The story takes place at the office of an American doctor.
“So let’s talk about your cardiovascular risks. Do you smoke?”
“Yes, I’ve been a heavy smoker for 15 years. Now I’m up to 2 packs a day.”
“Do you drink?”
“Well, I didn’t drink when I was younger but there’s been some binge drinking lately.”
“Drugs?”
“I have to confess that I might be overusing painkillers.”
“Is there a reason this is happening?”
“Yes, I’ve been under a whole lot of stress lately. I think I might be depressed.”
“Do you have a fitness regimen?”
“Well, no, mine is a very sedentary lifestyle.”
“Do you go for walks?”
“We live in an area with a lot of pollution and I hate breathing this nasty, disgusting air, you know?”
“What about your family history? Any cardiovascular problems?”
“My father had two heart attacks and my mother died of a stroke at the age of 52.”
“OK. The only risk to your cardiovascular health is weight. If you lose 10 pounds, or better yet 40, you’ll live forever.”
Clarissa's Blog 
I’m more inclined to think that we have psychosomatic symptoms, although not in the way that Freud thought, which was quite different, as he assumed we only get them through moral failures, for instance not being honest. But I think those who suffer from cardiac problems may have faced a lot of heartache, and those who suffer — as I once did — from a tight band around the throat, will have had that because their speech is disregarded and they are not taken seriously. Other kinds of problems may also have a specific location in the body, depending on what the meaning of the emotional blockage is to the one experiencing it.
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Freud believed that “morality” caused illnesses.
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I’m sure he was TRYING to be Nietzschean, but equally I am sure he failed in many regards.
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Cardiac problems run in my family. *Goes off to write a novella with magical realism and myocardial infarctions*
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hahahaha
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Isn’t it crazy? So many doctors are obsessed with weight. I honestly won’t go back to a doctor if s/he even mentions my weight as a “risk factor.” I’m a size 12– so a bit on the “curvy” side –but I just don’t see my weight as a health issue.
I have found doctors who don’t focus on weight loss as the ultimate panacea. But this weight obsession is sadly the medical norm. And I am convinced this obsession is driven by cultural aesthetics rather than medical evidence.
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*Hi-hat*
The funny thing is, whenever I take a longevity quiz, the biggest factors are my family history and whether or not I smoke.
Doctors like focusing on your weight because it gives people the illusion of control in a stupidly simple rubric.
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Did this happen to someone you know?
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The story was inspired by my recent visit to the doctor’s. The words are different but the meaning is preserved.
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