Dude, what's the payoff for that?

People love to have stuff wrong with them, and I'm dying to know why. I don't get it. I don't want anything to be wrong with me. I love the fact that the most serious illness I've ever been afflicted with is chicken pox (or possibly mono? Those two are kind of on a par with one another in severity, or lack of.). I love the fact that I don't wear glasses, or have any lingering physical injuries, and that the last time I took prescription medication was about five years ago, and it was only for a few days. I love being healthy. I don't think I'm genetically superior to other people, so I wager that pretty much everyone my age is generally healthy, too. Why, then, do so many people insist that so much is so wrong with them? Where's the fun in that? It seems like a favorite pass time of military dependents, and even soldiers. I just don't understand it.

It seems like everyone is always talking about how much stuff they have wrong with them, and how much stuff their kids have wrong with them, and spending hours and hours in the ER on a weekly basis. It almost seems like the mentality is, "I've got insurance, and by god, I intend to use it!!" My friend S is a doctor's wife, and she said that according to her husband, people are overusing the medical system a lot. He sees soldiers and dependents for routine things, but he also has had to take a weekend shift in the ER every week because the ER is so crowded with people who just have to be seen NOW for something really stupid. I've set foot in an ER 4 times n my life, and all 4, I was with someone who needed stitches. S's husband said THAT'S what ER doctors expect to see. They expect to see a lot of stitches, a lot of broken bones, stuff like that. That's what ER's are for. Here, it's different, though. He said in his weekend ER shifts, over 70% of the patients he sees, are there for things that they should have waited until Monday and gone to the regular doctor for, or nothing at all is wrong with them, or it's something that can be managed by over the counter medication (allergies and such). It's ridiculous how much military people go to the doctor. This is something that even our current presidential administration has noticed, which is why they've proposed copays for all military dependents. I thought that was a good idea because it would cut down on these frivolous trips to the doctor.

I just don't know what people get out of this. I hate going to the doctor. It generally would mean I am sick, or going to get blood drawn, or a shot, or something nasty like that. Why would anyone like going to the doctor? I mean, I understand it if you're a kid, and you get a sticker or something, but as an adult, where's the payoff? I know there's not a military doctor on the planet who hands out lollypops to adult patients, so that can't be it. There is something these people like about being infirm, and I have no idea what that could be. Where's the fun in being sick? I hate even having a cold because I don't feel 100%! Wouldn't people in general want to just be ok?