Natural selection can be a bitch.
In the latest post on The Skeptical OB, Dr Amy Tuteur writes about the danger in believing and/or relying on the simplistic reasons that natural birth activists (NCBers), naturopaths, and other pseudoscientific information that exhorts us to believe that we can control the uncontrollable. Invariably, they claim that by adhering to the rules they give, humans can lead longer lives.
But this is simply not true.
[T]he central conceit of all pseudoscientific health movements, from anti-vax to homebirth, from organic food to demonizing sugar, from restriction diets to essential oils, from raw milk to fear of GMOs, is the belief that everyone who is currently alive is perfectly adapted to avoid all health dangers and live to be 80 or older.
The sad, incontrovertible, unavoidable truth is that we are not perfectly adapted for our current environment or for ANY environment. There is literally no such thing as a living thing that is perfectly adapted, and, in any case, there is no such thing as an environment that is static. The environment is constantly changing offering better or worse odds of survival depending on the organism’s genetic legacy.
So why do people persist in believing that there are simple ways to guarantee health?…because the alternative is too scary. Just as it is too frightening to contemplate our demise, it is too frightening to contemplate that we are subject to the vagaries of genetics, bacterial and viral predation, and simple bad luck.
I’ve been disabled since I was born (spastic quad cerebral palsy), so very early on I learned how to adapt when possible. On the other hand, if someone becomes severely disabled later in life, and previously having had very few major medical problems (let’s say the worst thing they’ve experienced is childbirth or appendicitis), then the arrival of that disability (let’s say a stroke that causes permanent but not complete paralysis in one limb) is going to come as a much bigger shock. The adjustment period may take longer, because they have to do rehab physio, or speech therapy, and/or learning how to walk all over again, or switch to the good hand for everyday activities.
Psychological adjustment can also prove very difficult, and in some cases, patients never fully get used to or are comfortable with the fact that this is probably going to be around the rest of their lives. It’s not like that when you’re born with a disability, because you have no other yardstick against which to measure whether or not you miss something. How can you miss something you never had in the first place?
So people in that second situation can feel helpless, like they have zero control over their lives because they may need some help in the form of a mobility device, a PA, homecare, etc. They were used to doing everything by themselves, and having to rely on someone else.
A personal example is my late step-granny. She was about ten years younger than my grandfather, and shortly after he died in 2010, she had a series of strokes that caused Broca’s aphasia – prior to his death, she had been relatively healthy. This frustrated her extremely because she used to be a talkative person; she was prone to losing her temper from frustration.
When you feel helpless, you’re very likely to believe in anything that promises even the slightest hope, even if it is snake-oil. But…
Alternative health is nothing more than glorified wishful thinking and it has as much chance of preventing disease, saving your life or guaranteeing a full lifespan for you as it does for a fish; none at all. Beware of those who claim that there is an easy way to avoid disease, disability and death. They are lying to themselves first and foremost, and therefore they are lying to you.
So, despite what common sense might tell you, you are not always in control, and you may never be. I learned this early on, and I think I’m better off for it. People (invariably those who are non-disabled) have asked me if I would not rather have been born without a disability. My answer is always the same: “Why? I know no other way of living.” Some people have told me that if they had to spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair, “they’d just die”, or “they’d rather die”. That is absolute rubbish because it is not the worst thing that can happen to anyone. The sad, incontrovertible, unavoidable truth is that it could happen to anyone, and as a species, humans do have a remarkable ability to adapt, though by no means is it perfect.
If that sort of thing is something that would make them wish they were dead, I would gently suggest they seek some counselling*, because they may have more serious issues going on than they realize.
Where You Can Get Help
*In the UK and the ROI, the Samaritans maintain a 24/7/365 service by email and phone.
In the US, The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers both live chat and telephone access through their website.
Befrienders.org lets you choose your country, and then be directed to a crisis centre near you. They are open 24/7/365.
