Why is it that people always think the worst of each other? Why is it that we can’t look at people and assume positive attributes before we automatically jump to negative conclusions? And I’m not just talking about peer relationships here: Why is it that when I go in to the doctor he wants to assume that either I am a hypochondriac, a liar trying to pull a fast one, or a drug addict trying to get high, before it ever occurs to him to look at me as though I am actually an ill person? Somebody who is validly in pain, validly sick and in need of medical care? What in the world have I done, what has there been in my behaviour to deserve this? So far as everyone I know has told me, absolutely nothing. But it seems to be only the doctors who have this issue…nurses are sympathetic and understanding, and seem genuinely to care about all the pain, all the ailments. A pharmacist called me today, of her own volition, to advise me on something we had (briefly) spoken about. Just because she cared (more…)