Fear of Suffering Increases Stigma
And Other Content From This Week
I shared this on LinkedIn this week in response to a post telling people not to use certain phrases around disability:
I can’t speak for everyone with a disability (which is why I think we should avoid most blanket statements about language), but here’s how I feel:
I am mentally ill. It’s not just a mental health challenge. Being afraid of the phrase “mentally ill” contributes to stigmatism.
And I do suffer from chronic pain. Don’t hide from my suffering because it’s scary.
Absolutely let’s not use the word “retarded.” It’s turned into an insult instead of a diagnosis. But let’s keep other words from going down the same path.
What do you think? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
My latest blog post for CatholicMom.com was published this week and is about my “BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) Bible Study.”
Content I Liked This Week:
This USA Today editorial by Elizabeth Grace Matthew was an excellent look at how much of the “trad wife” content on social media is neither feasible nor, actually, traditional.
Mother Teresa (now St. Teresa) was one of my childhood idols, and I really liked this blog post from SENT Ventures sharing what entrepreneurs can learn from her.
Peanut butter is my favorite food. I eat so much of it that recently, my husband did the math on how much money were spending on peanut butter and asked me to eat a little less. Which explains why I am sharing this very random but interesting CNBC article about peanut butter consumption in the United States.
Books I’m Enjoying:
I read Virtuous Leadership: An Agenda for Personal Excellence, by Alexandre Havard, and gave it five stars. It’s a short but thoughtful and thorough look at leadership and virtue from a Catholic perspective.
My IRL friend Hannah M. Brown illustrated a new picture book called My Dog Pete. I told her that I probably know the book better than she does, and we only got it a couple of days ago. My two-year-old is obsessed (she actually postponed snack time in favor of reading it, which is unheard of). The story is one that you won’t mind reading again and again, and the illustrations are absolutely adorable.
Note: I’ve decided to stop using Amazon affiliate links, because I don’t want to support Amazon more than I have to. Absolutely no judgment to anyone who uses them to save money—we do too, when necessary—or to anyone who needs income from Amazon affiliate links. I wasn’t making anything off them, anyway, so it was an easy business decision to make! We can’t boycott every company that goes against our values, unfortunately—but avoiding Amazon affiliate links won’t impact our family at all, so it’s one small thing I can do.