ARTICLE

FindCenter AddIcon

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

FindCenter Post-Image

I Was Ghosted By My Friends When I Got Cancer

You not calling, as a friend, can actually compound the grief and loss they are feeling. Just pick up the phone, even if you get it wrong, just have a conversation and do your best. Your friend with cancer is still the same person they were before.

Article
Sarah Graham
2020
FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Advice on Dire Diagnoses From a Survivor

With each diagnosis, knowing her life hung in the balance, she was “stunned, then anguished” and astonished by “how much energy it takes to get from the bad news to actually starting on the return path to health.”

Article
Jane E. Brody
2007
FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

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
FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

What to Say to Someone Who Lost a Parent or Loved One

No matter what you say to someone whose parent or loved one died, it should be derivative of the same goal: communicating empathy and offering assistance, understanding what a person might need from you, and knowing how to phrase sentiments the right way.

Article
Matt Berical
2021
FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

How to do a Lot with a Little: Managing Your Energy

Individuals with disabilities are at a greater risk of experiencing fatigue than the general population, and this risk increases with age.

Article
University of Washington Aging and Physical Disability RRTC
FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Misophonia Complicates Relationships in Complex Ways

Understanding how and why can help people cope with the disorder.

Article
Jennifer J. Brout
2022
FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Why an Autistic Person May Push for a Closer Friendship Right Away

Does your autistic loved one tend to overshare or overexplain? We don't mean to come off as desperate or creepy, we just connect differently.

Article
Jaime Heidel
2020
FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

An Autistic Teen Girl’s Tips on How to Make and Maintain Friends

Advice often means more when it comes from someone who has walked in your shoes. Perhaps these tips for making friends from an autistic teen will spark some inspiration!

Article
Siena Castellon
2021
FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Friendships Pose Unique Challenges for Women on the Spectrum

Many autistic people have trouble making and keeping friends. This has led to the myth that they don’t want friends3. In reality, they long for friendships just like anyone else. But they face unique challenges in forming and maintaining them.

Article
Liz Pellicano
2017
FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

How People With Autism Forge Friendships

Most autistic people want to and can make friends, though their relationships often have a distinctive air.

Article
Lydia Denworth
2020
FindCenter AddIcon

EXPLORE TOPIC

Offering Support to Others