Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic

Disability & Chronic Illness

Select a Category Books Catechesis Catholic Q&A Chastity Church Craziness Come See Me Talk Disability & Chronic Illness Economics Evangelization Facepalm Forgiveness Good Things History Homeschooling Human Rights It's All Catholic Listen to Me Survey Series Liturgical Living Marriage Modesty Not Satire. But almost. Rant-o-Rama Sacred Art & Music Satire South Carolina Spark Clutter Stick that Corner Suffering Thinking Topics Writing Stuff

Select a Month September 2026 July 2026 June 2026 January 2026 December 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 November 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

September 2026

September 21, 2026

Is a ‘Catholic Lifestyle’ a Real Thing?

What are we to think when a Catholic personality turns lifestyle guru? Is there a...

July 2025

July 26, 2025

How to Beat Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder

At The Atlantic, "American Summers are Starting to Feel Like Winter" reports with alarm and befuddlement...

June 2025

June 22, 2025

Why MAiD Is An Elitist Insult

This week it struck me just how deeply offensive is the term "Medical Aid in...

June 10, 2025

Medical Gaslighting and Assisted Suicide

I have a playlist called "Medical Gaslighting" that is for unwinding after particularly stupid doctors'...

April 2025

April 05, 2025

What’s The Problem With Embryo Genetic Screening?

There's been growing publicity about using genetic screening of embryos as a way to avoid...

August 2024

August 01, 2024

When You Have Olympic-Sized Body Image Issues

The Olympic Games are in full swing, and that means an inescapable parade of some...

December 2023

December 30, 2023

The Real Problem with Calories In Calories Out

Is "Calories In Calories Out" the reality about weight loss and obesity? I caught a...

December 23, 2023

Catholic Detachment and the Science of Addiction

As I'm thinking through the Magnify 90 spiritual disciplines, what stands out is how tightly...

October 2023

October 12, 2023

Where to Start with Exercise?

A friend* posed this question recently: "I'm trying to get in shape, but I read...

September 2023

September 30, 2023

Is Graded Exercise Therapy Safe and Effective?

This is a quick PSA based on some conversations trending at the moment, on the...

July 2023

July 27, 2023

Why Your Doctor Needs to Know More About “Fatigue”

Great piece this morning by Ed Yong at The Atlantic "Fatigue Can Shatter a Person" summarized...

June 2023

June 01, 2023

Does Jesus Care About Medical Gaslighting?

I write a fair bit about the mental game of living with chronic illness, and...

May 2023

May 11, 2023

How Do You Exercise When You Have a Serious Chronic Illness?

My friend Emily DeArdo and I have a fitness club. It meets via text message,...

March 2023

March 18, 2023

The Cause-of-Death Equivocation Fallacy

Today we're looking at a particularly abhorrent fallacy I ran across this morning, and no,...

March 16, 2023

Long Covid in Athletes

Way back in the fall of 2020, what caught my eye in reports of "long...

February 2023

February 20, 2023

How Strict is the Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday?

I have a friend who will be sitting the bar exam on Ash Wednesday. She's...

December 2022

December 15, 2022

Why Your Doctor Thinks It’s Just Depression

From an article at Stat on physician burnout: Physicians have among the highest rates of suicide of any...

November 2022

November 16, 2022

When “Medical Assistance in Dying” Comes After You

Canada's "Medical Assistance in Dying" program is in the disability news as "mental illness" has...

October 2022

October 17, 2022

Parsing Out the Physical from the Psychological in Chronic Illness

Today I want to dive into a study brought to my attention by a usually...

October 14, 2022

Mental Reality Check on Auditory Processing Disorders

H/T to Emily DeArdo who brought fully to my attention the debate ("debate") about John...

September 2022

September 10, 2022

Bad Medical Reporting Hurts Vulnerable Patients

It will surprise no one that I have a few criticisms of Suzy Weiss's report...

August 2022

August 10, 2022

July-August Updates + Follow-up on that Dorm Story

Been awhile, huh? Sheesh, Jen. Okay, here's what's been going on since I last updated...

May 2022

May 21, 2022

“Fear” and “Scared” Make Lousy Rhetorical Weapons

There's this guy I love, who shall therefore remain nameless, who's spent a large portion...

May 19, 2022

Legalized Suicide is a Trap

At First Things, Wesley J. Smith summarizes the research on assisted suicide and suicide contagion:...

May 04, 2022

Abortion to Save the Life of the Mother?

The most compelling question in favor of abortion is, "What about to save the life...

April 2022

April 19, 2022

Happy Easter & A General Update

Checking in here to wish you a blessed Easter, lest you wonder whether I've forgotten...

March 2022

March 30, 2022

Baby Circ Says: Buy the Tool that Fits Your Hand

Baby Circ is the cordless circular saw I talked Superhusband into buying for our spring...

February 2022

February 13, 2022

Book Review: Living Momento Mori by Emily DeArdo

Now up at the substack, *finally*, is my review of my friend Emily DeArdo's how-to...

January 2022

January 25, 2022

The Healthcare Experience for Difficult Diagnoses

At JAMA Neurology, "The Best Bad News" a physician tells the story of his quest for...

January 15, 2022

Medical Gaslighting Illustrated

I want to run through a case study from a physician who writes about gaslighting...