Peddling Products

Have you ever received a random message that you instinctively knew was going to end up pissing you off?

The other day I was on Instagram, posting yoga poses and blog posts and everything illness-related, when I received a message from an account that I follow.

"Hi Karissa!
You usually sit longer than 4 hours every single day don't you? 樂"

Now, people sell everything online. They peddle products and offer help and solutions and promote themselves - that is what business IG accounts are intended to do. Something about this rubbed me the wrong way. Somehow, I knew that what was coming next was some generalization about how sitting for that long is contributing to poor health.
I also understand that this person likely did a quick search to find that, statistically, the vast majority of people sit for approximately 4 hours each day. So he/she is taking a statistic that would apply to a large percentage of the people on instagram, and that they could just send out a mass text and catch a few people who go 'omg I do sit for that long! Is that bad? What can I do about it?'.

But, I've had a couple of not-so-great days. I've also been getting really sick of the initial sales tactic to insult someone's way of life and then offering solutions - without actually reading anything about the customer they are peddling to.

A few weeks ago I had someone ask if I had digestive issues (bahaha) and then offer their full line of probiotics. Well.. probiotics are meant primarily for the large intestine... which (if you've been at all paying attention) I no longer have.

Anyways.
So my response was:
"Don't most people?"
And then, not wanting to be entirely dismissive (maybe they HAVE read my blog or looked at photos. Maybe they are going to ask a question about Ankylosing Spondylitis. Maybe they won't automatically assume that I am fully capable of staying active over 20 hours per day). So I then added: "Why do you ask?"
(Yep. That was a mistake).

Then I got this message:

" Long sitting is really bad for your Health and your Posture
I have an Ebook for improving this both. And you can practice it when you’re in break time 
It’s really good and it’s all free for you!! 
Do you want to get it?"

Ohhhhhhh boy.
Now I am legitimately pissed.
It's not like I WANT to be sitting for more than 4 hours a day. It's not like I have chosen to have mobility issues. And I sincerely hope this person hasn't been idiotic enough to send this to someone who is fully bound to a wheelchair.
What upset me the most is not that she used an insult to offer a product - free or not, or that she used the 'hmmm' emoji in a condescending manner (or what I perceived to be condescending), but that - on my Instagram account - only 7 photos down is a very clear photo of me in a wheelchair. 
So I kiiiinda ripped into this person.

I said: "Well if I wasn't using a wheelchair half the time and didn't have 13 illnesses that force me to lie down the vast majority of the day I wouldn't be sitting so much. Ankylosing Spondylitis is, in fact, why my spine is permanently curved inward. I understand that people have all sorts of products to sell and great ideas on improving health for the average person, but if you had spent five minutes actually looking at my profile before using an insult to peddle a product (free or otherwise), you would have seen me in a wheelchair."

Too harsh?
Not harsh enough?

Anyways - then I unfollowed the account.

On the plus side - one of our neighbours has a brand new puppy that I got to visit with. His name is Baloo and he tried to steal my cane because it looks like a stick hehe. The little Bernese very literally got my cane in his mouth and tried to take off. Cutest little thing.
Puppies always help calm me down. I am very much looking forward to getting home (from an iffy appointment) to cuddle with my own handsome fella.

Peddling Treatments

Today I read about a mother who was unhappy with the manner in which a woman treated the mom's son. The short of it is that the lady pointed out the boy's (perfectly normal) level of acne and offered him a treatment that 'could help him' while handing him her card.
The mother explains how her son was really hurt by the encounter and, although the lady may have been well-intentioned, the interaction seemed cruel.

This kind of interaction is common right now.

Everyone is taking some sort of supplement or is on some sort of diet or selling something that is intended to improve certain aspects of life. The amount of 'offers' I receive on a daily basis, about how I would 'feel better if [I] just took' this or that or the other thing, is staggering. I guess when you put your health issues on display, constant advertisements to buy products from others is to be expected - it makes me an easy target as a potential customer. (Then, if I don't purchase or don't respond, I am berated and told that I 'obviously have no desire to get better'. Yeah, because now I REALLY want to buy your product). Haha.

Here's my issue - while the intention may just be to provide information or to help someone and offer a way that *could* help one's health, peddling a product that you are selling is not the way to do it.
In the story's example, pointing out another's 'flaws', especially common issues that are out of their control, in a moment where they perhaps have BRIEFLY forgotten about them, is inconsiderate at best. Cruel at worst.

Here is my best tip for people who are genuinely trying to help others by providing information on alternative ways to improve health:

If you sell it, don't suggest it.

Lines can get very easily (and justifiably) blurred when you hear about a 'cure' or a 'treatment' from someone who just-so-happens to make cash by turning you into a customer.
If you truly think it will help someone, why not just give a sample? Then (this is the really important part) leave them alone.

If it works, THEY will call YOU. Trust me. Not only that, but if it winds up being beneficial, you can bet that that individual will not just turn into a customer, they will rave about it on social media, maybe they will suggest it to their support groups for people suffering the same symptoms. If you treat them right, if you do manage to help them, you may have more customers than you know what to do with. Word travels quickly in the chronic illness community.

Ever heard the saying 'the road to Hell is paved with good intentions'. Just because the intentions are good does not make the actions right, or considerate.
You may just want to help, but if you suggest something that directly benefits YOU - especially with monetary gain - it may not appear sincere.