So the TV up in my room is wired with cable, yet for the past 18 months I only seem to get 14 stations. No idea why. One day all the other stations decided to air snow instead of the regularly scheduled program.
The two cable stations I actually get are Bravo and Discovery Health. Needless to say, I get sucked into countless shows on both stations. So it's actually a blessing in disguise that I don't get the full cable load! But if I were given a wide selection, I probably wouldn't choose to sit down and watch Discovery Health. There are some interesting shows and it's all one big reality TV show station (since all the shows deal with
real people with
real problems). But the more I watch the more I realize that Discovery Health is, in fact,
bad for my health.
One of my big life issues is fear. Ever since I was a little girl I remember being afraid of things from oompa loompas to our dog, Benji, jumping on top of me when I went out to the backyard. Forget having to converse with strangers and do things by myself (like playing outside where people can see me and asking for help with basic things). Since becoming an "adult" I've realized the spiritual connection and have spent many hours over the years praying for freedom from fear. However, it's still there and manifests itself in the oddest ways sometimes.
Well, Discovery Health has a way of fostering fear inside of me, let me tell you! With shows like
Deliver Me and
Baby Stories, I'm aware of all the complications that can occur during pregnancy -- miscarriage, emergency c-sections, the baby's organs growing on the outside of their body, a surprise twin, premature babies being in the hospital for weeks, etc.
I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant speaks for itself! And then I'm afraid of all the possible conditions my child could be born with, like
primordial dwarfism, a
parasitic twin,
skeletal dysplasia, and countless other conditions. Shows like
Big Medicine and
The World's Heaviest Man make me fear I can become morbidly obese. And shows like
I Lost It and
Half of Me make me worry I'd either need surgery or expensive trainers and nutritionists to lose all the weight. Then we have
Mystery Diagnosis that makes me fear I may get a disease or condition that countless doctors won't be able to diagnose. Add to that
Trama - Life in the ER,
Untold Stories of the ER, and
Impact: Stories of Survival, all which bring fear to the simple everyday tasks of driving, mowing the lawn, swimming in the ocean, and even walking down the street (in case there's a drive by!). And
Dr. G, Medical Examiner tops it all off by showing some of the simplest and unexpected ways people can die.*
So thank you, Discovery Health, for opening the door to millions of new fears I didn't even know existed.**
*Don't worry, folks. I don't watch ALL of these shows. Just one or two of them from time to time over the past year or so.
**Of course, I say that very tongue-in-cheek, and must assure you, reader, that I don't live my life in
that much fear!
