Acceptance of illness

Acceptance of illness

Many family caregivers refuse to accept the reality of a patient’s schizophrenic condition. They try to keep illness away from them by rejecting all reminders of it, including medical treatments and social supports. Only when catastrophe strikes — a bad fall, sudden confusion, or medical complication and hospitalization — they grudgingly admit that the prson for whom they care has a bad condition for which help is needed.

Caregivers who can accept the course of person’s illness, learn to contend with its many challenges and then enjoy the time they still have left with one another are better able to cope with the future. How can you achieve this level of flexibility and adaptation?