Families vary in their level of tolerance for the family member's physical condition. One family may deal with chronic pain by seeking appropriate assistance and taking an aggressive approach to the challenge of pain management. Others may be so saddened and despondent by watching their loved one suffer that they are unable to problem solve. List them and brainstorm positive approaches to managing them. Families under stress tend to hold on to previous patterns of behavior or responses to stress.
Families react in a variety of ways to stressful events.
Some may minimize the problem, others may react with anger, but others pull together and support each other. Identify how your family typically responds to a stressful events. Families grieve the loss of normal life after diagnosis of a disabling condition. The diagnosis of a chronic illness represents a major loss not only to the individual, but to the entire family. Examine your own feelings.