Many of us will have to cope with chronic illness at some stage in our lives, ranging from high blood pressure or arthritis to hearing loss or physical stability. Whatever the diagnosis, there are ways of adapting mentally.
At any one time, around half of the population is suffering from a chronic illness of some kind. As we live longer, more and more of us are going to have to learn to manage a condition for which there is no cure. Some chronic illnesses have little immediate effect on everyday life. For example, high blood pressure has few obvious symptoms but must still be regarded as a serious condition because it can cause heart disease and stroke. By contrast, an illness such as Alzheimer’s disease will affect a person’s ability to live independent life in quite a short time.
Dealing with a diagnosis
Psychologists have charted a general pattern of response to the diagnosis of chronic illness. Whether the illness is life-threatening, like cancer, or not, like arthritis or hearing loss, the response can be similar to that experienced after a bereavement. Perhaps this is not surprising, for a diagnosis of ongoing illness often affects an individual’s self-image as a healthy person. In the face of the diagnosis, people may feel shocked or distressed. There might also be a sense of relief – after months of tests and uncertainty, many people say they prefer knowing what they are up against.
Accepting chronic illness
Eventually, most people diagnosed with a chronic illness start to accept their condition. Most chronic illness requires patients to do so methi ng for themselves: dietary changes and quitting smoking after a heart attack or stroke, keeping to a medication schedule in many illnesses, and with cancer, being watchful for recurrence. Patients who take a realistic and practical attitude are more likely to have a positive outcome.
Other issues affect how people cope with chronic illness. Studies show that patients who believe they can exert some control over their illness – usually by actively participating in treatment – have a better chance of recovery: cancer patients who feel in control adjust better to the demands of their condition, as do those with rheumatoid arthritis, AID S, spinal cord injury and patients recovering from a heart attack.
Many people with chronicillness feel that their sense of self is eroded and that the illness makes them a different person. However difficult it seems, sufferers need to realize that they are still the same person, irrespective of their condition. For example, a man does not cease to be a loving husband because he has a debil illness. Some people have even found that chronic illness has some benefits in that it encourages them to focus on what is important in life. Many discover that the condition leads them to appreciate each day more and motivates them to do things that they had previously postponed.
