Nov 25, 2015

What a sick society!

3inda haydeik el marad
Ya haram, 3am bishouf 7akeem nifsene
"Gizèle t3a2adit min el chimio w harro cha3rata

I have no doubt that Gizèle is having a  rough time accepting herself as a cancer survivor, who is undergoing a hard chemotherapy treatment that will leave her bold but healthy. As a matter of fact, Gizèle can only see herself as weak and bald because she lives in a society that pities her for being sick, instead of praising her for being a fighter and surviving her sickness.


I went to see a psychologist a few times in my life. I was tired and needed to make sure that I was emotionally stable and what was going through my head was normal. In fact, I wanted to make sure I was sane. Yih, la2… 3ayb! 3ayb because I live in a “sick” society where it was okay to go have a health check-up once a year, run routine tests, make sure your body is functioning right. 3ayb because I live in a society where it is absolutely “okay” to have your teeth checked every 6 months, your face botoxed every 4 months, your nails done every week… but your mind? Your mind is not “okay” to be checked. 3ayb. Because if you have a tired mind, you are mentally sick. And mental sickness cannot be cured. Unfortunately, that is the society I live in. (hamdilla I ended up being fine but If I wasn't I would definitely had followed an appropriate treatment without hiding it or being ashamed of it!)

My society? It's a society that is sick to the extent of considering mental health secondary and cancer illness a taboo subject. True. Cancer sickness is a taboo subject after all. More taboo than the cheating occurring in relationships, the lack of education, the low percentage of book purchasing… or maybe it is a taboo subject because of the lack of education itself.  I look outside the borders and see people calling those who have cancer “fighters” and “survivors”, I see them looking at them with admiration, not with a pity look, I see those fighters shaving their heads, decorating it with headbands and posting online about their journey, turning themselves into an inspiration for others,  a source of pride for their family and friends and, above all, a source of pride and joy to themselves because fighting cancer, whether successful or not, is an achievement. But then again, unfortunately, I live in a sick society.



I live in a society where it is a shame to let anyone know when you've had an accidental abortion. I live in a society so sick that it believes being violent to women is not a social disorder. I live in a society so sick that it believes getting drunk 7 days a week is cool and does not hide any disorder. I live in a society so sick that it believes skin problems are a curse. I live in a society so sick that it believes cancer is a taboo illness. I live in a society so sick that it believes psychological issues are incurable and mental health is not important. And abI ove all, I live in a society that would probably think I am mentally unstable for believing it is sick!

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