The word “sick” has recently become one of those words that holds a double meaning. To some people, it refers to the state of being physically, mentally, or even emotionally unhealthy or not well. To others, it can be used to describe an object or even another person who is really interesting, eye-catching, or just awesome. Just to state one example, the Oxford English Dictionary cites how it can be used in the sentence “The Fleetwood Mac concert was sick”. To concertgoers, the word holds the meaning of “unbelievably good”. However, as Christine Miserandino writes in a personal story of hers, this usage of the word “sick” can be offensive to people who are truly not healthy. As a person living with Lupus, she is used to the word being used in reference to herself. In her story, she states how a friend “…asked me out of the blue what it felt like to have Lupus and be sick.” This illustrates how, because of the word “sick” being used in a positive manner today, some people don’t understand that it can be hurtful for those who are actually unwell to hear the word used in such casual contexts.
As humans, one of our major methods of communicating ideas is through writing. While our writing styles have certainly gone through many alterations over the course of history, the same basic vocabulary is still used. Due to this, it can be useful to examine the usage of the word “sick” and how it has changed throughout the history of writing. According to the Corpus of Historical American English, the word “sick” reached its peak usage percentage in the mid-1800s. Since then, and up until 2000, it has been seen less in written works. A similar word, “disease”, has actually been used in increasing amounts in more recent writings. A possible explanation for this is the vast improvements that have been made in modern medicine. By some people, “disease” is thought of as a more dangerous, long-term sickness. On the other hand, “sick” tends to refer to people with more temporary illnesses. Looking at the 1800s with this in mind, many people developed sicknesses that had no immediate cures at the time. Once people began to make phenomenal advances in the medical field, they were able to develop medicines to cure the sick. Since then, the word “sick” has lost some of its impact because it is assumed that those who are sick will be able to recover relatively rapidly. However, those with a disease are in a different situation because not all diseases are curable yet. Due to this, the word “sick” has been on the decline in the written world, as illustrated in the Corpus of Historical American English, and is gradually being overtaken by the word “disease” as scientists and doctors are working to develop disease cures.
Commonly of Germanic origin, the word “sick” has many different meanings. The most familiar definition is when sick is used in its adjective form, meaning “Suffering from illness of any kind; ill, unwell, ailing.” The vast majority of people have used the word “sick” with this meaning in mind at some point in their lives. Perhaps people have also used it to mean “Of parts of the body: Not in a sound or healthy state.” In both of these definitions, the word is used in the sense that the body is physically not healthy. However, the complete definition of “sick” also includes the phrase “Mentally affected or weak.” Slightly different, yet still related to the main definition, this segment focuses on the illnesses that affect a person’s mental state. This part of the definition is perhaps what led to another part that states the word “sick” can mean “Of humour, a joke, etc.: macabre, providing amusement by reference to something that is thoroughly unpleasant.” In a way, this could refer to a person who is mentally affected or unwell, causing them to tell such a sick joke. Although they vary, all of these definitions fall under the main umbrella of the meaning of sick. This basic meaning is that the word “sick” refers to something that is not in its normal physical or mental state of health.
Upon first glance, the word “sick” probably holds fairly similar meanings for most people. From my perspective, it seems that from a young age kids learn that when they do not feel good they are considered to be sick. After associating these negative feelings with the word “sick”, they realize that sickness is not a favorable thing. In elementary terms, being sick is bad while being healthy is good. However, as people grow up their initial judgment of the word might change. For example, one might hear another say “Man, that’s sick!” to someone who has just won a gold medal at the Olympics. Since winning a gold medal at the Olympics is, for lack of a better word, cool, the word “sick” is given a positive connotation. While this use of the previously negative word may seem puzzling enough, the confusion is further augmented when someone repeats that very same phrase in a different situation. For example, after hearing about a horrifying kidnapping, someone may say “Man, that’s sick.” Instead of referring to a desirable thing, this time the word “sick” has a similarly negative meaning to the one learnt by little kids; it’s something bad, disgusting, revolting. Therefore the word “sick” holds multiple and complete opposite meanings; it all depends on the context that it’s used in.
Hello! I’m Emmy Pieper and I’m from New York. Before you picture the flashing lights and hum of activity in Times Square, the glittering fancy store windows, the sky-scraping buildings, and the endless seas of people in New York City, let me clarify that I’m not from that part of New York. Although I do love taking the scenic three hour train down to the city, I’m from a little town up north called Saratoga. My favorite season up north is known as “apple picking and bonfire season”, or autumn. For a photographer, it’s the perfect time to capture some scenes. The vibrant, densely packed green leaves around my country log cabin home seem to sense the slight temperature drop and instantaneously change their coloring. During my short drive to school, the rising sun’s gentle rays would push through the mist over the Adirondacks, illuminating the quilted blanket of leaves covering the mountains. After school, I loved running to the apple orchard and snacking on crisp, juicy apples during lacrosse or field hockey practice. I still remember as a little girl getting all bundled up for apple picking and baking a delicious apple pie after, which was probably the beginning of my love for baking.
So why am I telling you all about where I come from? I think it has been one of the biggest influences on my decision to pursue a career in health. I’ve grown up in an environment where health is a big focus. My family always encouraged eating healthfully and being active outside doing everything from hiking, biking, skiing, camping, and kayaking. Now, I’m interested in studying Human Health. My main focus is nutrition, but I’m also interested in Predictive Health, which seems like a neat approach. Instead of waiting for issues to develop, taking preventative measures can ease the difficulty of dealing with health complications. So, the final question to answer is why am I taking this course? Besides the fact that it fit my schedule, I’m taking it because Human Health is definitely related to disability in America. Disability encompasses many diseases and sicknesses that potentially can be prevented or at least slowed in their development. Through the study of health, a whole range of measures can be taken to make the lives of disabled people less demanding. For example, if a person is on the verge of developing diabetes, it may be possible to focus on improving his or her diet to prevent the onset of diabetes. By taking smaller steps beforehand, it can be possible to prevent the development of certain conditions before they turn into disabilities. |
AuthorThis is my blog for our class project on "This Disabled American Life". Here I will be exploring different aspects of disability through a variety of perspectives.
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