Healthy Privilege
What types of issues have come up for you due to the health privilege others have?
What types of healthy privileged comments have you come across?
What is your method for dealing with these?
I get frustrated by some comments.
Some people make it sound like their healthy privilege is a choice, and is for everyone. If I just lived a healthy lifestyle, that's all there is to it.
There's the comments about medications, how taking something all the time is bad. How we should strive to not need medication. I don't have much of a choice, I need it to maintain the health I do have and would likely be dead without some of it.
There's the smaller things - like women discussing whether they would prefer an OB or a midwife. They just assume that they won't have complications where a midwife will be an option. They don't even seem to think that for others, it might not be a choice.
In a much broader sense, there are also vital issues. Some of these scare me. The assumption that illnesses are temporary, and health care professionals acting like I'm foolish trying to get a diagnosis. Or that my problems are common. Or because I don't look sick on the outside that a slightly hoarse voice isn't a medical emergency and I should be getting immediate care. No, I'm not having an ultrasound because I have a swollen lymph node from a cold virus I have had for 5 days. No, allergy medications aren't going to help my angioedema when it's not due to allergies. I'm not going to the emergency room because my sore throat is just a minor ailment.
ive experienced sizism due to my weight gain from chronic pain. someone once said to me.
" you only need 15 minutes a day or cardio, i guarantee youll see results in your pain level AND your waistline"
not understanding that is like asking me to run a marathon. thats healthy privelage.