WEBVTT - Save your symptoms for the doctor

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to save your symptoms for the doctor. Try

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<v Speaker 1>not to let medical updates dominate your conversations with friends

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<v Speaker 1>and family. Yes, we all have aging bodies and health issues,

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<v Speaker 1>but fascinating as our issues might be to us, they

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<v Speaker 1>probably aren't that interesting to anyone else. So I know

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<v Speaker 1>of a woman in her eighties who used to say

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<v Speaker 1>she wasn't interested in an organ recital. She didn't like

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<v Speaker 1>to hang around with people who spent most of the

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<v Speaker 1>conversation updating her on their various health issues. That is,

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<v Speaker 1>a recitation of what was wrong with their various organs

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<v Speaker 1>and such. I love that phrase now. Personally, I love

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<v Speaker 1>a literal organ recital. I love listening to a good

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<v Speaker 1>bach prelude on a church organ. But I agree that

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<v Speaker 1>the medical complaint kind of organ recital isn't as appealing now.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, if you are dealing with a new diagnosis

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<v Speaker 1>that is a big part of your daily life, the

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<v Speaker 1>people who love you are going to want an update.

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<v Speaker 1>But I am talking lamenting the usual aches and pains

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<v Speaker 1>and less serious stuff. As someone who dealt with approximately

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<v Speaker 1>six months of rather serious back pain and all the

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<v Speaker 1>associated attempts at treatments. I know I could have talked

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<v Speaker 1>about this for hours, but I also quickly realized no

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<v Speaker 1>one wanted to hear about it for hours, maybe two

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<v Speaker 1>to three minutes max. Then was time to talk about

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<v Speaker 1>something else. So if you, likewise are of a certain

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<v Speaker 1>age where health ailments start to feature prominently in all conversations,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you can find ways to move on after a

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<v Speaker 1>few minutes. Definitely note if you yourself have been talking

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<v Speaker 1>about something at length, if you realize you have been

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<v Speaker 1>talking about your digestive issues for ten minutes, you can say, laughingly,

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<v Speaker 1>that's enough of my organ recital. I just saw a movie.

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<v Speaker 1>I think you'd love pivot to a new conversation topic.

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<v Speaker 1>Self awareness is a blessing here. Now. Obviously this is

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<v Speaker 1>a little more complicated. If your friend is the one

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<v Speaker 1>who has been giving a lengthy account of her ailments,

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<v Speaker 1>you could ask whether she has talked with her doctor

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<v Speaker 1>about them, which is obviously a productive way to get

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<v Speaker 1>help with symptoms. If it seems like the list of

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<v Speaker 1>symptoms is more emotionally laden, you could ask about these

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<v Speaker 1>emotions how are you feeling about all this? Nudge the

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<v Speaker 1>conversation into deeper, more relational territory. If she is just

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<v Speaker 1>sharing the physical complaints to make conversation, you might be

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<v Speaker 1>able to shift the conversation in a different direction. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>if she's talking about how time on the bleachers is

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<v Speaker 1>bad for people with bad backs, you might ask about

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<v Speaker 1>her kid's soccer season and nudge the discussion that way.

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<v Speaker 1>As for the organ recital, let this episode be a

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<v Speaker 1>nudge to go see if you can do anything about

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<v Speaker 1>any chronic issues that are affecting you. Go see your

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<v Speaker 1>doctor and see if you can come up with a

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<v Speaker 1>plan that's going to be more productive than listing your

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<v Speaker 1>ailments with anyone else. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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