Support for Chronic Illness

Chronic Illness, Pain and Physical Disabilities

Nobody expects to find their world changed by illness, pain or disability. When it happens it’s shocking, frightening, devastating, overwhelming, and you don’t know where to turn. Until now.

With 40 years lived experience, a background in politics that taught her how the system works, and 15 years as a medical advocate and coach, Eileen is uniquely positioned to help.

Eileen is both patient and therapist, and while no two people will have the same experiences, Eileen can relate. Eileen will always believe you.

This is a vast topic and the discussions below are only meant to be the beginning. Reach out and book a FREE Consultation. All first sessions are Free. No strings attached. Life is hard enough. Sometimes you just need to feel like someone is on your side.

What are Chronic Illness(es), Pain and Disabilities?

Chronic Illness:

Any illness which is long-lasting, usually life-long, and persistent, which means they might worsen over time. In certain instances illnesses can be life-altering or life-threatening.

Chronic illnesses, pain and disabilities are often invisible. Without some detection, people won’t know they exist. And people with invisible illnesses often become experts at hiding their existence and masking their pain.

In some instances, illnesses and pain will cause physical disabilities.

Like illness and pain, disabilities can also be invisible. Examples are a hearing disability, vision loss, or a neurological disorder that affects one’s balance.

In the medical world, any illness, pain or disability which lasts more than six months is considered chronic, and cures are usually not options.

Any type or degree of chronic illness, chronic pain and physical disability is going to create complicated situations which include complex feelings.

Let’s look at some of the ways these affect your life, and how attending therapy can help.

Medical Advocacy

Living with chronic illness, pain and disability means living in a different world. A new world; one with its own language and its own rules.
It means learning a new type of normal.

Family and friends, however well-meaning, will likely not have the experience or the expertise to help you navigate your way through this new, complex and confusing world.

Your world now involves a complicated medical system. Multiple doctor appointments. Finding specialists. Understanding all the diagnostic tests and examinations. Learning about medications, side effects, special diets, physiotherapy and more.

This is a journey with no instruction manual and nobody to guide you. The diagnosis was frightening enough. Then everything that followed can make you feel like you’re drowning. Until now.

With a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the medical system, Eileen can help you manage everything that happens, from the moment of diagnosis.

Being ill and in pain is exhausting. It uses your energy in new and unexpected ways. Yet you are still expected to maintain your daily activities and responsibilities.

This is when you draw on Eileen’s expertise.

Let her help. With Eileen’s breadth of knowledge she can walk you through everything happening in your new medical world. She can even help you learn how to manage your day-to-day activities while coping with the additional strain of a chronic illness.

A diagnosis, illness, pain and disability will have implications on all aspects of your life.

With a certificate degree in communications, and 40 years of lived experience, Eileen is well positioned to help you carefully travel through these moving waters.A diagnosis, illness, pain and disability will have implications on all aspects of your life.

Communicating the implications of your illness, and all it entails for your life, will be challenging. You will likely want to share varying degrees of information with friends and family, employees, colleagues, peers or an employer, a religious community, hobby or membership clubs or a wider community.

How you share, with whom, and to what degree, can be confusing.

There is a way to communicate with them all.

This doesn’t need to increase your stress.

Invite Eileen to help.

Chronic illness can create feelings of despair and helplessness. Regaining control through medical advocacy can help you regain your power and put you back in the driver’s seat of your life.

Impact on Your Mental and Emotional Health

Living with illness, pain and disability is life-altering. From the moment there is a diagnosis, everything changes.

It can feel like the rug has been pulled out from under you, and the world as you once knew it has forever changed. It sounds dramatic, because it is.

I know because I am both a patient and a psychotherapist. I remember when my world was turned on its head and no part of my life was unaffected.

Personal relationships with family members and friends will shift and change. There will be surprises. Some for the better, and some not.

The nature of your work might change. A career might be halted or lost. Perhaps the way you work will be adjusted.

Your lifestyle activities such as hobbies, sports and membership in clubs might be impacted.

How you worship, and where, might change.

And with all of this there is an added layer of exhaustion, and an increased layer of time to accomplish every task.

The expectations of you haven’t changed. But your body has.

It’s understandable for there to be a significant impact on your mental and emotional well-being.

Your nervous system is likely flooded and in shock. Your thoughts and feelings will reflect this.

What I’ve described is trauma and it would make sense if someone having this experience would also be having an experience of trauma.

Trauma exists in many forms, and on a large scale.

While everyone’s experiences will be different, I feel I must share I have never worked with someone with chronic illness, pain and/or a disability who does not have a degree of trauma. Because either a trauma has caused the illness, or trauma exists as a result of it, or both.

With trauma one can expect to experience a wide array of emotions. Repercussions will cause varying degrees of anxiety and depression, grief and loss, fear and helplessness, frustration and anger.

And the two emotions I see the most in my clients: Loneliness and isolation. These two can be the most serious and worrisome.

Illness can be very isolating, especially when the illness is invisible.

The only thing worse than someone’s physical pain is the pain of not being believed. Or not being understood. Nobody wants to have to convince someone they are suffering. Psychotherapy clients with illness must be thought of as patients, and patients must be believed.

With Eileen you will always be believed.

When illness affects one’s immune system or mobility, there can be a tendency to remain home and isolate oneself. Between the exhaustion felt from pain, being immunocompromised and having mobility issues, there is an understandable reluctance to leave home.

Add to this the tendency to think nobody understands your situation, it becomes easy to understand how feelings of isolation can escalate.

These feelings can activate anxiety about the future, grief over lost hopes and dreams. Sadness over what has been lost.

Taken together, these feelings can create significant depressive symptoms which should not be ignored.

I am here to tell you that you are not alone. With me you will never be alone.

Please reach out for support. Book your free consultation so we can begin your healing journey.

Explore Eileen’s free video library.

Learn about common mental health topics.

Trauma

Traumas are categorized as acute (single events), subacute (more than one event but less than a month), chronic (prolonged or repeated events), complex trauma (combinations of the above and possibly beginning in childhood), secondary or vicarious trauma, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (symptoms persisting beyond one month and causing significant impairment).

Unfortunately, when you have a chronic illness, trauma usually features prominently in your personal story. It’s important to recognize this, and all the implications which follow, so you can find the appropriate support and care to help you adjust to your situation.

Many chronic illnesses and autoimmune diseases are of unknown origin; however, it is now widely accepted that childhood trauma can lead to chronic illness, pain and even physical disabilities. This is because science has now proven the mind-body and body-mind connection. This means the body feels the impact of what our minds absorb. It’s important to recognize this, even expect this, and know this is not an unusual part of the chronic illness experience.

When something such as an event, abuse or accident happens to us, our brains find ways to cope. There are many reactions the brain will have, from fight and flight to freeze and fawn. Our brains are designed to protect us. Trauma exists on a spectrum and there are a wide range of responses our bodies and minds will experience.

Our nervous systems will react in ways that affect our physical bodies (called somatic reactions) and our emotions, causing a wide range of feelings.

Perhaps there is no known cause for your illness. Trauma may or may not have played a role in the cause of your illness, but perhaps receiving your diagnosis did cause a degree of trauma. After all, receiving a diagnosis is a life-altering experience.

I know how impactful traumas can be, but I also know it is possible to regain control and take back your power.

Everyone has inner strengths. Together we can explore your story and discover your abilities, so you may learn, grow and manage your new normal with resilience.

Anxiety and Depression – Grief and Loss

Living with illness, pain and disabilities can cause anxiety and depression. That makes sense. After all, you are being forced to adapt to a world that wasn’t designed for you and your new needs. You likely have less energy, strength and stamina, combined with increasing pain, and you are expected to accomplish all the same tasks and responsibilities.

This leads to anxiety which can trigger depressive symptoms.

Having to withdraw from activities can feel demoralizing.

Needing to adapt your work, or leave a job/career you’ve worked hard to accomplish is deeply upsetting.

Not being able to attend worship services and see your faith-based community makes you sad. You rely on this spiritual side of your life. It is both personally fulfilling and a meaningful social connection.

It makes sense that all of these changes will leave you feeling isolated and alone. The changes in your life might happen fast, with little time to process, leaving you feeling overwhelmed. Feelings of anger, sadness, loneliness and frustration can escalate.

All these feelings are reasonable and valid given your circumstances.

This is when you reach out for support.

Thoughts and feelings don’t disappear, but your resilience to them can grow, and I can help you learn how to manage them. Together we can reduce your anxiety, elevate your mood, and lessen the impact of the losses you have endured.

Self-Compassion and Self-Care

When faced with chronic illness, pain and physical disability your need for self-care increases. Where these things may not have played a significant role in your life prior to a diagnosis or injury, they may now feature prominently.

Creating a self-care regimen will help increase the strength of your mental and emotional wellbeing.

Self-care looks different for everyone. Eileen works closely with each client to create a plan that helps you achieve your mental health goals. Careful consideration is given to your lifestyle, experiences and comfort level. The work is always at your pace. Every self-compassion and self-care plan is designed for you, your needs and your lifestyle.

Self-compassion will play a role in your self-care plan. It will help to increase your tolerance for the stressors in your life, restore your sense of self-worth and self-esteem, and even provide a level of protection against feelings of anxiety and depressive symptoms.