Thursday, July 10, 2014

Lexicon: "Normal People Sick"

An informal way of differentiating between acute illness, and chronic illness or disability. As in, “This isn't the usual fatigue, I'm normal people sick!” Short-term illness that anyone can experience, not illness that is chronic or a side effect of a long-term condition or disability. The term also helps to underscore the idea that disability is not the same thing as illness or sickness. One can be disabled and healthy, or disabled and temporarily sick. A paraplegic (disabled) can, for a short period of time, have the flu (normal people sick). It can be especially helpful and clarifying for people with chronic pain or chronic illness, by identifying symptoms that can be readily cured or relieved, (like appendicitis or a cold), as opposed to symptoms that are chronic, incurable, or that can at best be managed, (like asthma, or joint pain from arthritis) ... a.k.a. “Regular People Sick”.

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