A recent post in Yahoo! Answers suggested that people with chronic conditions like lupus and multiple sclerosis should just be allowed to die because this is part of the process of natural selection of survival of the fittest. Needless to say, I was outraged. I replied that this kind of thinking was a cancer that might need surgical removal!
Many people who are healthy are afraid they will get a chronic condition. In order to assure themselves that this won’t happen, they actually make up reasons why they are invulnerable. That’s what the writer on Yahoo did. The truth is that those of us with chronic illnesses are the canary in the coal mine. Our diseases are a warning that something is horribly wrong. Many chronic conditions are caused by stress, poor nutrition, lifestyle choices and lack of exercise. It takes years, even decades before the damage becomes apparent. The role of some manmade chemicals has already been documented in causing cancer. Much has not yet been documented. We are eating pesticides, growth hormones, and antibiotics in our meat. We eat genetically modified plants. We are inhaling volatile organic compounds from our furniture, paint, flooring, and clothing. We are drinking pharmaceuticals in our water-yes even bottled water! Just like the canary in the coal mine that dies in the presence of relatively small amounts of toxic gas and serves as a warning for miners that there is toxic gas, so too, those of us with chronic conditions are actually a warning that may save the lives of others if they pay attention.
While we can’t eliminate all of these things from our lives, we can begin to reduce the body burden of them by making wiser choices. The posts in the coming weeks will focus on how we can be proactive.
Did you know that 23.5 million Americans have autoimmune diseases?
3 comments:
I think the post you spoke of on Yahoo groups is outrageous! It is true, many people want so much to believe they could never become really sick or disabled, that they choose to make up reasons why they can't, and blame other people's personalities as the cause of their serious illnesses and disabilities. A chronic illness is not a character defect or an anomoly. As you said, they are very common. As someone with more than one chronic illness, including an autoimmune condition, I was glad to read your post stating the facts.
Very well written, Linda.
Very well written.
Post a Comment