Determining The Types Of Chronic Illness
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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 a person begins to experience daily pain or symptoms that signify the presence of what may be a chronic illness, however, there is a new need to have a better understanding about what the real difference is between a body that is considered healthy and a body that is now defined as ill. Many people who are diagnosed with illnesses such as fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, are surprised to find out that the scientists in the medical community continue to have a lack of full understanding about the diseases and their long-term impact on one's life.
There is not always a clear answer, since so many illnesses, such as fibromyalgia, are still surrounded with mystery and the long-term impact is not yet understood. A lack of information, however, does not cancel out the need for a person who is suffering to have his or her pain experience validated by both loved ones and medical professionals. That which was previously just an abstract circumstance, now has become personal. A person wishes to diagnose symptoms of illness.
The task of defining what a chronic illness is does not seem like it would be a difficult one, even though there are thousands of types of chronic illness. For example, health is when you feel good; illness is the lack of health or what some may consider, a chronic pain that does not go away. But we must also take into consideration the people who seem to be physically fit who one day have a heart attack or stroke in the midst of their regular exercise routine or daily activities.
So if one's appearance or feeling doesn't lead to an accurate measurement of health or illness how do we accurately measure or define what real health and illness is?
A question that may surprise healthy people but chronically ill people tend to start asking themselves is "Can one who lives with a chronic illness actually be healthy?" Can you be a chronically ill but healthy person?
Derek Yak, presenter on the topic of "Health and Illness: The Definition of the World Health Organization" says that both societies and individuals have defined health in a variety of ways. Regardless of the efforts that to into creating credible, reasonable definitions, there will always be criticism.
Determining the health and illness rates for a country is an unreliable science. Do the statistics of our life expectancy or infant mortality rates determine which countries are healthiest? As groups try to remove the toys from McDonald's Happy Meals to ensure healthier food options for our children in the USA, other countries struggle just to find food. Though I have been known to look at the McDonalds calorie list, not every mom is looking up the McDonald's Happy Meal toy schedule. Most are telling their children to eat the apples-not the apple pie.
Are we setting unrealistic expectations on people to believe that everyone can obtain some level of "health"? Defining health and illness will always be a vague science because it is often the sociological definition and each country will have difference measurements to determine their level of health and illness, oftentimes emphasizing health (or illness) with certain intentions for international purposes.
And so this brings us once again to the question of "What is a chronic illness?"
Medically, chronic illness can be defined as a condition that is lasting longer than three months, according to the definition determined by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. This could include any physical state that takes away one's measure of health-or as the void of illness such as the autoimmune illness chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, symptoms of end stage COPD, or even cancer.
And although most Americans may appear to be healthy, nearly 1 in 2 of them are suffering from some kind of chronic condition or disease. The report "Chronic Care in America: A 21st Century Challenge" completed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found over 130 million Americans were suffering, many silently, from chronic illness or other conditions such as arthritis, respiratory diseases like emphysema, high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
Our culture has given us the belief that we do not need to live with any kind of pain or uncomfortable symptoms because a medication can cure them. The popular advertisements of medications may leave us rolling our eyes or even laughing at the long list of possible side effects, but we still hold to the belief that the medication will work to remove the pain. If we follow instructions to the dot, we will soon be back to life as it was before our illness existed, feeling the same as we once felt.
It is not unusual for us to believe that pain management is not the "management" of any pain but the complete and total removal of the pain. And curing one from that pain indefinitely. If a medication does not give us back our life as it was before illness, we assume the medication simply did not work; not that it worked to the best of its ability.
The World Health Organization (WHO), which was began in 1948, defines health as "being a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, defines illness as "a state of poor health." They state "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 is an issue that many people with illness are sensitive to, however. There are people who live with severe chronic illnesses who live a very healthy lifestyle, doing their best to stay as well as they can despite their condition. And then other people who are genetically blessed with good health, can tear their body up with stress or substance abuse, for example, and still stay relatively healthy. If these people do in fact end up getting an illness, then was it predetermined, or was it caused by their actions?
This starts to move into what is considered the definition of social health; does the illness come before the stress or vice versa? There are hundreds if not thousands of social factors that determine health.
To wrap up the topic, it can be difficult in our society to find a solid definition for chronic illness, because, depending on who you ask, the odds are that a variety of terms will be given. It's true that chronic illness has a long list of frustrations and burdens; I know this because I have lived with illness for nearly two decades. But I also try to understand that joy is a choice I can decide to focus on. And while lab tests can determine if I have an illness or not, and its severity, no one has the power to take away my joy or how I find it each day.
If nearly 1 in 2 people live with a chronic illness or condition, we all know someone, right? You may be surprised just who says they don't in this 2-minute video where I share some of my insights on how to define chronic illness.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com - Get Fit the healthy way tons of honest tips and tricks to lead a healthier life, also in progress a guide on how to stop smoking -
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