There are moments where you go, "this is going pretty good -- most everything is going fine -- no major stresser -- except this one thing." That one thing starts out being just a little itch, just a tiny patch in otherwise beautiful canvas -- then you start to focus on it, and it appears bigger and bigger -- and soon that's all you can see. You forget the rest of the picture.

At this point you actually can't help looking at it. You get obsessed and consumed, thinking "if this one thing is resolved, then my life will be OK." But at that point you're so lop-sided you can't really balance the rest of your life. That one tiny spot, whether it's actually getting bigger or not, starts affecting everything else in the picture. You spiral out of control.