A Lighter View
Commentary From the Editor

Upsides and Downsides of Guilty Plaisirs or What Reformed the Cookie Monster

Chocolate, fast foods, pedicures, cheap paperback novels—hail to our guilty plaisirs (pleasures), the little indulgences that often bring balance to our lives .We love them, but we frequently are embarrassed by them, sometimes even physically compromised by them. We all have lists of snack foods, purchases and stress-reducing activities that help us smile when life seems to be out of control.

Nevertheless, often it is this “I deserve it” attitude that gets us into trouble, and turns even the most safety-conscious do-gooders into emergency department patients.

Complications from obesity, such as diabetes, falls, heart disease (the chocolate and fast-food connection)...infections from faultily sterilized manicure implements...skin conditions from overdoing sun exposure. You surely have your own long list of patient issues that often result from what at first promised to be fun or relaxing or distracting but in the end caused a trip to the emergency department instead. How fun.

A trip to the mall to see Santa Claus results in a child being seriously injured on the escalator. Over a 13 year period from 1990 to 2002, there were an estimated 26,000 escalator-related injuries among children and teens younger than 19. (Escalators Called Danger Zones for Children. Medpagetoday.com; www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/tb/3872. Retrieved July 8, 2008)

A trip to the local discount warehouse results in a baby’s shopping-cart injury. Findings from emergency rooms all over the country show that more than 24,000 children were treated in 2005 alone for shopping cart-related injuries. The dangers of shopping carts prompted the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to release a report in August 2006 that asked that shopping carts be redesigned and for parents to consider alternatives to putting their children in them. (www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/aug06shoppingcart.htm. Retrieved July 11, 2008)

A trip via online shopping results in over-spending, financial distress, hours surfing the Web, lost family and personal time. Patients present with depression, anxiety (panic attacks), carpel tunnel syndrome. According to the Stanford University School of Medicine Study, one out of eight Americans suffer from Internet addiction, 14 percent of respondents found it hard to abstain from Internet use for several days; 5.9 percent said excessive Internet use affected their relationships; 8.2 percent said the Internet was a means of escape from the real world. (What is Internet addiction? www.netaddiction.com/whatis.htm) Ah, those guilty pleasures.

But, and this is a big but, guilty pleasures often seem to be life’s raison d’être…just up to the point that they become life’s problèmes. We all know that moderation is the key (alas, even so with chocolate) and that moderation also supports the good life, whatever that means to you, to me and to your patients. That even goes for Cookie Monster.

Since, 2006, Cookie Monster (that lovable Muppet on Sesame Sstreet) has switched from eating anything in sight, even pencils, to a more moderate lifestyle that includes promoting healthy eating habits for children. He now calls cookies a sometimes food and likes fruits and vegetables. Very politically correct (good for children and a relief for many health care professionals).

Moderation and safe practices—and applying these behaviors to the “I deserve it” attitude—make guillty pleasures, well pleasureful (and good for us). So the next time you feel the inevitable overload, just pick the right time and the right place and say to the world, “Gone Fishing.”