How do you support patients who don’t want to talk about their illness or accept support? To follow up on
Read moreWhen Patients Hide the Ugly Side
What should you do if an ill loved one won’t respond to emails or texts because they want to hide their pain, sadness, debility, weakness? Forcing yourself on them will exacerbate their sense of loss of control. Leaving them alone, well, leaves them alone in their pain, sadness, debility, and weakness—not a good thing.
I’ve been on both sides of this dilemma.
Read moreAiming for Perfection
When dealing with a health challenge, doing things perfectly will increase your chance of the best possible outcome. For anyone who likes to feel in control (who doesn’t?) and has perfectionist tendencies (ahem, that would include me), the desire to do things perfectly can create problems.
Read moreDealing with Regrets
The crisis is over, and you are now fine. Except you keep replaying in your mind a particular aspect of how you handled the crisis, wishing you’d said or done it differently (e.g., recognized a worrisome symptom sooner).
Rationally, you know you need to let it go and move on. It’s in the past. But your mind is fixated on it. What can you do?
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