“Anxiety plays a major part in demoralizing the body as it leaves the body and mind wide open to diseases.”
-Alexander Chase
I believe that I have just gone over the edge. As a consummate reader, I spend mornings perusing various news sites, food sites, housekeeping sites and entertainment sites. For my own peace of mind, I am going to have to find another hobby. According to everything that I have read over the last year or two, my stay on earth is tenuous at best, and everything I eat, drink or do is contributing to my early, and most likely painful, demise.
Okay...I gave up meat products in my home...no deadly chicken bacteria lingers on my counters, and I use disinfectant wipes occasionally, when I fear some nasty bacteria has invaded my kitchen. Today I read, “Why Your Beloved Disinfecting Wipes May Be Making Your Kitchen Dirtier.” Are you kidding me? Are there really people out there whose main job is to find out how nothing...and I mean nothing...is safe.
There are hormones in my meat, mercury in my fish, pesticides in my produce, and apparently e coli is everywhere. I read an entire article on how I should use disinfectant wipes on every surface near me on a plane, but this latest article contradicts the first one and tells me that I am spreading germs whenever I swipe a wipe. Cruises are out, because who needs Norwalk Virus? Also, according to a recent article, one can never tell when a crew member might attack. Aghhhhh.
Drinking is also harmful to our health, apparently. I am not talking about alcohol this time (although we all know about the “ills of alcohol”), I am referring to all other liquids. The sugar in soda will get you, but artificial sweetener in diet soda is infinitely worse. Don’t drink too much juice because that will also give you a sugar overload. Water has always been my beverage of choice, and I carry a bottle around wherever I go. Big mistake! It seems the bottles are shedding micro-plastic pieces into the water, so bottled water is a no-no. Perhaps I should fill a thermos with good old tap water...but wait...the latest article I read says that micro-plastic contamination has been found in tap water throughout the world.
I think the only answer is for me to stop reading. There is no way that I can give up eating and drinking everything, and the anxiety of reading what I am doing to myself can’t be good for me. Maybe I should just veg in front of the television. Wait a minute, that won’t work. First of all, I recently read that sitting in front of a television for extended periods can shorten your lifespan by several years. Also, those commercials are killers.
Watching television without the benefit of fast forward has become a real anxiety provoker. First we are told about all of the illnesses that are lurking around every corner, and then we are given a list of “side effects” attached to every drug. Anyone who actually reads that list and still opts to take any medication is braver than I will ever be. Every time I am prescribed a medication or advised to take a vaccine, I need to give myself a pep talk to do what I know is right.
There is nowhere to turn for those of us who want a healthy lifestyle without becoming neurotic, so I intend to listen to the advice my mother gave me many years ago. Most things are safe to eat, drink and do in moderation. A glass of juice in the morning, one or two cups of tea/coffee through the day and an occasional milkshake is just fine, and I am going back to carrying my bottles of water, because hydration trumps micro-plastic fear. I will bravely eat my mercury laden fish and take a chance on contaminated veggies. I will even bravely use my disinfectant wipes on airplanes and in hotel rooms as I take the occasional vacation. I will do it all in moderation. In fact, the only thing I will give up is reading the articles that have been messing with my mind, because anxiety is probably my worst enemy.
I will never give up reading good books though, and this week’s book really kept me going. Your Son is Alive by James Scott Bell was a well written puzzler that took my mind off of worrying about my tuna fish sandwich.
As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly
-Alexander Chase
I believe that I have just gone over the edge. As a consummate reader, I spend mornings perusing various news sites, food sites, housekeeping sites and entertainment sites. For my own peace of mind, I am going to have to find another hobby. According to everything that I have read over the last year or two, my stay on earth is tenuous at best, and everything I eat, drink or do is contributing to my early, and most likely painful, demise.
Okay...I gave up meat products in my home...no deadly chicken bacteria lingers on my counters, and I use disinfectant wipes occasionally, when I fear some nasty bacteria has invaded my kitchen. Today I read, “Why Your Beloved Disinfecting Wipes May Be Making Your Kitchen Dirtier.” Are you kidding me? Are there really people out there whose main job is to find out how nothing...and I mean nothing...is safe.
There are hormones in my meat, mercury in my fish, pesticides in my produce, and apparently e coli is everywhere. I read an entire article on how I should use disinfectant wipes on every surface near me on a plane, but this latest article contradicts the first one and tells me that I am spreading germs whenever I swipe a wipe. Cruises are out, because who needs Norwalk Virus? Also, according to a recent article, one can never tell when a crew member might attack. Aghhhhh.
Drinking is also harmful to our health, apparently. I am not talking about alcohol this time (although we all know about the “ills of alcohol”), I am referring to all other liquids. The sugar in soda will get you, but artificial sweetener in diet soda is infinitely worse. Don’t drink too much juice because that will also give you a sugar overload. Water has always been my beverage of choice, and I carry a bottle around wherever I go. Big mistake! It seems the bottles are shedding micro-plastic pieces into the water, so bottled water is a no-no. Perhaps I should fill a thermos with good old tap water...but wait...the latest article I read says that micro-plastic contamination has been found in tap water throughout the world.
I think the only answer is for me to stop reading. There is no way that I can give up eating and drinking everything, and the anxiety of reading what I am doing to myself can’t be good for me. Maybe I should just veg in front of the television. Wait a minute, that won’t work. First of all, I recently read that sitting in front of a television for extended periods can shorten your lifespan by several years. Also, those commercials are killers.
Watching television without the benefit of fast forward has become a real anxiety provoker. First we are told about all of the illnesses that are lurking around every corner, and then we are given a list of “side effects” attached to every drug. Anyone who actually reads that list and still opts to take any medication is braver than I will ever be. Every time I am prescribed a medication or advised to take a vaccine, I need to give myself a pep talk to do what I know is right.
There is nowhere to turn for those of us who want a healthy lifestyle without becoming neurotic, so I intend to listen to the advice my mother gave me many years ago. Most things are safe to eat, drink and do in moderation. A glass of juice in the morning, one or two cups of tea/coffee through the day and an occasional milkshake is just fine, and I am going back to carrying my bottles of water, because hydration trumps micro-plastic fear. I will bravely eat my mercury laden fish and take a chance on contaminated veggies. I will even bravely use my disinfectant wipes on airplanes and in hotel rooms as I take the occasional vacation. I will do it all in moderation. In fact, the only thing I will give up is reading the articles that have been messing with my mind, because anxiety is probably my worst enemy.
I will never give up reading good books though, and this week’s book really kept me going. Your Son is Alive by James Scott Bell was a well written puzzler that took my mind off of worrying about my tuna fish sandwich.
As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly
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