Many people suffer from the deadly Doom and Gloom Syndrome. It spreads as rapidly today as the Black Death once went through Europe. Doom and Gloom Syndrome is easily recognized. It is characterized by minds that have set themselves to work in such a way that they are unable to see anything but the worst possible effect that may be caused by any thought, word, decision, or action.
A related sickness, “Can’t be too Carefulitis“, is a more specific manifestation of Doom and Gloom Syndrome. Many chronically bitter patients enjoy suffering from, and infecting others with, both conditions. All of us know some of them.
Those who have been inoculated against the disorders with generous helpings of love and affection are warned to avoid those who carry the diseases. Those who have afflicted themselves have trouble seeing the bright side of anything and are eager to infect others with the same viewpoints. Minds that have not been overwhelmed by the viruses of negativity believe that that there are good people who do good things.
One carrier can spread the dreaded diseases to families, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. As a result, entire communities may be afflicted with terminal negativity without realizing that they have become diseased, disoriented, and disturbed. Media is a magnet for such personalities. Many unsuspecting people have been infected by contact with media outlets and not even known they’ve come down with Doom and Gloom Syndrome.
Can’t be too Carefulitis is a form of the disease that has been with us for centuries. An early outbreak in New England infected Protestant clergymen and self-righteous colonists. Their minds became so overwhelmed by Can’t be too Carefulitis viruses that they tried, sentenced, and burned several of their neighbors for being witches. “Can’t be too careful!”, the Puritan clergyman would solemnly announce as each pyre began to burn, thereby giving the deadly disorder the name by which it is known in America.
Typically, those suffering from Can’t be too Carefulitis have more focused symptoms of the Doom and Gloom Syndrome. Those suffering from Doom and Gloom Syndrome are, of course, never happy about anything. That disorder takes more specific form, metastasizing into Can’t be too Carefulitis, as soon as any topic of conversation is introduced.
For instance, if a Doom and Gloom Syndrome sufferer is already depressed because someone they know is looking forward to having a baby, those afflicted with the Can’t Be Too Carefulitis virus will automatically recite with rote sincerity, “It is impossible for the earth to feed, clothe, and house any more people. There are already too many people. Human beings are a plague that must be wiped out. Something has to be done. We have to start getting rid of people now, before the world as we know it is destroyed. There is no time to waste.”
On hearing such magnifications of negativity, those with mild cases of Doom and Gloom Syndrome may have their own disorder grow into serious cases of Can’t Be Too Carefulitis. Can’t Be Too Carefulitis sufferers are never happier than when convincing a person with a mild case of Doom and Gloom Syndrome to worry feverishly about the latest important cause. The more harmless the thing worried about, the greater the glimmer of joy that momentarily penetrates the carriers’ darkened souls. But, their brief interludes of comparative happiness are quickly overshadowed by new worries about even more harmless things, plunging the suffering soul back into the beloved Stygian gloom.
The Doom and Gloom Syndrome is the Beginning Stage of the Can’t be too Carefulitis infection. Between the Doom and Gloom Syndrome sufferers and the endless complaints of those wracked with the Can’t Be Too Carefulitis viruses, the world is an increasingly joyless place. Those in awe of their own opinions about the coming end are glad.
But, there is hope. Some have been healed. When it is explained that the ultimate cure for their destructive, self-imposed disorder is eternal purging by fire, a few of them may pull back from the brink of destruction and be healed. Hopefully, that will happen before God gets as sick of them as their neighbors already are.
One reliable cure is working harder to love God and their neighbors. Another is to ignore the dire predictions emanating endlessly from those carrying the diseases. We simply remind ourselves that excessive worries are manifestations of these often fatal diseases that unhinge the minds they have disordered. Having children and grandchildren are also proven cures for terminal negativity. So is liking our neighbors, and wanting the best for them.
You may know someone suffering from Doom and Gloom Syndrome and/or Can’t be too Carefulitis. They might appreciate it if you’d forward this to them. But, it is more likely that they will think it will cause the end of the world, causing billions to die from lack of worry.
