Psychology 2036A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Terminal Illness

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2036A/B
• Professor: Doug Hazlewood

Document Summary

Helping people cope with chronic and terminal illness. Part 1: initial reactions: shock (many questions but no clear answers) Diso(cid:396)ie(cid:374)tatio(cid:374) a(cid:374)d (cid:271)ei(cid:374)g o(cid:448)e(cid:396)(cid:449)hel(cid:373)ed (cid:894)(cid:272)a(cid:374)"t thi(cid:374)k st(cid:396)aight, (cid:272)a(cid:374)"t de(cid:448)elop pla(cid:374)s for coping: denial. Of illness duration (will be short term) Of illness severity (illness will go on as usual) Serves as emotional buffer that helps people control their emotional responses: anxiety and depression (p. 333-335) Part 2: challenges faced by chronically ill: specific illness-related challenges, symptoms of illness itself (i. e. pain, weakness, disfigurement, paralysis) Feel self-conscious; stigmatized; withdraw from social interactions. Embarrassing changes to body functions: the treatment process (painful, inconvenient, requires major changes to lifestyles, medications that produce unpleasant se, the treatment setting. 8) and patient-provider reactions (ch: general challenges, preserving a reasonable emotional balance (maintain sense of optimism, preserving a positive self-image and sense of independence (see self-concept and self-esteem, p. 337-340) Accepting help with something they used to be able to do on their own.