Disease as Process, continued…

          On page 89 of The Myth of Normal, Gabor Maté writes about medicine today, “Rather than treating disease as a solid entity that imposes its ill will on the body, we would be dealing with a process, one that can’t be extricated from our personal histories and the context and culture in which we live.”

          He also comments that perhaps we patients shouldn’t be fighting the disease. Rather than speaking of going to war against the disease, we should change our approach and acknowledge that the disease is part of our life’s journey. This approach allows us to view ourselves as active participants in how we live with the disease. Rather than being a victim of the disease, we gain control over it by acknowledging its presence and learning how to live with it. We become active participants in the process of the disease in our lives, thereby lessening the terrible fear of its influence over us.

          I have to remind myself when I read this that this does not mean giving up. It may mean surrendering to the fact that I have the disease, acknowledging it both privately and perhaps publicly and learning to live with the disease as part of my life, but it does not mean giving up on life. Perhaps, rather than saying, “I have MS,” I should be saying, “I live with MS.” Perhaps my doctor should be analyzing how he/she can help me live with MS.

          Can you see yourself telling others that you live with cancer, Parkinson’s, MS, MD, or any other disease? Why or why not? Can you see yourself analyzing how you can best live with the disease? Leave a comment below