Dear Tia Juana,
I have a friend that if you listen to him, should be dead by now. Whenever a group of us get together and anyone mentions an illness or condition that they have or a family member has, our friend has had the disease but always much worse. As a result, the conversation always turns toward HIS problems instead of the poor person we were talking about to begin with. Is it possible that one person can have this many diseases and still be alive? How can we let him know that the world does not revolve around him?
– Sick and Tired
Dear Sick,
Your friend has figured out that taking the sick role is an effective way to garner attention and possibly some ill gotten sympathy. He is definitely starved for attention and will attempt to get it anyway he can. You and your friends could try a lukewarm, “really?” and attempt to change the focus back to someone else. Otherwise, steer clear of any conversations about health and stick to safer topics like religion or politics.
