Why do people do this?

[mommyof3]

My sister in law just emailed me one of her usual droning emails about nothing in particular, and in it she said, "did you hear about the flu that's going around?" Now, she's not the brightest bulb on the tree so when she says flu she usually means sv*.


So I'm upset with her for the following reasons:


1) She just always is such a doomsdayer (anybody watch Saturday Night Live and see Rachel Dratch's "Debbie Downer" character?)


2) Why did she have to say that and ruin my evening?


3) I don't even think one is going around here. She probably heard about two or three people with funky symptoms and has to be dramatic about it.


Anyway, you guys understand what I'm saying. If something is going around, ignorance is bliss and she just ruined mine.

[missy77]

yeah i feel the same way. i would rather not know that anything was going around. i think my family knows not to tell me when one of them has been sick or feels like they are getting sick. they know how freaked out i get.

[pretty polly]

Do you guys also have x-ray hearing when it comes to the words s*
or tummy bug etc etc - I swear I can be in another room or having a
conversation with someone, and can acutely hear those dreaded
words spoken as if someone had shouted them in my ears!! And
you've only got to hear them and thats it, you know the next few
hours are going to be worrisome!
I agree with you totally that ignorance is bliss - the thing is, the
reality is that there is probably always some bug going round or
another, so to panic when some moron clarifies it is probably
unneccessary! (perfectly understandable, but sstill unneccessary!)
Listen to me, sounds as if I don' worry - yeah right!
Oh, if only to wake up one morning free of this inhibiting nightmare!
Anyway chins up - theres a 99.9% chance you won't catch it -
because we very rarely do.

[angel13]

Oh, how I hate it when people casually throw into the conversation "Oh yeah, there's a pretty nasty bug going around...my brother had it, I think I'm getting it" or something along those lines...if only they knew what an effect it had!


Polly, I totally know what you mean - as soon as I hear the word 'vomit' or 'stomach', my ears immediately prick up, even if its people 10 metres away! I panicked beyond belief yesterday when I overheard my Dad saying to my mum "Don't you feel very well?" (there was nothing wrong with her, I don't know what provoked him to say it) - bloody hell! I was in another room,yet my heart leapt right up into my throat and I broke into a sweat! If there's anything thats just as frightening as me getting sick, its either of my parents getting sick.


You're right though, mommy, ignorance is bliss when you're an emetophobic. I'm sure if we all knew exact statistics of what viruses and bugs were in existance in certain places, we'd never go outside. We can't let it rule our lives like that though...its like being hit by a car - it *could* happen, but we still cross the street every day. Just have to get our heads around the likelyhood of it happening, thats all.

[kate1966]

Yes, they absolutely have no clue what it does to an emet to hear those dreaded words...sv...or whatevever....it's a shame we have to be this way....and it's a shame that there is anything in this world that could makes us sick and feel so bad and be so scared...it just all sucks big time....

[tayda]

Me too, and they talk about it like it's the "weather".. ya know? "So how about that rain?" -- "yea, I can't wait for the sun to come out again." "Yeah, and I heard there's a "bug" or "flu" going around."


It's like a filler for conversation or something sometimes. I'm still in school, and you hear those things a lot. I think many times people just say it to get more conversation going.