Most are to be admired for their courage and generosity of spirit. However, everyone could help more if they were better informed. As things stand now, too many patients find themselves alone when dealing with their fears and emotions anxiety, sadness, anger, discouragement, desperation, and frank depression. All of these feelings in addition to this terrible disease - disrupt every aspect of life. Some human beings are endowed with a resilience of spirit which allows them to bend with the wind.
Some patients manage to keep themselves afloat psychologically.
But nobody can do it alone forever. At some point, everyone needs support from others. When faced with the emotional pain of others, our natural reaction is one of discomfort and retreat. This discomfort may stem from the fact that we see ourselves in the suffering of the other person. And because we may not have expertise in psychology, we quickly feel incompetent.