Imagination is not always good

I've always been imaginative. I've always been able to "cook something up" in my mind. Sometimes I write about it, sometimes not. And people have told me that they think it's great to have an active imagination. But I've got to say that sometimes it isn't such a good thing.

To begin with, you use your imagination for all the wrong things. Like you imagine what someone else is thinking when in fact, there's no way to verify this, even if you ask them. You imagine you know what someone meant when they say something to you, even though, it might have meant something else entirely. Of course, they could have meant what you thought they did, but then that's where imagination is tricky. You can imagine your friends are your enemies if you're feeling paranoid. Or imagine your enemies are your friends if you're feeling like a target.

But the worst thing about my active imagination has to do with health and specifically health problems of which I have none. Unless you happen to mention some symptoms in front of me. Then suddenly I develop them. A friend of ours recently had a heart attack. He said it felt like indigestion. I suddenly developed indigestion and stayed up half the night waiting to see if I was gonna drop dead. when I didn't I figured it really was indigestion, took some Tums and went to bed. It was a very long day the next day with only a few hours of sleep. I once heard Michael J. Fox talk about his symptoms for Parkinson's Disease. I began to think I had it and started watching myself in the mirror for signs of trembling. My legs finally began to tremble, but it was because I was standing so long, looking into the mirror.

I try to avoid reading or hearing about symptoms of really famous people. Usually when I hear what's wrong with them, I begin to exhibit these symptoms. Unfortunately for me, they are acting when they recite these ills, so the character is having palpitations, not the actor themselves. It's all so confusing. I know in my head that there really isn't anything wrong with me,but I can't seem to convince myself. I begin to search out remedies and other smaller maladies that it maybe could be in the hopes that it isn't this life-threatening whatever I just heard about.

And I really hate it when I've not paid attention to the "real" maladies and they turn into something I could have been focusing on a long time ago, but didn't think it was noteworthy enough. Maybe it's a learning curve? I find out what's bothering someone else and then I really do recognize that I have whatever it is and become likewise afflicted.

Is hypochondria a disease?