I HATE those Restless leg syndrome commercials

My daughter and I were watching TV recently when she asked me why I always changed the channel when a drug company commercial came on. I told her that if I listened long enough to all the symptoms that the medication supposedly treats, I begin to wonder if I have that particular illness! She laughed at me, but I'm completely serious. And I bet I'm not the only one who's susceptible to the power of suggestion.

Take for example the commercial for the treatment of a condition called "restless leg syndrome." The drug company ad opens with a middle aged woman earnestly telling us her symptoms. She says, "It begins as a strange feeling in your legs that seems to get worse until you stand up and move around. Deep inside your legs you can feel burning, creeping, and crawling sensations that are hard to describe, even to your doctor. Meanwhile, you cope with your condition the best you can.

"Oh my gosh! Just reading about the symptoms right now gives me the creepy-crawlies and makes me feel like I have this condition! Now obviously, some people actually do have restless leg syndrome, but I don't. Neither do I have migraine headaches, but seeing how that poor woman is suffering on the commercial begins to make my head hurt. Watching the advertisement for "overactive bladder" medication makes me have to pee. Seeing the insomniac's torment makes me fearful, and wonder if I'll be able to sleep that night. And even the enlarged prostrate commercial makes me squirm in my chair (never mind that I don't even have a prostrate!).

I might be exaggerating a tiny bit here, but my point is that I'm learning to resist all things dark. In this day and age it is imperative for us to stay alert and take notice of the things that come to steal our peace--and then resist them! Darkness is powerful. It can demoralize, it can swallow up confidence, and it can weaken resolve."Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23