Liminality of knowledge and grief

What does it feel like to be in the liminal space between receiving or discovering some information you were not expecting, but before acting on the knowledge?

It could be that you may have discovered some information that had been hidden from you by another person;

or being told that you have a condition previously totally unsuspected, which has the potential of changing your life trajectory;

or finding out something about someone else but not knowing how to or whether to broach the subject, because this might affect your relationship,

Not knowing how to deal with this newly acquired information? Not knowing whether you have enough evidence?

Fear that your reality might come crashing down. Fear that if X is no longer true, what about Y? You may no longer be certain about things you previously were sure.

It is a very uncomfortable feeling.

You may prefer to live with the illusion that what you discovered or strongly suspected, is not true.

This is what two plays have recently tackled:

“Dear Annie, I hate you” and

“Outpatients”

I was lucky enough to watch the former at the Riverside Studios but was too late to watch the latter at the Park Theatre.

The book published recently by Suzanne O’Sullivan “The Age of Diagnosis” discusses the benefits and drawbacks of giving a diagnosis.

When you are given a diagnosis you did not suspect and had no symptoms which might have alluded to it, it may force you to alter your life trajectory.

Which group of people tend to avoid going to the doctor and why?

Evidence shows that men put off going to the doctor.

They don’t want to enter into the possibility that anything outside their control could affect the invisible and strong image they like to project. Or, they may not trust healthcare.

I invite you to continue this conversation below and think of why, even though many patient or medical memoirs are currently being published, most of them are by women.