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5 Illogical And Immature Behaviors We Struggle To Outgrow
Advancing age doesn't necessarily mean advancing wisdom
For several months I had this peculiar symptom, a minor skin irritation that wouldn't disappear, which according to the internet gods, could have been a symptom of dozens of ailments. So, I started with the most likely culprits. I cut out gluten and then dairy. Then, I made a few trips to the dermatologist, who deemed it a minor case of eczema and prescribed a series of ever more powerful creams that had no effect.
Flummoxed, I did what many people would do in my situation. I went on with my life since it was just a minor inconvenience.
A year or so later, symptoms worsened, so I finally went to my primary care physician, who ran a full suite of lab tests.
Finally, after a year of ignoring the problem, I received an answer — my thyroid is a bit sluggish, a common problem for people over fifty, but treatable.
If only I had taken action at the first sign of trouble. I knew I should have, but instead, I chose the path of least short-term pain, pretending the problem didn't exist because I refused to face the possibility that something might be wrong with me.
It's one of the dumber tendencies of us humans we don't seem to shed as we age, and it's not the only one. There are five illogical habits we struggle to outgrow.
1. Evade the possibility of hearing bad news today, making it more likely we experience crushing news later.
People say that if they have severe disease or terminal illness, they'd rather not know. I can understand the desire not to want to hear bad news, but if you have a health issue, you can't avoid finding out about it. You can only delay the inevitable. Eventually, it will happen because symptoms become too great to ignore, perhaps beyond the ability of medicine to intervene.
Humans possess a primal desire to avoid pain. The threat of bad news, especially about our health, equates to hurt, so we put it off until ignoring it becomes even more painful.
