When Privacy Matters
Most of us here at STARFISH are outspoken advocates. Even so there is an inherent need for privacy in medical matters. There are simply times and places where people have no need to know your business. I hardly ever feel uncomfortable talking about bipolar disorder but I do feel uncomfortable when someone invades my privacy unneccessarily. We had a neighbor some years back who also worked at the doctor's office where I went. She snooped through my records and discovered much more about my family than she knew before. I was extremely uncomfortable with this invasion of my privacy. Oddly if she had just asked me I would have freely shared the information but because my privacy was violated it was upsetting to me.
My daughter and I went to have our eyebrows waxed some time back. The salon asked us to fill out cards including what medications we take. I thought this was a little overkill for an eyebrow wax and questioned the need for this. The woman stated that some medications such as acne creams and so on could cause a problem with the waxing. So I filled out the cards somewhat reluctantly. When I turned them in to the woman behind the counter she asked about my daughters medication. I simply stated that it is an antiseizure medication - which is true but of course not why my daughter takes that medication. My daughter looked at me a little strange, we got our eyebrows waxed and left. Later we talked about the fact that not everyone needs to know your business. This woman was not a medical professional or part of our treatment team. Since then we have found a salon who doesn't ask for medical information cards.
As our children grow it is important to help them understand when to speak out and when to keep quiet. This is a tough part of learning advocacy. It can be a fine line and we never want to make our children feel ashamed of their diagnosis. At the same time they can learn to respect their own need for privacy.
Please share your experiences and take on this issue!
Till Next Time,
Tracy
