Managing wild thoughts: "I'll deal with it"

 



Managing wild thoughts: "I'll deal with it"

by Jen Davies, nerd

April 29, 2026


I'm waiting for my family doctor's office to open while I write this blog post today. I have a minor issue and I wasn't able to deal with it independently, so now I have to get a prescription. Blah. I have nothing against health care practitioners, I just despise the hurry-up-and-wait that goes on when it comes to getting help. In my last blog I talked about how I make myself busy, and sitting in waiting rooms is not conducive to being busy (but I will be able to embrace boredom for a while).

While waiting on hold to get some interim medical advice (wait for family doctor's office, or go to emergency service), my imagination ran a little wild through all the symptoms and what they could possibly mean. As I passed through more unlikely but scarier possibilities (never Google your symptoms - it always ends with cancer), and my thoughts went a little "wild", I admit I felt a little pang of anxiety. And I realized that this must be how hypochondriacs feel all the time - how miserable.

I work as a counsellor, but I realize that most of my adult life I've been very lucky because I've always been able to tell myself: OK, I'll deal with it. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it. Nasty health issue? I'll deal with it. Unlucky turn of events? I'll deal with it. 

That attitude - "I'll deal with it" - didn't come out of the blue. I tried and succeeded (and noticed what seemed to be effective). I tried and failed (did not die, for you Dune lovers out there). I figured out what went wrong so when I was faced with a similar situation again I did not fail. I developed the "life" skills for managing the crap that gets thrown at us, and sometimes even for preventing crap from happening. My experience has taught me that I can survive bad news. I was reminded of Adam Driver's entertaining TED Talk in which he explains how his military training gave him the confidence to figure out how to handle any civilian problem.

So while I'm pretty sure that a cream or a pill is going to solve today's problem, I'm relieved to know that I remain confident that if it should turn into something else, I believe I can handle it.



Adam Driver's TED Talk (2017): https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_driver_my_journey_from_marine_to_actor


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