The Illness Narratives, By John Kleinman

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In the book The Illness Narratives, Kleinman begins the chapter by talking about how in his writing, the words illness and disease have different meanings. When he uses the word illness, he is referring to the innately human experience of symptoms and suffering. According to the book, illness problems are the principal difficulties that symptoms and disability create in our lives. An example is when we have a headache and it makes it hard to think, resulting in frustration when trying to get work done. Sometimes we feel angry when people can’t see our pain and think that we are overexagerrating. As a result, we feel the need to prove to them that we are in pain. When this happens, people can lose their hope in getting better and become depressed.

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