Posts tagged "disease"
Obesity as an illness of metaphor
I've been reading The Pain Chronicles by Melanie Thernstrom, a well-researched and fascinating book about pain viewed through the filters of history, literature, science, religion and the author's personal experiences. Of particular interest to me was the idea that disease is sometimes seen as metaphor. For example, a common 19th century belief about consumption (a.k.a.... [Read More]
A sickness I can name
I have a cold and I'm rather enjoying it. I sneeze and people say "Bless you." My throat is sore, so I take cough drops. When people see the wastebasket full of tissues, they know I have a cold. It's visible and understandable. Everyone has had a cold. They know what that feels like. They... [Read More]