Health Isn’t Everything
An Opinion Piece
“So what if you can’t fit into a size 6? There is nothing to be ashamed of! It’s fine as long as you’re healthy.”
“Money isn’t everything. Health is.”
“Does it matter if you’re still single? I mean, you’re still healthy and living the best time of your life.”
“The most important thing in life is to be happy and healthy.”
The above are examples of “positive” affirmations that people give to motivate, encourage and comfort others. Do you see what the problem is with all of these statements though? Why is health being used as a benchmark for happiness / value in life?
Let us analyse the statements one by one.
So it is fine to be plus-size (is “fat” an offensive word nowadays?), nothing shameful in that as long as he / she is healthy. Then, what about a chronically ill person? Is it fine to be suffering from chronic pain everyday? Is it shameful??
Money can’t buy you happiness and isn’t the most important thing but health is? What if you have a debilitating health condition? What then? Are you doomed to live a life of misery once you receive your diagnosis?
Being single is fantastic and A-OK as long as you’re healthy and enjoying life. What if you are bed ridden on most days and spend almost all your waking moments in a kidney dialysis centre? How would you enjoy life then? Life as a patient certainly isn’t “fantastic” according to usual standards. So does this mean that it’s not okay to be sick?
The most important thing in life is to be happy (which is hard if you’re clinically depressed) and healthy (impossible if you’re chronically ill). So what’s left for those who suffer then? Are their lives not as important as the lives of healthy people?
It is vital for us to understand how frustrating and demotivating it is for a chronically ill person to hear or read about this constantly. These so-called pep talks alienate those who are sick and can be extremely damaging to their mental health. It is also worth noting that not everyone with a chronic disease actually looks sick. Since health status is a confidential information, there is simply no way for us to know if someone that we are talking to suffers from a medical condition unless they disclose it to us.
Thank you for reading. I don’t mean to stir the pot. I just think that this important topic needs to be discussed. That’s all. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
P.S. Please don’t get me started on how we should adopt a healthy lifestyle to avoid being sick. Sure, that is very important, no doubt about that, but not all illnesses can be cured (or even prevented) by doing yoga or eating 5 servings of fruits & vegetables or drinking 8 glasses of water per day.
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