Coping with family members chronic illness.

[Choccodee39]

Coping with a family member's illness is hard to deal with let along dealing with it being chronic it can stress you terribly. Join groups for support and guidance through rough times. Allow other family members to also help through the process of dealing. Remain positive and show your family member positive vibes. Take care of you, self-care is key therefore eat well, rest well and continue to be compassionate and loving and catering to your love one. Always allow the family member to suggest what makes them happy, ask what would they like special today. Then make it happen for them. Find your way of coexisting with their illness. Go the extra mile of making them feel happy in each moment. How do you cope with family member's chronic illness?

[Curvy]

Advice like yours has come off almost as a life buoy thrown to those dealing with chronic illness in one of their loved ones. Yes, caring for oneself as a priority, asking for support, and, most importantly, showering the sick person with a love worth billions.

[CurvesAndConfidence]

This is a very interesting topic and thread so thanks for sharing this! I do not have a chronic illness in the traditional sense, but I do live with a TBI (traumatic brain injury), and chronic pain is a part of my everyday life. So, while having a chronic illness may be different, I've found that the coping mechanisms are the same, especially the emotional side of it. The mix of frustration, guilt, grief, burning out is a lot and it's also a lot for someone who loves someone with chronic illness or pain. I know my boyfriend struggles a lot with guilt and feeling of helplessness because he cannot take my pain away and though there are things that sometimes help the pain it's more of a band-aid than a solution.

One thing that my boyfriend helped me with is learning how to be honest about how I'm feeling. Before when I was having a bad day I was trying to mask it and it honestly just made things worse. Being honest with yourself when you're illness or pain is worse can help our loved ones care for us or be more patient with us. I've also realized that being honest about my limits is extremely helpful, even when it feels uncomfortable. Somedays I do have to cancel plans or I do move slower because I'm in so much pain and that's okay, I just need to know my limits and not over do it because when I do I just end up making things worse or having pain for longer. I also had to come to terms that rest is productive especially when your body or mind needs it. It's okay to get tired, I get tired easily especially if I'm in a place where I'm overstimulated. When I go grocery shopping or go to a friend's gathering I know I'm going to be exhausted afterwards and I need to allow myself to take some time and even sometimes lay down for a bit. Overextending myself isn't going to help my recovery or help the symptoms. It also took me a long time to realize that taking care of myself isn't selfish, it's necessary.

Another thing that has helped me cope with my TBI, nauseousness and pain is to find a community with people who struggle with the same thing. Yes every TBI is different and some people get effective differently but just having people who struggle with the same thing you do can be very comforting in the sense that other people understand certain things that those who don't struggle with it simply can't. It's comforting knowing you're not alone and to be able to share the good days and the bad days.

Ultimately, I think it's really important for the person who is struggling with the chronic illness or pain to seek therapy and support but it is just as important that those who have a loved one who has a chronic illness or pain to also find support on how to help support the person with the chronic illness/pain. Chronic illness doesn't just affect the person who struggles with it but everyone around that person.