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. Families play a significant role in encouraging or discouraging members to participate in particular therapies or treatments. A supportive family environment accelerates the rehabilitation process. Families react in different ways to illness behaviors that the affected member might display.