when the world assumes wellness
our medical system, for all its extraordinary capabilities, is ill-equipped to handle the steep rise in this kind of chronic illness. That system is great at providing acute care and terrible at managing the complexities of long-term care.
Meghan O'Rourke • The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness
In some ways, the distinction between normalcy and pathology is arbitrarily defined—as well as hard to measure.
Meghan O'Rourke • The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness
"Would diagnosis matter so much in a world where all people and patients had more power – one where we did not have to constantly prove ourselves to employers, to medical professionals and to the benefits system to get our fundamental needs met? A system of social organisation in which healthcare and other healing processes centred informed consent
... See moreWhen an Autistic person is not given resources or access to self-knowledge, and when they’re told their stigmatized traits are just signs that they’re a disruptive, overly sensitive, or annoying kid, they have no choice but to develop a neurotypical façade. Maintaining that neurotypical mask feels deeply inauthentic and it’s extremely exhausting to
... See moreBut here’s the problem with modernity. We live in a time where we are surrounded by stressors. Right now, I have 56 emails in my inbox that need my attention. My body is responding to that with stress (this body of ours is also not great at knowing the difference between life-and-death stressors and the kinds of stressors that won’t kill me). My un
... See moreMegan Anna Neff • The Zoomies and This Week’s Round Up
something like autoimmune disease or long COVID falls into the third category of illness; it combines biology and biography in ways that are difficult for most of us (whether scientists or laypeople) to conceptualize.