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What Those with Chronic Pain or Illness DON’T Want to Hear

By Toni Bernhard — 2012

I've written this piece partly because I hope it will make those of us with health difficulties feel less alone and partly because I hope it will help others understand how to communicate with us better. With that in mind, I hope you'll find it helpful. Each of the following comments has been made to me at least once since I became ill in 2001.

Read on www.psychologytoday.com

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Please Help Out Those with a Disability or a Chronic Illness. You’ll Also Help Yourself.

I’ve been disabled and intensely ill with the degenerative neuro-immuno illness myalgic encephalomyelitis (formerly known by the misnomer “chronic fatigue syndrome”) for 30 years.

Article
Litsa Dremousis
2021
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How to Help a Friend or Loved One Suffering from a Chronic Illness

Learn how to give patients and their families the support they need.

Article
American Psychological Association
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When a Coworker Has Cancer: What to Say

When a coworker is diagnosed with cancer, most people simply don’t know what to say. Speechless is the usual reaction.

Article
Cancer and Careers
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What to Say to Someone Who’s Very Sick

Expert advice on finding the right words, listening well, and getting specific about offers of help.

Article
Hallie Levine
2018
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What Not to Say to Someone Who’s Sick

When it comes to providing emotional support, skip the platitudes. What matters is being honest and human.

Article
NPR
2011
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Caught Between Young Kids and a Parent with Alzheimer’s, I Found a Lifeline on the Playground

My mom’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and decline were a painful and lonely journey, one that coincided with an otherwise unbearably hectic time. My two children were still in diapers.

Article
Meg Ounsworth Steere
2019
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Living in the Limbo of Chronic Illness

Last week was the one-year anniversary of the beginning of my husband’s health crisis. As I gaze at the permanent handicap placard and at him sleeping, once again, on the couch, I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve learned this past year.

Article
Mary Wilson
2017
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8 Ways to Support Someone Dealing with a Health Crisis

When someone you love falls ill, gets in an accident or receives a scary health diagnosis, it’s never easy. In fact, it may be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to face. Unfortunately, it’s also inevitable that we’ll all deal with this kind of situation in life.

Article
Locke Hughes
2018
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9 Common Types of Guilt People with Chronic Illness Experience

If someone were to ask you what the hardest part of living with chronic illness is, they might expect you to respond with one of the physical symptoms you experience, or perhaps how this symptom affects your ability to do certain activities.

Article
Paige Wyant
2018
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Offering Support to Others