"if it's a disease that carries a stigma. God, I feel like such a dick writing this." Not disclosing something that carries a stigma could fall under the "bett

"if it's a disease that carries a stigma. God, I feel like such a dick writing this." Not disclosing something that carries a stigma could fall under the "better to be thought a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt" type thinking about information disclosure. But it could also be in the opposite direction. (And I'm thinking clearly hypothetical for the purpose of a discussion on the "stigma" topic you raised.) Could be something underwhelming with no stigma and a chance to garner sympathy. (Keep all hands off the downvote button). I'm not saying that is what he is doing. I'm simply pointing out that people also act in this way. As an aside Kara Swisher referred recently to the fact that she had "a stroke" which gave people the impression she had the type of stroke that you really fear (with paralysis etc.) But Kara actually had a TIA which is a "mini" stroke that quickly went away - not the type people think of when they hear that (same as when people hear "Doctor" they generally think "Physician" and not "Phd". The "mini stroke" story originally: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/19/kara-swisher-stroke_n_1019427.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/19/kara-swisher-stroke... The latest, saying "I suffered a stroke": http://allthingsd.com/20120514/yahoos-parting-with-thompson-will-be-for-cause/ http://allthingsd.com/20120514/yahoos-parting-with-thompson-...