Reclaim your relationships after illness or injury – Blog archive
Learn how to renew your relationships after a challenging health issue has entered your or a loved one’s life
Your relationships are important. When you have a supportive network in place, those people can help you get through the difficult moments with more ease. Read on to learn how to manage the impact of your own or a loved one’s health issue on your relationships and create a helpful support network.
How to deal with unhelpful things people can say
There are a variety of unhelpful things people can say when you have Long Covid or another energy limiting illness (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, cancer, neurological inflammatory illnesses such as Multiple Sclerosis, Transverse...
The 10 lessons I learned about being a carer
There was so much I wish I knew about being a carer before I became one. It might have taken the edge off the anxiety I was feeling about my other half’s medical conditions, his recovery, how much ongoing hands on support he would need, what changes it might mean for...
How to uncover your unconscious biases and assumptions around illness to protect your relationships
Last week I wrote about how the unconscious biases and assumptions around illness, injury, recovery, disability and health you hold tend to become more visible when you have to deal with these issues. They test that ‘in sickness and in health’ vow in a committed...
How unconscious biases and assumptions around illness can impact your relationships
The unconscious biases and assumptions around illness, injury, recovery, disability and health you hold tend to become more visible when you have to deal with these issues. They can test the ‘in sickness and in health’ vow in a committed relationship. To the point the...
When the wedding vow in sickness and in health is tested by illness or injury
A life-changing serious illness or injury can test the wedding vow “in sickness and in health” and hence your relationship on many levels. If you chose the marriage route and/or if this was a vow in your ceremony. Regardless, it is commonly accepted that however you...
Managing expectations at work after illness or injury
Managing expectations at work after illness or injury is so important to ensure your return to work is a good enough transition. And linked to this is what you tell people. You may be wondering what to say to people, if anything, about what happened to you. It's ok to...
How to create dependency on the NHS – Don’t give patients information
Dependency on the NHS can (unintentionally) be fostered at the start of the patient journey. It's usually done by Providing little information about a patient’s diagnosis and prognosis to them at the point of diagnosis and only providing it verbally. And communicating...
How to explain when recovery from your illness isn’t possible
It can be hard explaining to people when recovery from your illness isn't possible. You're trying to understand why recovery isn't possible yourself in addition to dealing with people, who are well-meaning people or not, ask questions, give (unsolicited) advice, and...
Dear Mum, I may never recover from this illness
Dear mum, I may never recover from this illness. It's been a year now since I suddenly got ill. So much has changed. Some days when the fatigue and pain gets too much and I can't do anything else, I feel like my body is broken. Other days, I feel I have come so far in...
Why asking for help is so hard: Because being ‘needy’ is not good
Being 'needy' is not good in our society. You don't want people to think that of you. So you try and do as much as you can on your own rather than ask for help. It's all for good reasons I explained in previously: not wanting to impose on others and wanting to...
When asking for help doesn’t work – Moving beyond no
It can be hard when asking for help doesn't work. It's hard enough to ask for help. So it can feel doubly hard when people refuse to help. You then you ask yourself, 'Now what?' Sometimes the people we expect or hope to readily help us - parents, partners, children,...
Why asking for help is so hard – The role self-worth plays
This month's blog theme is about why asking for help is so hard - the difficulties we experience when asking for help, why that is and what we can do about it. This post is part 2 and focuses on the role self-worth plays when we don't ask for help. Part 1 focused on...
