Autopathography on How to Maintain, Build Up, or Improve Health over Time
Assignment Objectives
When Anne Hunsaker Hawkins wrote about autopathography in the 1970s – what she called “pathography” – her goal was to figure out ways that “patients” could recover a sense of what their experience of illness meant to them personally and then construct ways of healthy living that fulfilled their personal needs. “Auto-patho-graphy” refers to writing about your unwell self. Writing about an illness experience, she said, “is a kind of psychic rebuilding that involves finding patterns, imposing order, and, for many, discovering meaning.” Since then, some writers have gone on to use Drew Leder’s ideas about “bodily disappearance” (i.e., the body in healthy states that is absent from awareness) and “bodily dys-appearance” (i.e., awareness of the distressed body that is in pain, sick, thirsty, hungry, nauseous, stressed, or anxious that removes us from activities in which we are engaged, alienates us from the social world and forces us to withdraw into the limited space of the body) to study and write about their personal experiences with ill-health. On the other hand, others have gone on to write about dealing with personal experiences with what Leder has called “social dys-appearance” where their perceptions of their bodies as gendered, racialized, disabled, aged (and other attributes of social identity) contribute to a sense of fragmentation and/or social alienation. Still, others have gone on to write about “bodily eu-appearance” whereby states of pleasure and euphoria are produced during physical exercise, sexual activity, use of addictive substances, and other behaviors in which the experiences of the body produce satisfactions, pleasures, happiness, and/or ecstasy. But that being said, “bodily eu-appearance” is a temporary state of being. Most of the time, individuals who are not preoccupied with “bodily dys-appearance,” “social dys-appearance,” and “bodily eu-appearance” attempt to live “healthy” through activities like diet, exercise, and sleep in order to preserve good health and “bodily disappearance.” Writing about what needs to be done to maintain “health” I call “autoetiography.” “Auto-etio-graphy” refers to writing about what an individual does to maintain, build up, or improve health over time. But, in an autoetiography, it is important to note that the writer’s state of health changes from day to day. People never feel healthy the same way or experience their bodies the same every day. There are always going to be good days and less good days and bad days. The point of the autoetigraphy is to show how people change to health and adapt in different ways to what society throws at them.
In this assignment you will write a proposal for what you intend to explore as either an autopathography or autoetiography in Assignment #3. In Assignment #3 you will be producing an autopathography or an autoetiography in the form of either a journal or a video. Whether you choose to do an autopathography or an autoetiography, your research subject will be you. My feedback to your proposal is meant to help you to plan directions for producing the autopathography or autoetiography.
Deliverable
I want you, in this assignment, to work up a detailed proposal for an autopathography or an autoetiography that tells me about:
Strategies you use cope with “bodily dys-appearance” and/or “social dys-appearance.” In this context, “bodily eu-appearance” can serve to prevent “bodily dys-appearance” and/or “social dys-appearance.” Successful strategies, in this context, are generally intended to promote well-being and self- and/or life-affirmation. *
OR
Strategies you use to maintain, build up, or improve health over time. Successful strategies, in this context, are generally intended to promote well-being and self- and/or life-affirmation. *
AND
* Whether you are intending to do an autopathography or an autoetiography, you will take into consideration how the stressful social environment of the 21st century affects you. Stress, in and of itself, is not generally considered to be an illness or a disease. However, there is general agreement among healthcare professionals that stress contributes to ill-health and disease. Correspondingly, there is general agreement that people who develop and nurture successful stress reduction strategies are less likely to become ill.
The proposal will take the form of a 3-5 page essay (12 pt font, double-spaced). Be sure to answer the following questions:
Tell me who some things about yourself that will help me to understand your background. For example: Tell me about where you come from and your community; what you are studying at OCAD U; details that are significant to what you are going to study in terms of your personal interest in health.
Do you intend to produce an autopathography or an autoetiography?
What aspects of your life will you investigate in Assignment #3?
If you are doing an autopathography:
What aspect of your health do you intend to investigate? (This does not have to be a diagnosed medical condition.)
What kind of coping strategies have you developed to live with the aspect of your health you intend to investigate?
What kind of circumstances in your social life contribute to your sense of well-being and your sense that you are unwell?
If you are doing an autoetiography:
What does being healthy mean to you?
Do you need to be more healthy – and why?
How would you know that you were (or are) not health?
What kind of circumstances in your social life contribute to your sense of well-being and your understanding of what you need to work on to remain healthy?
What kind of strategies have you developed in order to maintain, build up, or improve health over time?
The toughest part of doing social scientific research is deciding what it is that you want to study – and sticking to it. Remember: this is a proposal for what you are going to continue to work on for Assignment #3. So, start off by giving yourself adequate time to think about what you are going to explore.
Please note that I will treat your personal information confidentially. You are not required to discuss your personal information in class. However, you are welcome to discuss your personal information with the class if you feel comfortable doing so.
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Autopathography on How to Maintain, Build Up, or Improve Health over Time.
I have been having foot discomfort in the last weeks, particularly in my right foot, interfering with my sleep. It sometimes starts slowly, gradually increasing the degree of the pain, and other times it feels like a scorching blast on the outer side of my right foot's ball. A sore area on the metatarsal is also present. Most evenings, I wake up in the middle of the night due to the intensity of the agony, and I cannot return to sleep. The alarm goes off early in the morning when I think I will be able to sleep again, and I have to stand up, exhausted from the restless night. Occasionally, I have discomfort during the day. I attempt to avoid it by putting my toes in different places, stretching them to their most entire length, and separating them as much as possible within the constraints of the shoes. I went to the doctor because of it, and he said he couldn't detect anything that may be causing the discomfort.
The X-Rays revealed no problems. The image appeared to be entirely normal. He inquired whether I had recently altered the form of my shoes or whether I was wearing a new sort of heel. But I'm not trying anything new or unusual. The doctor believes it is either psychological or neurological, and neither option is ideal. However, if it's mental, such as nervousness brought on by approaching final exams, it's always a better prognosis than having anything neurologic (Schurman et al. 286). My feet are bringing me closer to them, so if they experience pain, I don't move any closer. I've seen several of my ancestors develop diabetic neuropathy, which manifests itself in two ways. The first is the classic numbness and loss of feeling in the feet. It led them to create minor sores that remained untreated for a long time, eventually growing into large ulcers and necessitating the amputation of several of their toes. The other form of manifestation, which I am afraid I may experience, is a terrifying one. They say they can feel their skin burning as if it were skin a few sizes smaller than their feet, and this heightens the sensation of whatever agony they may be experiencing, such as from a slight injury. If I don't want to wind up without feet, I will pay more attention to my food.
I still haven't figured out how to compose papers or do research while exercising. I've always disliked physical activities, even as a child. I spent most of my time reading, which was great for my academics but not so great for my health. Exercise and dieting are not my strong suits. I consider myself a well-educated person who enjoys reading about healthy habits, but I merely know about them and not implement them. I can't help myself; I want to eat, and I prefer to sit and read or watch movies rather than diet or exercise. I practiced good habits a few years ago. I kept a strict diet and exercised regularly. I got in shape and had enough energy to complete my chores at all hours of the day and night. I liked the advantages of being healthy. My hair was brighter and fuller, I could do more during the day, and I was more productive, but I had a poor temper and was in a foul mood (Schurman et al. 286). Even my parents couldn't stand being around me for long periods without wanting to choke me on sugar. However, after a few years of exemplary conduct, I gradually began to leave the diet and succumb to sweets.
The usage of computers is another harmful habit that is now giving me trouble. Almost all of my waking hours are spent in front of a computer. Aside from my eyesight difficulties, which I've had since I was a youngster, I acquired wrist tendinitis. When studying or completing schoolwork, I experience discomfort down the thumb, wrist, forearm, arm, and occasionally, up the shoulder. The right side is the worst. I believe it has something to do with operating the mouse and separating your index and middle fingers when you click it. To relieve the discomfort, I took Tylenol and ibuprofen, but they were ineffective. The doctor advised that I cease using my right hand and rest it to lessen tendon irritation. It was, however, impractical because I still had to perform my job, type my assignments, and search for the information I required using the mouse. I contacted a buddy pursuing a degree in physiotherapy to give me some exercises and massages that I might employ to alleviate my discomfort and resume my tasks. The tactics he taught me have proven to be beneficial, lowering the agony to nearly nothing. Massage the hand from the tip of the thumb to the wrist as the first exercise. To be successful, the pressure must be almost unbearable. The emphasis is on the term nearly, since it will simply worsen the pain rather than alleviate it if it is unpleasant. Because massage without a lubricant might harm the skin and develop lesions instead of enhancing health, it is advised that you use hand lotion to prevent friction (Schurman et al. 286). It is not required to apply anything special; an excellent moisturizing hand lotion would suffice. The following motion is...