There’s a Whole Person Beyond the Label of Sickness

Treat a patient, not a disease.  This concept really resonated with me when I saw it beautifully portrayed  in the Patch Adams movie.  It’s not, ‘where’s  the diabetic’, it’s ‘where’s  Mr.  ___ who has diabetes.’    Sounds a bit semantical, nonsensical and a longer version of saying the same thing.  But in reality it has huge ramifications which influence how we treat someone.    The way we say something can affect how we view it which in turn affects how we behave.

“She’s a sick child” connotes an image very different than “she’s a child with an illness.”   All we see is ‘sick’.   Our view is shrunken down to one dimension: sickness.   But a ‘person with a sickness’ guides us to envision more; there’s a person there too which implies more than illness.

We are all a lot more than the limitations that an illness or disability impose.

My mother used to refer to my daughter, Nava, as a sick child (when she developed ulcerative colitis).  That used to infuriate me.  Because mom viewed her like that, she felt she needed to be catered to and have everything done for her.   Of course it all came from a good place, a place of love and deep caring.  But there is a danger here:  overprotection can cause crippling.  The last thing I wanted to do was put further limits on someone who already had {other} inherent difficulties.   The goal was to push beyond the existing limits and work around the illness to create as normal, ordinary and enjoyable a life as possible.

Treating and labeling a person as a disease is dangerous.  It promotes:

Sympathy

Pity

Dependence

Limitations

Inhumanity

Entitlement

 

Is a person’s identity synonymous with his issue?  Is he his problem, or is the problem an aspect of a person? 

I love what Temple Grandin says, that she’s not an autistic person but rather a person with autism.  Again it seems like a very slight distinction in wording but it changes one’s entire persona – both in how they view themselves and how others view them.  It’s a much broader perspective of a person.  It opens one up to embrace many more aspects of themselves.

People who create great lives despite their challenges see themselves as much more than their ‘problem’.   They actualize and tap into more of themselves and therefore become greater than their limits.  They push beyond and surpass the odds.

Humanity is broad.   Let’s promote that by seeing each other as multi-dimensional, issues and all.  Pigeon-holing keeps us locked into our limits; our wings, even those requiring some extra mending, help us soar.

 

Thanks for stopping by.   So what do you think:  do words influence how you perceive someone?   Take a moment to share your thoughts here.  And then share this post on your social media sites.  Thanks.

 

 

Yep, that’s me on a Patch Adams clowning trip to Sicily (in a hospital in Palermo).

 

Need some extra support in moving beyond your limitations? I’d be glad to be a part of your limitless journey. (and maybe even move towards Fun)