Ever have someone come to visit - and then they just won’t leave?
Chronic Illness is like that - something that starts simply as an illness with a beginning, a middle, and an end - suddenly morphs into a prolonged visit and then a permanent visitor. This metaphor for a chronic illness can be helpful as we use our cards to:
Create a space for the guest (chronic illness)
Setup boundaries for the guest (chronic illness)
Learn how to support the guest (chronic illness) without loosing our way
As a Marriage and Family Therapist with a PhD in Nursing, I created a specialty working with individuals and families with chronic illness. We know how to manage a cold or flu. However, a chronic illness needs management just like an acute illness does - however it is not short lived! My dissertation research in “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the Marital Relationship” taught me a lot about how people managed their illness. What worked and what didn’t.