‘Angelina Jolie syndrome’ sees health-obsessed taking extreme action to protect body

Being cautious with health has been dubbed 'Angelina Jolie syndrome' by some people

 

HEALTH-CONSCIOUS men and women are increasingly taking extreme action to self-preserving against the risk of fatal diseases.

 

Worried patients are becoming so “obsessed” they are even going under the knife to have surgery.

The desire for a young, beautiful, slim body has become a “calculation of sickness” according to a new research article in the Journal of Social Policy Studies.

The obsession with appearing to lead a healthy life is also leading those seen as unhealthy being shunned in social circles.

 



The lecturer says we have become obsessive with monitoring health



An awareness of developing certain health conditions has even be labelled by some as ‘Angelina Jolie syndrome’ after the actress made the brave decision to have a double mastectomy and ovaries removed after blood test raised fears she was in the early stages of cancer.

From a boom in diets, fitness, plastic surgery, organic foods and monitoring our wellbeing on apps and with gadgets, Evgenia Golman, lecturer at the HSE Faculty of Social Sciences Department of General Sociology, revealed health has never been so important in society. 

The senior lecturer even believes that being unhealthy can be a source of stigmatisation and that everything that doesn’t fit in to these healthy standard becomes at risk of discrimination.

 



According to the report, there is a pursuit in idealised body standards



In extreme forms, healthism can become obsessive, leading to an “individual’s regular supervision of their body”, according to Golman. 

She claims people are beginning to obsessively monitor every body manifestation and starts detecting signs of imaginary sickness.

Golan added: “Popular healthcare policy today often shifts the responsibility for health from healthcare institutions to individuals themselves, and shifts the focus from treatment to prevention, including prevention of even purely hypothetical pathologies.”

 

We have seen a rise in surgery, organic eating habits and health monitoring

The lecturer said goal of healthcare becomes not only about feeling well, but looking good and these idealised body standards can lead to mass neurosis and a social obsession.