5 Ways to Support a Loved One With a Chronic Medical Condition is the topic of this article. Living with one or more long-term medical conditions presents many physical and emotional challenges, and patients oftentimes experience isolation, stress, and loneliness as a result of their chronic illness. This is especially true if their families and friends don’t know how to support them or talk to them about their chronic condition, causing patients to feel depressed and lonely on top of experiencing common illness-related symptoms like pain and fatigue.
If you love someone with a chronic illness, it’s important to support your loved one and show up for him or her as best as possible. Review these tips from the International Pain Foundation (iPain) to learn how to be there for a loved one with a medical condition such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, or epilepsy.
1. Look for Ways to Ease Stress and Anxiety
Emotional concerns are common among those with chronic illness, but you can support your loved one by looking for ways to ease his or her stress and anxiety. Here are some ideas:
- Helping your loved one to practice mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).
- Introducing your loved one to mobile apps such as Calm, Happify, and Lumosity.
- Encouraging your loved one to engage in low-impact exercise.
- Purchasing a few adult coloring books for your loved one.
- Joining your friend for a yoga class.
- Purchasing gift cards for massages, spa treatments, and meal delivery kits.
2. Learn About Your Loved One’s Medical Condition
Thanks to the internet, it’s never been easier to research medical conditions and look for information to help you understand common causes, symptoms, and treatments. However, it’s important to use reputable sources when conducting your research, such as the iPain Foundation, MedlinePlus, Mayo Clinic, and National Library of Medicine. You could also join a chronic illness support group and encourage your loved one to do the same.
Studying nursing is another great way to learn about your loved one’s medical condition and how to best care for him or her, especially if your spouse, parent, sibling, or child was diagnosed with a chronic illness. Accredited schools like Western Governors University (WGU) offer affordable and flexible online degree programs to fit your budget and busy schedule.
3. Prepare Healthy Meals to Share
If chronic fatigue or physical pain prevents your loved one from cooking nutritious meals at home, preparing healthy meals is another way to support your friend or family member. Just remember to keep your loved one’s dietary restrictions and food intolerances in mind, as inflammatory foods can exacerbate certain medical conditions.
4. Laugh With Them
There’s a reason why laughter may be the best medicine: The science of happiness shows that laughter can strengthen the immune system, prevent illness, reduce stress, decrease pain, and boost energy levels. So whether you enjoy a comedy show with your loved one, meet up to binge-watch television shows such as The Office or Community, or send memes when you know your friend is struggling, you’ll be sure to bring a smile to your loved one’s face.
5. Show Empathy to Your Loved One
Empathy doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but like most things in life, it can be learned with a bit of practice. Here are some things to keep in mind when determining how to respond when a loved one is struggling:
- How can you acknowledge your loved one’s pain?
- How do you feel when imagining yourself in your loved one’s situation?
- How can you show your loved one that you appreciate him or her opening up to you?
- Which questions can you ask to show your loved one that you care?
- What can you say to your loved one to sound encouraging?
The Bottom Line
You may not be able to understand what your loved one is going through as he or she copes with a chronic health condition, but you can support him or her by looking for ways to reduce stress, learning about your loved one’s medical condition, cooking healthy meals for him or her, making your loved one laugh, and showing your friend or family member that you care. Your love and support will make a huge difference in your loved one’s life!
Article Author: Phillip Carr
Publisher: International Pain Foundation, iPain
