THE ETIQUETTE OF ILLNESS

I recently had the misfortune of falling ill. No big deal people

 fall ill all the time. My peculiarity is I do not like going to the

doctor's….in addition, unlike others I am no good at self

diagnosis. My friends and family were quiet concerned. My

illness made me very tired. I slept a lot and when I wasn’t

sleeping I would be listless. I had the occasional bursts of

energy followed by bone crushing tiredness…

  

Naturally questions followed, chief of which was “what is

wrong with you?” In truth I had no clue. So I could not give

an answer. On the other hand,  what if I did know what was

 wrong, would I be willing to tell? People ask out of genuine

concern and not idle curiosity (I hope) but like the amount of

 income you earn, it’s not information you are always willing

to share.

 

Sometimes the ailment may be one we are still trying to

come to terms with. We may not even wish to worry our

loved ones and are bidding our time for the right moment to

share. With friends, we may not want them to know, so they

 do not treat us differently. Neither  do we want to be the

topic of conversation at the next social gathering. 

 

 

Some of us suffer from conditions and handicaps that we can

 do very little about. It’s not the little girl's fault if her dad

decided to mark her face for cultural and identification

purposes. Vitiligo did not only affect the late Michael Jackson,

 there are lots of other sufferers.

 

When we are aware of a loved one’s illness…what can we

do? Remember not to take offence if they do not share the

reason for their ailment with you. Telling them they don’t

look sick will not earn you brownie points.

Assure them of your support to run errands i.e drop off and

pick up kids from school, groceries, etc, visit at convenient

times, bring flowers/food. At Manners Matter our module on

 Tact and Kindness has proven very beneficial in situations

such as this.

Remember not to give unsolicited advice and for goodness

sake stop trying to engage them in long conversations, your

 presence may be all the comfort they need.

 

Yeye Bush

…be Your Best Always!
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