The dilemmas faced by the chronically ill

After more than fifteen years of being mostly housebound by chronic illness (which includes chronic pain), here are a few of the dilemmas I’ve faced over and over. I’m confident that I’m not alone in my “should I/shouldn’t I?” world. Do I accept an invitation from a friend to get together or do I refuse it? If I refuse the invitation, depending on who issued it, it may be the last one I’ll receive from this person. In addition, if I refuse, I’ll feel even more isolated from in-person contact than I already do. If I accept the invitation, I might be too sick to visit when the day arrives. I don’t want to disrupt my friend’s plans in this way. Before I became chronically ill, I was so dependable; I wish I could be that way now. Not keeping a commitment tends to make me feel bad about myself, and that’s not good for me, so sometimes it feels more self-protective to just turn down an invitation from the start. Do I tell family and friends how I’m faring with my health or do I keep it to myself? If I talk about my health, I worry that they’re tired of hearing about it. Recently, a woman wrote to me about a chronically ill friend whom she loves and tries to support, but who does nothing but talk about her medical problems. The writer said that no matter how their conversation starts, it always turns to the subject of her friend’s health. She told me that she has problems of her own that she’d like to talk about, but it never happens. She wants to be ho...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Patient Pain management Patients Source Type: blogs