Healthism: An epidemic we can face together.
Welcome to PTSD: Please Take Someone's Distress (seriously). The aim of this site is to spread awareness to the ongoing healthism crisis, particularly around Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (the real PTSD). Here we understand that waking up at 5 AM wont fix your life. Talking can make us feel less alone. Join our discord server today- chat with others who feel the same.
What is Healthism?
Healthism is an ideology that appeared in the 1980s. It reflects the current situation in which we dwell in, where health has become intertwined with the concept of morality. Conrad (1994) examines this idea, in which we treat healthy living as a marker of discipline. While what has come to be deemed as unhealthy living, such as not exercising constantly, comes with feelings of guilt and shame. People are continuously being made to believe that they have full control of their health status. While we evidently we may contain some ounce of responsibility over it, it is wrong to assume that engaging in "healthy activities" such as consuming less sugar, will completely relieve of us of our PTSD- because it's just not logical! The two do not intercept. It is possible that such an example could be contradicted. You might be wondering "why would she link PTSD with sugar?" And you are right, it is a stupid connection. But dealing with PTSD healthily with mindfulness is a much better idea right? WRONG. It is the same ridiculous concept!!!! The media has come to make us believe that survivors of traumatic events can deal with their trauma in either a healthy or an unhealthy manner. We are pushed to think that meditating can solve our lives problems.
Healthism is not a factor that is explicitly spoken of in todays society. Instead you will find it intertwined with every day life, as nothing more than a hunch you don’t have a name for. In fact, this might be your first time ever hearing of such a topic. If this is you, you are in the right place. I promise that here, your PTSD is taken seriously!
We want the effects of structural inequalities on PTSD to be made known.
While it would be unjust to remove the sense of empowerment that many have gained from managing their PTSD alone, it is important that we recognise the shift in responsibility away from societal structures that are supposed to be of use. Instead, the burden of such problems are expected to be managed by the individual alone. The strain placed on members of the PTSD community is nothing short of concerning.
Read more to learn about the impact of structural inequalities on PTSD.
Create Your Own Website With Webador