“Hypochondria: An Inside Look” by Woody Allen, The New York Times

Woody Allen has a piece about hypochondria vs. regular old alarmism in the Sunday Times, which has served the dual purpose of making me feel better about my own neuroses and making me realize it’s been far too long since I read Without Feathers.

But what’s this obsession with personal vulnerability? When I panic over symptoms that require no more than an aspirin or a little calamine lotion, what is it I’m really frightened of? My best guess is dying. I have always had an animal fear of death, a fate I rank second only to having to sit through a rock concert. My wife tries to be consoling about mortality and assures me that death is a natural part of life, and that we all die sooner or later. Oddly this news, whispered into my ear at 3 a.m., causes me to leap screaming from the bed, snap on every light in the house and play my recording of “The Stars and Stripes Forever” at top volume till the sun comes up.

“Hypochondria: An Inside Look” by Woody Allen