When Your Health Condition Becomes Chronic And What To Do About It
Written by: David Kegley, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
You Were Never Going to Get a Chronic Condition
You might have said: “Chronic Illness will never happen to me!” Did you observe others with chronic conditions and say to yourself, “Wow, that’s terrible, good thing I take care of myself at least well enough to avoid that!” Maybe then you started noticing some nagging health concerns. You may have ignored them because most health problems used to just go away for you. Then the concerns got serious enough to have a doctor look you over at least to assure you that everything was going to be fine…
Hammered With Reality!
When the doctor finished the exam, there were some follow-up tests. On your way to the diagnosis (while your symptoms had continued to worsen) you may have said: “Perhaps if I don’t accept the diagnosis, or the symptoms I’m feeling, my willpower will kick my immune system into gear (like it always has) and I’ll get better. Maybe if I do (you fill in the blank here) and behave in the best possible way, I’ll get better.” But after you receive the diagnosis, things don’t change and your symptoms persist.
The reality and the wave of emotions like denial, anger, resignation and depression begin to overwhelm you. In some cases (depending on the diagnosis) medical providers know a whole lot about what they can do and you are overwhelmed with possibilities (and that becomes a problem). In other cases, doctors may know little about how they can help you or how to affirm that you have a problem at all and that becomes a problem. In all cases, when you come home, you’re left with the dilemma of what to do and the chaos that has arrived on your doorstep; how to manage yourself through the jungle of emotions and pressing decisions to be made.
What is “Chronic” Anyway?
In an article published in the National Library of Medicine by Stephanie Bernell and Steven W. Howard in 2016 entitled Use Your Words Carefully: What Is a Chronic Disease? they quote Merriam Webster and continue with a summary:
According to Merriam Webster, “chronic” is something that is “continuing or occurring again and again for a long time.” Using this simpler view, we would exclude something like a broken leg as a chronic condition but would include recurring lower back pain, or hormone-related migraine headaches, for example… We are in favor of bringing more diseases (and conditions) under the umbrella.
In my work with rising stars who are stopped in their tracks due to a major life-changing illness, I have encountered:
Cancer
Ulcerative Colitis
Crohn’s Disease
Long COVID
Burnout
Chronic Fatigue (ME/CFS)
Chronic conditions are also those like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and lung diseases like COPD and others.
Chronic as a word is rooted in the Greek word “Chronos” and in its simple form simply means time. Used in our context, it is an adjective describing a disease or condition that persists over time as mentioned above.
It is something that we must accommodate for or adjust to. We must factor in the effects of what the chronic disease or condition does to our body so that we can proceed accordingly. What chronic sufferers learn (usually the hard way at first) is that if we don’t respect the boundaries of the condition, then we have a much harder time moving forward. It almost inevitably comes back to bite us. This boundary also includes mental/psychological energy too.
You Mean It's Forever?
Does chronic mean that the condition will last the rest of one’s life? While that scenario is possible, there are numerous other possibilities for bodies and chronic conditions:
For some the chronic condition may let go or go into remission.
For others, treatments may resolve the chronic situation.
For others still, treatments may yet be created that will address the condition.
Ask your medical provider about possible scenarios for you and what to look for with your condition.
In all chronic cases, it’s important to proceed with caution when it comes to the hope that the condition may go away, go into remission or that there will be a cure. Dashed hopes can be worse than going along as usual. We often learn a certain guardedness around such things or a “wait and see” attitude.
Consider Support for Chronic Conditions
My clients have shared with me their initial reluctance about hiring a coach to support them for their situation. One of their reasons for the reluctance is that there is little familiarity with coaching for conditions like this. While executive coaching is a mature industry, health and wellness coaching is somewhat new. People are more familiar with therapy in relation to support. A second reason is that they tend to feel it’s hard to trust internet advertising. Some word-of-mouth or in-person reassurance is often necessary.
Once we can start working together, future-focused, transformational coaching by a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach is a good match for those with chronic conditions. This enables people to manage the overwhelming task of renegotiating life considering a major life-changing illness and working through the emotions and motivations that come with this challenge.
Coaching can be the difference between languishing in the hopelessness of a chronic condition or gaining a whole new perspective on life with hope and vision for what you can do in spite of your condition.
You can reach David at: drkegley.com or LinkedIn
David Kegley, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Kegley specializes in coaching well-educated, progressive leaders and executives who have been stopped in their tracks due to health setbacks. His doctorate is in theology and preaching. His first 25-year career was in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., where he was a Pastor and Head of Staff. But, after getting nearly burned out, getting diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, and going through cancer treatment, he emerged as a credentialed coach. Now he Coaches in the areas where he experienced his own humility and growth: Health and Wellness, The Cancer Journey, Burnout Recovery, and Leadership and Executive.
