I Ate the Generic

Iatrogenic adj.
Used to describe a symptom or illness brought on unintentionally by something that a doctor does or says. (Microsoft Word definition.)

(Merriam-Webster:
iat·ro·gen·ic
Pronunciation: (")I-"a-tr&-'je-nik
Function: adjective
Etymology: Greek iatros physician + English -genic
: induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures )

I can’t fall asleep or wake up these days without this word in my head.

Iatrogenic.

I knew each time that it had some kind of medical definition, although I’d also decided it had something to do with salt, and the kidneys.

Nyet.

So what it actually is…it intrigues me. Because it makes me wonder, what is a word for a life that can be described like this? For a life lived because symptoms are brought on unintentionally by something someone does or says? A scared life, a reactive life? Is there a real adjective instead of “reactive”? Like “iatrogenic”?

For levity, I give you background noise from my TV. Flava Flav says to Brigitte Neilson:

“I love every cactus in the desert about you…. If you was a slice of pizza, I wouldn’t even slice you. I would eat you whole.”