Anon Archived Why I've Stopped Giving Unsolicited Health Advice (vitals.lifehacker.com)
submitted ago by 493459?
Posted by: 493459?
Posting time: 5.2 years ago on
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Archived on: 2/12/2017 1:51:00 AM
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Anon Archived Why I've Stopped Giving Unsolicited Health Advice (vitals.lifehacker.com)
submitted ago by 493459?
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[–] 2331161? [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Agreed. The author admits she still gives advice, but thinks twice before doing so. The article does make a good point that some people reflexively give advice that is inexpert and unappreciated, despite best intentions. I know that I am guilty of this. There is a time and place for advice, certainly, it's just not everywhere at every opportunity.
The real danger is when viral misinformation (like anti-vaxxers) leads a significant group of people to not only give advice, but advice that despite being well intentioned, is misinformed and could lead to death. I have a cousin who died of pancreatic cancer, and she was taking the advice of church people to reject modern medicine.
[–] LemonRose 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
I'm sorry to hear that. :( There is way more bad advice out there than good advice.
Been down that road. The best is when you take someone's advice, against your better judgment, because you trust them. Then it doesn't work, instead things get much much worse. And they blame you.
Learning to research advice before you follow it, no matter how much you trust the source, and trusting your own evaluation more than anyone else is a valuable life lesson - and usually a painful one.
[–] 2331889? [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
The other thing is that there are unanticipated consequences when you give advice. I'm a car enthusiast and if someone is asking me for advice on what car to buy, I hesitate because one never knows if the one I suggest will be a lemon, or be fatal to them in an accident, so rather than making a specific recommendation, I just point them to credible sources for information so they can make their own decisions, e.g. consumer reports for vehicle reliability ratings.
[–] 2331825? [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
For many people, once they start going down the wrong path, cognitive dissonance prevents them from realizing their mistake and they just double-down on their resolve to do it "their way". Many family members tried to convince her to seek medical treatment, but that only stiffened her resolve, and made her last year of life uncomfortable. I don't know if the family backed off she would have come to her senses in time. Pancreatic cancer is usually fatal, and it could be that no treatment would have saved her, and the discomfort of treatment would be not worth it to her. It was her decision and she resented family not being supportive of her, to the bitter end, but she did not want to die. She continued to believe, even as the cancer was literally protruding from her abdomen (it was so large it broke through her skin).