Ex nurse.
I see as usual my comments have been taken completely the wrong way.
I’m actually saying that compassion & empathy needs to extend to ALL patients because yes the majority of illnesses can be argued to be self inflicted and I say that as a disabled mentally ill person myself.
Never heard of argumentum ad absurdum?
I was addressing the type of people who think some patients are more “worthy” than others.
It usually starts with an attack on smokers, drinkers and drug addicts as seemingly obvious “self inflicted” problems but addiction is an illness too and there are many addicts with horrific backgrounds that have led to their seeking to self medicate.
But where do you draw the line? Extreme sports participants? People who choose to live with a partner that smokes? People who enjoy a Mac Donald’s sometimes?
I’m disabled due to a car accident (I was stationary) which some fools would argue wouldn’t happen if everyone walked everywhere.
My other conditions are caused by a mixture of genetics, childhood trauma and lack of knowledge in society of the harm certain things could do at the time I was affected (passive smoking, certain chemicals, processed meat not good for gut etc)
Fibromyalgia we don’t know the cause yet, I personally strongly suspect a genetic one.
CFS/ME Is also thought to be related to a genetic predisposition.
Trauma as a cause of not just mental but physical illness is a factor too.
My point really was NOBODY lives a completely saintly and exemplary life so we should try not to judge when it comes to who receives treatment.
I say this as the child of an abusive alcoholic too (the cause of most of the trauma) who is now extremely sick as a result of the drink. He’s still a person he still deserves treatment.