How to Cope with a Chronic Illness

For many people, chronic illness is a fact of life.  Chronic illnesses often present challenges.  Although your symptoms may be less with medication, diet, and exercise, the underlying condition still remains.  You may not feel well or healthy at times, even though the chronic illness is well treated.  Some chronic illnesses can interfere with your daily functioning and be disabling.  You may begin to feel depressed, anxious, and hopeless if your health concerns are ongoing.  Here are some tips to help you cope with a chronic illness:

Be Active in Your Health Care

Become an expert about your condition.  Learn as much as you can about causes of the illness and treatment options.  By becoming an expert, you can maintain a sense of control over your treatment.  Ask your health care provider questions and have unfamiliar medical terms presented in a way for you to understand.

Connect with Others

Try to avoid isolation.  Reach out to supportive family and friends.  If you lack understanding and supportive people in your life, you can build a support network.  One way to do this is by attending a support group.  The people in the support group are likely to have similar experiences with their chronic illness and can provide encouragement, support and information.  You can also find support on the Internet.  There are online forums for a variety of chronic conditions.  Even if you have understanding people in your life, you may benefit from obtaining additional support from a support group or online forum.

Understand Your Feelings

Having a chronic illness stinks.  You may feel stressed, sad, angry or irritable when handling a chronic illness when working, socializing, exercising, cleaning, traveling, and doing other life activities.  It’s common to experience these feelings from time to time, so try to not feel bad about yourself when you become sad, angry or stressed.  If you notice that your sadness, irritability or anxiety lasts for a long time or is too much for your to handle, please talk to your health care provider or contact a psychologist to help you feel better.

Understand Others’ Reactions

You may experience different reactions from people.  Family and friends may be concerned about your health and express worry or try to take care of you.  Some people may not understand your condition and expect too much or too little from you.  Others may not treat you with respect out of ignorance or fear.  Educate family and friends about your condition, what you are able to do and any limitations you may have.  With some people, you may have to repeat yourself several times before they understand.  Unfortunately, some people will never get it.  Realize that their lack of understanding stems from their own issues.

Do Pleasurable Activities

Try to participate in activities you normally enjoy.  Pain, fatigue, dizziness and a general feeling of being unwell can deter you from doing activities.  A depressed mood and poor self-esteem may result from not being able to do things.  Engaging in activities, as much your condition will allow, will help brighten your spirits, boost your self-worth and keep you connected with others.  Also, a chronic illness can become the central focus of one’s life.  By being engaged in activities, you will also feel that your condition is only a part of your life and your life is not over.