What to Do If You Learn You Have a Terminal Illness or Serious Injury

This is the time of life when we find ourselves facing these issues, either for ourselves or for a friend or loved one. There’s no easy solution if you have a serious or even life-threatening illness or injury. It’s not easy to cope with such a catastrophe, but you can make the best out of a difficult situation.

Sometimes, even a situation that appears to be hopeless turns out to have a silver lining. If you learn to deal with the situation in the most effective way, you will have the best chance of healing and having the highest quality of life possible.

First, you should immediately learn as much as you can about your illness. An informed patient feels more in control. Second, think about seeking some outside assistance for support. Some possibilities that have been proven to work are:

Getting counseling from a psychologist or counselor – People generally find that when they are able to talk about their fears and concerns, it eases their worry. The advantage of going to a professional over friends and family is that you can speak freely without any worries about making anyone else feel upset.

Joining a support group – People generally find that it makes them feel better to learn that they are not alone. Interestingly, statistics show that people in support groups live longer.

Getting involved in religion – While this option isn’t for everyone, there are many people who find great comfort in religion when confronting such difficult situations.

Even though you may feel isolated, don’t shut your friends and family out of your battle. If you learn to speak openly and easily about your problem, they will become comfortable talking to you. This will make things much easier for you.

Also, don’t be filled with foolish pride. Accept help from others. This can help you to maintain your priorities. You need to focus on doing everything you can to improve your health rather than daily cumbersome chores. But make sure to also take care of the caregivers. Make sure they eat well, get enough rest, and take breaks from their responsibilities. If they aren’t well, they can’t take care of you. You should also do what you can to make sure that difficult matters such as your final resting place, living will, and your last will and testament are taken care of so the burden of your death will be easier on the people you care about.

Make sure that you make all the right medical decisions and that you do everything that is reasonable to get your health back. And, finally, find the humor in your situation whenever you can. Laughter has been proved to help the immune system and it will lighten your load.