IN MY SHOES: What It's Like To Be A Pessimist
Writing in The Washington Post, Andrea Cooper describes what it’s like always to expect the worst – without ever being able to hope for the best:
Americans revere positive thinking. We learn that optimism brings health, and we buy books that invite us to imagine what we desire so it will come true. I can go along with all that, sort of, when times are good. But should the hint of a problem arise, the smiley-face doctrine doesn't work for me. I think negative. …
[M]y mammography results came back looking questionable [and] I needed to return the very next day for a more comprehensive screening. …
Plenty of women get summoned for a repeat screening, but I didn't know that then. I sat stunned at my desk, my mind ricocheting. I would never see my kids grow up. I would never write a book. …
[T]he initial films showed possible calcifications in both breasts. These calcium deposits may be benign, or they may signal the presence of cancer cells. Guess which option I thought applied to me. …
With the second set of photos, the radiologist concluded I was fine. …
There may be no power in positive thinking, but there's no power in negative thinking, either. That's what I call real joy.
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