The condition of a person's body can have a significant effect on their mental health. This is especially true if a serious illness has been identified.
Discovering that you or a loved one has cancer, a brain tumor, or chronic illness (like dementia), can bring up a host of emotions. Seeking the help of an experienced counselor can be beneficial during times of medical crisis within the family.
Grief
It is important that you are allowed to feel and express your grief in a constructive way when a serious illness has been diagnosed.
If you are the one who received the diagnosis, you will need to grieve the loss of the future that you had envisioned for yourself. If a loved one has been diagnosed with an illness, you could find yourself feeling extreme grief over the fact that your loved one has to experience the illness.
A counselor can help you talk through your grief so that you can process this emotion in a healthy way. Grief can manifest in many different ways, and the patient guidance of an experienced counselor can prevent your grief from becoming a destructive force in your life.
Anger
Anger is another powerful emotion that many people experience after a serious illness has been identified.
You might be feeling angry that your life could potentially be cut short or that you will have to endure extensive medical treatment. Family members of those diagnosed with a serious illness could feel anger at the thought of having to take on the role of a caretaker for their sick loved one. If your anger remains untreated, it could become chronic.
Chronic anger has been linked to physical ailments like heart problems, high blood pressure, and digestive issues. The last thing that you need is an anger-related physical malady to compound the medical problems a serious illness has already created. Counselors are able to help you work through your anger and let go of this negative emotion so that you can move forward in peace.
Fear
Serious Illnesses and fear often go hand-in-hand. It is difficult not to experience fear at the thought of your life being cut short or at the thought of losing a valued member of your family. Fear can be a debilitating emotion. Avoidance, denial, and other negative attributes can be caused by fear.
Counseling can help provide you with the tools you need to manage your fear effectively so that it doesn't interfere with the treatment of your own, or a loved one's serious illness. For more information, reach out to a company like The Counseling Group PL today.
