really, I do think you're making more out of this in your head than is good for you. People touch nearly everything at some point, and it's impossible to avoid. The bags your groceries are in - the food in those bags was touched when it was stocked at the store. Books, magazines, CDs, computer software - even new items have been handled during shipping or stocking. Cash and coins are far nastier than most people's hands, and it's hard to avoid that unless you only use a card....and even then you have to hand it to someone who has also touched everyone else's cards...and the cash in their drawer...and then they hand it back to you. Then there's gas pumps...barstools...door handles in public places...

Don't even get me started on food service. Until I started watching things like Master Chef and Hell's Kitchen, I really had no idea how much human (and the Universe only knows what other) DNA my food comes into contact with.

I guess my point in this is that by trying so hard to avoid germs you're really hurting yourself in the long run by not allowing your body to create antibodies that fight those germs. You can't develop immunity to strains of cold and flu you aren't exposed to, and that could be a pretty good reason why you get SO SICK (as you said earlier) when you do get sick.

I'm HIV+, and a simple flu could bring me down for good. Yes, just a flu - but instead of avoiding sickness and human contact and eating out and shopping, I embrace these activites because they make me stronger.

And yes, handshaking may be antiquated but it's a sign of greeting and respect among men with manners. And your hands can be washed, afterwards, when those people can't see you doing it. Much like Stevie believes the internet has helped to destroy social graces, in the same way do I and many medical professionals believe America's rampant phobia of cooties has helped produce an allergic, asthmatic population incapable of surmounting the next epidemic.




Or maybe I just don't care about germs.