This is not adaptive. Good mental health requires us to continue to engage in meaningful activities and interact with others regularly. Problem solvers actively seek information about their illness, make full use of available social support, and engage in self-care with enthusiasm. Not surprisingly, problem solvers are significantly less physically disabled and freer of depression than the equally ill patients who engage in avoidance and self-blame. Even though there is no cure for interstitial cystitis yet, many patients can and do lead happy, productive lives.
Most IC patients seem to be aware of their pain daily.
Living with pain and urgency, the lives of IC patients are often structured around access to public toilets. The demands of illness and often, frequent treatments, may interfere with patients' productivity at work. Some patients can no longer work outside their homes or full-time. Others are afraid to seek new, better jobs, terrified that their IC symptoms would not be understood or accepted by a new employer. As a result of severe IC symptoms, patients may have to forgo leisure and social activities that were once highly gratifying.