Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Post #71: Honesty is the (potentially grossest) policy

I'm blogging 30 posts in 30 days for National Health Blog Post Month with @wegohealth.
Join me: http://info.wegohealth.com/nhbpm2012 #NHBPM

Jazz hands!!
Prompt: Write about something taboo
 
Hey prompt: news flash! Pretty much everything I write about on this site, especially the bodily fluids portion of the Crohn's talk, could be considered taboo. Gas, diarrhea, colon explosions, and flatulence are not exactly cocktail party friendly topics of conversation.
 
I think the term "taboo" can be conflated with a number of other descriptors: uncomfortable, difficult, controversial, overly emotional, forbidden, disgusting. I think it's the first synonym-uncomfortable-that best describes the "taboo" nature of all of my Crohn's talk. What's been interesting for me, as I'm pretty open about describing my symptoms with their actual medical designations (i.e. saying diarrhea instead of "tummy troubles" ugh), is that people tend to respond in kind. They'll bring up their hysterectomies. They'll talk to me about their hemorrhoids, and bemoan the fact that the generic store brand of Preparation-H just ISN'T THE SAME.
 
At first, I was more circumspect, not wanting to cause anyone to be uncomfortable with discussions of my bowel habits, but to my surprise I was underestimating the over sharing threshold of my friends and family members. Granted, I'm not telling the barista at Starbucks about my morning cramps, but I also try not to shy away from being honest about what is happening to me. Look, there's a time and place for honesty about my AAC, and it's usually pretty obvious where the line should be drawn. General friends, acquaintances, and neighbors are not usually treated to a full rundown of my symptoms-that would probably make me as uncomfortable as it would make them. But if someone close to me asks the question "How are you feeling?" and I think they actually want to know, I'll be honest.
 
A lot of these prompts have really been coded questions about disclosure-who do you share with? How much do you share? When do you share it? As with anything else, I look for clues in my audience. It's not my goal to make anyone feel discomfort. But I think it's important to note that at least in my experience, my honesty has been rewarded in kind. I feel that my friends and family members are more likely to tell me things, potentially personal things, about their health. Keeping in mind that this is a group of people who have never shied away from bathroom talk, I still think that some kind of embarrassment barrier has been removed. That is great. If my AAC talk initiated any kind of de-stigmatizing effect in terms of talking about growths, lumps, bumps, hemorrhoids, or stomach concerns, all the better.
 
So if you come over for Thanksgiving, I won't bring up my AAC unless you ask. But if you ask how it's doing, be prepared, because I'll tell you.

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