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© 2022 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved. http://www.kebba.com

–A version of this article appeared on one of my blogs in 2009.–

Image by Megapixl

I love how our language evolves as culture evolves.  It has always been fun speaking the American language, or as some of us call it, Ameriglish.  Oh, you think you speak English?  Just put “Britspeak & Amerispeak” into a search engine, and you will find some great articles that will make you laugh about the differences.  George Bernard Shaw said, “England and America are two countries separated by the same language.”  Just within the American language, there are so many wonderful pronunciations of similar spellings (i.e., dough, rough, slough), and so many different meanings for the apparently same word (i.e., dough and dough).  But it’s even more fun when new words come into being.

I remember the first time I heard of a totally new word.  It showed up in Time Magazine, and everyone was talking about it.  Many were indignant that a new word should be used.  Parents objected, and teens were amused.  This happened in the late 1960’s, and Time Magazine had put the word “hassle” on the cultural map.  Not “hustle”.  Not “haggle”.  The new word carried a sense of stress, pressure and annoyance.  It was perfect for an accelerating world beginning to recognize its impending Future Shock.  And thanks to author Alvin Toffler, for the best seller entitled Future Shock and the concurrent entry of the title phrase into our language.

Loving language, I found a British source which documents the use of new words.  I was completely charmed when Paul McFedries, “The Wordspy”, sent out an article on wallet neuropathy.  Being in mental/physical holistic health, I naturally first thought he was going to talk about people’s spending anxiety in these depleted and uneven economic times.  I expected perhaps a definition based on economic disturbance of the nerves: an emotional stress condition.  But no, even with less money and fewer credit cards, apparently people are getting a physical neuropathy, basically an ongoing nerve irritation, from carrying wallets in their back pockets.  Yes, it’s true.  Some people are sitting on their assets and getting a pain in the backside.  The pressure of a wallet in the back pocket can press on the sciatic nerve, down the center of the buttock, and deep into the muscle layers.  Symptoms may include discomforts or numbness, all the way to the ankle or foot. This can not only be a pain but also a hassle.  The good news is that a walletectomy, a complete removal of the wallet from the back pocket, is the complete course of therapy.  Several companies also offer wallets with one round corner, so they fit better in front pants pockets.

Other names for this condition include:  wallet neuritis, wallet sciatica, fat wallet syndrome, hip-pocket syndrome, and even McFedries’ favorite: credit carditis.

Those who carry their wallets in their back pockets should consider moving the wallet to a front pocket, at least when driving or sitting for other reasons.  I know it’s a hassle, but it’s that or the complete walletectomy.

And that also will be me and you, shaping the lives we want, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Lifesm!

Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert, holistic healer, and award-winning author who celebrates life.  She has a longtime natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), Inspirations for Peace Within:  Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine.  The books are available on Amazon and through Kebba’s office.   They are also available in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the Franciscan Renewal Center bookstore and at the bookstore at St. Barnabas on the Desert Episcopal Church. Or simply email us to order:  kebba@kebba.com .  Thank you!

Happy healthy loving life

Books by Kebba Buckley Button