so, uh, hypochondria didn’t always mean a sort of neurotic obsession with an invisible / nonexistent illness

it used to mean this (according to the oxford english dictionary): “a morbid state of mind, characterized by general depression, melancholy, or low spirits, for which there is no real cause.”

so when ishmael says he has to turn to the sea whenever his hypos “get such an upper hand of me,” he’s referring to a particular kind of depression / moodiness that i certainly identify with intimately! and if the emails i get are any indication, i reckon a lot of you do as well.

yahhhhOOOOO