Posted by A few months ago, I saw this video. Then, I got upset. Then, I wrote this post. I was pretty upset (can you tell). Like the video, my post triggered a bunch of reactions- some calm, some pretty rude. Weeks later, I received a comment from Bill himself (Thanks!) and we had a short exchange. I updated the post since, but it got me thinking about communication and how easily it can go awry.
The core of what I said in the post is true. We need to be very precise in our language to avoid as many misconceptions of what IBD is and what it isn’t. And of misconceptions there are many. And it’s really not the particular person in the video that got me frustrated and upset, or that they said something especially egregious. It is the fact that there are so many misconceptions, miracle cures and myths, that makes it hard for many people to speak up. And since they recently have made a weird resurgence, I will talk more about these things.
Yet, I could have stayed calmer. I could have clearly explained that comparing diseases is never a good idea, etc. I didn’t. So, as a resolution, I shall wait, take a walk, do a sudoku and be as zen as a buddhist monk in hibernation. Namaste.
The Morbus Crohnicles 