People who think they know everything.

I was on facebook earlier and I ran across a sponsored ad about autoimmune illness. I thought it was interesting that people were judgemental of people who have AI illnesses. A lot of the comments went to the extent of saying that people cause this to happen by eating wrong and living unhealthy lifestyles. I find it frustrating when people who haven't been through illness are quick to point a finger, like we are so consumed with eating grease and white bread that this happened to us. I never ate unhealthy or lived an unhealthy lifestyle. I have always been physically active, petite and avoided unhealthy foods. Why do people think they have all the answers? Obviously we have all been trying to figure out why this happened to us for a very long time, and no one has cracked that nut, not even top researchers who have studied it their entire lives. What makes some person on FB think they've got all the answers?

I am not saying diet/lifestyle don't play into it, but it's certainly not the reason everyone with an AI condition is sick. They were so matter-of-fact, like they were writing a wiki article on AI illness. Sad for people to pass this information to others who may buy into it and judge us for being sick.

Hopefully this doesn't break out into an argument. Just venting about something that bugs me.

I didn't respond or anything, just read it and felt bad about the picture that was painted :( you're probably right, best to avoid things that bring me down.

My favorite story about such things: I volunteered on a committee some years back. It was around the time my son had his horrible onset of pancolitis and was out of school for two months, etc.
This obnoxious woman came over to me after the committee meeting with a "cat that swallowed the canary" smile and told me, "I had that colitis thing once! I cured it by eating angelfood cake!"

To my credit, I did not slug her.

@songlady, you get a lot of credit for not slugging that woman.

I always try to use the terms "nutritional therapy" and "dietary modulation of gut microbes", because even though it confuses people to say that food does not cause UC, or to try and distinguish symptom management from disease etiology, there are just some many "blaming" kind of people unconsciously (or consciously) pushing the idea that people with UC did it to themselves, or that they could be cured (and not bother other people) if they just ate right.

Have you tried (insert folk remedy here)

Same here notsosicklygirl, I was all organic, marathon runner, bike racer, hiker in perfect health when I was diagnosed. I was the least likely person based on lifestyle to get something like UC, but it happened to me. People like to think we did something to ourselves to get UC, blame has to be placed...

First, I don't think anyone should take anything on Facebook seriously. As my dad says, arguing with idiots only brings you down to their level and then they beat you with experience

To get all Freudian on you, I think the Id and Ego play a big part in it. People are inherently selfish or self-centered (interested in only what benefits themselves the Id), and Ego tries to make sense of something (in this case) they have no true understanding or knowledge of. Yet they want to be helpful. To get all Yogi Bear on you, everyone feels they're "smarter than the average bear" and must tell you how to fix it. They gave their answer at most several seconds of thought before giving it to you, so I'd give it the same amount of thought and no more ...

Annoying, yes but I just tend to laugh it off rather then get all bothered by it...

Humans have a need to feel in control of their lives. If I blame health conditions on lifestyle things such as diet, exercise, etc., I make it something people can control. If I refrain from doing whatever "they" did that caused their illness, I will never get it. That puts me back in control in my mind. What I want to be the truth is always more believable to me than what some scientist has proven to be the truth.

To a large extent, it's childlike, magical thinking. If I avoid stepping on cracks in the sidewalk, it will protect my mother's health.

I loved when I was flaring and was on the strictest version of Paleo, which was supposed to be the cure all for everything, I was questioned by people like I must be doing something wrong. Oh, and it turned out I was - stuffing myself with FODMAPs was a recipe for disaster. Hahaha.