#Searchenginejunky

#Notsuchagreatidea

Let me start by saying that I love modern search engines. You type in a word or two and they search millions of websites to find everything that might be relevant. They work like magic. The internet is this huge unfathomable jumble of information and yet search engines help me find exactly what I need in under a second. Require a picture of a rare sea crustacean? You’ve got thousands to choose from. Need to know who won the world cup in 1958? Brazil! Done! Got a rash you’re unsure off? Images galore (never happened to me – honest!) Thinking of replacing the tap on your bathtub? The how-to steps are right there, with pictures, and even video if you need it. It’s amazing. It makes me feel way smarter than I actually am. My general knowledge of this world is appalling, but thanks to modern search engines I can find the answer to pretty much any question in a split second. As long as the internet is in front of me, I’m a modern day Albert Einstein… aren’t we all?

“During my health anxiety phase, I would research my symptoms on the Internet. It was a bad idea.”

Nevertheless, when you have depression or anxiety, my advice is to keep away from searching the wonderful worldwide web. During my health anxiety phase, I would research my symptoms on the Internet. It was a bad idea. You see, the problem, when you do this, is that even a slight twinge in your abdomen can be linked to all manner of hellish maladies when looking online. While the odds are in favour of the twinge being nothing to worry about, you can be sure that someone has blogged about a friend who ignored such a twinge and then died a slow and painful death shortly after. These are the stories that I would relate to. I would ignore all the information that suggested that my symptoms were nothing of concern and get hung up on the stories that hinted at my impending grizzly death.

Check out my suggested solution for this problem in Chapter 5: Part II…