If you were to walk up to a person on the street and ask him what he believed the difference was between illness and health, chances are that you would likely receive a fast reply about how health is when the body works correctly and illness is when it does not.
When one starts to live with daily symptoms that resemble a chronic condition, however, the necessity of needing to understand the difference between a healthy body and a chronically ill body becomes much more important. It comes as a surprise to many people who are diagnosed with illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, that many diseases are still surrounded with great mystery, even from the medical community. Long-term symptoms are not fully known.
Despite a lack of scientific answers, however, one still feels the need for validation of the pain he or she is feeling. A person who becomes chronically ill may recognize that not all answers about the disease are known, but an illness definition, which was formerly just a concept, is now a personal issue and there is an emotional need for medical professionals to value the patient's description of the pain experience. She wishes for someone to listen and diagnose the illness symptoms!
To define chronic illness may seem like a simple task, despite the fact that there are many types of chronic illness. It could be said it is the absence of health or the existence of pain or other unhealthy symptoms. But consider this: there are people who suffer many symptoms of illness who are still considered rather healthy individuals; they even look fine on the outside, unaware of the complexity of medical issues brewing in their bodies that have yet to reveal themselves.
So if health and illness cannot simply be defined based on appearance or one's measure of "feeling good" what factors do we use to define health and well being?
The question may even be asked, "Can one be a healthy, chronically ill person?"
According to Derek Yach, who presented on the topic of "Health and Illness: The Definition of the World Health Organization," both societies and individuals have a variety of definitions of what is regarded as health. These definitions have all undergone scrutiny and criticisms.
How can health be determined after all? For example, does life expectancy or infant mortality rate statistics determine a society's health? While we serve up lunches for our children full of sugar and poor carbohydrates, other groups turn away from that cause and instead pressure McDonald's to remove toys from Happy Meals and have a McDonalds calorie list. While the toys may be nice perks, not every mother is Googling the McDonalds Happy Meal toy schedule. Moms are still saying, "Eat your food and then you can play."
By expecting everyone to obtain some level of health, even those with illness, are we setting realistic goals? Defining the term of health and illness will always be a vague science based on poor methodology because each country will determine these factors in a variety of ways. And it's no secret that most countries will even emphasize their level of health (or illness) on purpose for international reasons.
And so this brings us once again to the question of "What is a chronic illness?"
Scientifically speaking, we can use the definition of the term "chronic" given to us by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics which is any physical state that takes away one's measure of health or causes pain for 3 months or longer. These conditions could include the autoimmune illness chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, Parkinson's disease, or even cancer.
Despite the fact that America may be well known for their well-being, nearly 1 in 2 American live with a kind of chronic pain, condition, or illness. This can include anything from chronic migraines to disabling back pain. This is according to the report "Chronic Care in America: A 21st Century Challenge" completed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Our society has given us the impression that all illness, except perhaps cancer is able to be cured if we will just take the advertised medications on a regular basis. Soon our symptoms will soon lessen or go away completely.
We are basically told that pain management does not mean "managing the pain" but removing the pain. Most patients consider treatments or medications failures if they do not stop the chronic pain or illness symptoms. Although the pharmaceutical companies that produce these medications relies that they will only lessen the pain or decrease the symptoms, their advertisement gives the impression of a true healing.
The World Health Organization (WHO) was established in the year 1948 and at that time the word health was given the definition as "being a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." According to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, it defines the word illness as "a state of poor health." In fact, this source states that "Illness is sometimes considered a synonym for disease."
Some would argue that true health is more a state of mind--an attitude about life--than what your lab tests results may reveal.
This can be a sensitive issue. There are healthy people who live with extreme chronic illnesses, but they stay as fit as possible in spite of their conditions. Other people may have wonderful genetics and be very healthy according to lab tests, and yet they put their body under great physical stress. And then if they get an illness, was it caused by the stress or was it an illness they likely would have gotten eventually anyway?
This is related to the definition of social health. Which comes first, the illness or the stress? There are many social factors that determine health and its definition.
In conclusion, like many definitions in our society, depending on who you ask you will get a different answer. Chronic illness has its burdens and frustrations, but joy is a choice. I feel I can say this because I have lived with rheumatoid arthritis for nearly two decades and I have learned that no one can define or decide what it is that brings me joy.
Who thinks they don't know a single person who lives with a chronic illness? In this 2-minute video I, Lisa Copen, reveal some surprising news about who makes this claim!
When one starts to live with daily symptoms that resemble a chronic condition, however, the necessity of needing to understand the difference between a healthy body and a chronically ill body becomes much more important. It comes as a surprise to many people who are diagnosed with illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, that many diseases are still surrounded with great mystery, even from the medical community. Long-term symptoms are not fully known.
Despite a lack of scientific answers, however, one still feels the need for validation of the pain he or she is feeling. A person who becomes chronically ill may recognize that not all answers about the disease are known, but an illness definition, which was formerly just a concept, is now a personal issue and there is an emotional need for medical professionals to value the patient's description of the pain experience. She wishes for someone to listen and diagnose the illness symptoms!
To define chronic illness may seem like a simple task, despite the fact that there are many types of chronic illness. It could be said it is the absence of health or the existence of pain or other unhealthy symptoms. But consider this: there are people who suffer many symptoms of illness who are still considered rather healthy individuals; they even look fine on the outside, unaware of the complexity of medical issues brewing in their bodies that have yet to reveal themselves.
So if health and illness cannot simply be defined based on appearance or one's measure of "feeling good" what factors do we use to define health and well being?
The question may even be asked, "Can one be a healthy, chronically ill person?"
According to Derek Yach, who presented on the topic of "Health and Illness: The Definition of the World Health Organization," both societies and individuals have a variety of definitions of what is regarded as health. These definitions have all undergone scrutiny and criticisms.
How can health be determined after all? For example, does life expectancy or infant mortality rate statistics determine a society's health? While we serve up lunches for our children full of sugar and poor carbohydrates, other groups turn away from that cause and instead pressure McDonald's to remove toys from Happy Meals and have a McDonalds calorie list. While the toys may be nice perks, not every mother is Googling the McDonalds Happy Meal toy schedule. Moms are still saying, "Eat your food and then you can play."
By expecting everyone to obtain some level of health, even those with illness, are we setting realistic goals? Defining the term of health and illness will always be a vague science based on poor methodology because each country will determine these factors in a variety of ways. And it's no secret that most countries will even emphasize their level of health (or illness) on purpose for international reasons.
And so this brings us once again to the question of "What is a chronic illness?"
Scientifically speaking, we can use the definition of the term "chronic" given to us by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics which is any physical state that takes away one's measure of health or causes pain for 3 months or longer. These conditions could include the autoimmune illness chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, Parkinson's disease, or even cancer.
Despite the fact that America may be well known for their well-being, nearly 1 in 2 American live with a kind of chronic pain, condition, or illness. This can include anything from chronic migraines to disabling back pain. This is according to the report "Chronic Care in America: A 21st Century Challenge" completed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Our society has given us the impression that all illness, except perhaps cancer is able to be cured if we will just take the advertised medications on a regular basis. Soon our symptoms will soon lessen or go away completely.
We are basically told that pain management does not mean "managing the pain" but removing the pain. Most patients consider treatments or medications failures if they do not stop the chronic pain or illness symptoms. Although the pharmaceutical companies that produce these medications relies that they will only lessen the pain or decrease the symptoms, their advertisement gives the impression of a true healing.
The World Health Organization (WHO) was established in the year 1948 and at that time the word health was given the definition as "being a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." According to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, it defines the word illness as "a state of poor health." In fact, this source states that "Illness is sometimes considered a synonym for disease."
Some would argue that true health is more a state of mind--an attitude about life--than what your lab tests results may reveal.
This can be a sensitive issue. There are healthy people who live with extreme chronic illnesses, but they stay as fit as possible in spite of their conditions. Other people may have wonderful genetics and be very healthy according to lab tests, and yet they put their body under great physical stress. And then if they get an illness, was it caused by the stress or was it an illness they likely would have gotten eventually anyway?
This is related to the definition of social health. Which comes first, the illness or the stress? There are many social factors that determine health and its definition.
In conclusion, like many definitions in our society, depending on who you ask you will get a different answer. Chronic illness has its burdens and frustrations, but joy is a choice. I feel I can say this because I have lived with rheumatoid arthritis for nearly two decades and I have learned that no one can define or decide what it is that brings me joy.
Who thinks they don't know a single person who lives with a chronic illness? In this 2-minute video I, Lisa Copen, reveal some surprising news about who makes this claim!
About the Author:
Chronic illness doesn't have to be depressing! Subscribe to receive daily emailed encouragement from the largest Christian outreach for people with illness. Don't miss Rest Ministries terrific books and gifts we've chosen for people coping with illness.
No comments:
Post a Comment