Ladies and gentlemen, may I draw your attention to the following article; Coping Wth Chronic Illness
It is adapted from the book 'After The Diagnosis', by Dr. JoAnn LeMaistre.
I stumbled across it, some time ago, but have only recently got around to reading it.
It's not exclusively about cancer, but about chronic ilness' in general.
It was these couple of paragraphs, right at the beginning, that kept me reading.
The Pollyanna approach is typified by -- and fueled by -- personal stories or
testimonials of complete recovery from extreme illness or disabling conditions.
These stories tug at the heartstrings and catch the fancy of all who read them.
Besides creating false hope by overplaying the likelihood of complete recovery,
these stories consistently underplay the sadness and feelings of worthlessness
that are part of the legacy of any physical or emotional trauma.
Sometimes, it is useful in social situations to present yourself as a Pollyanna. When
meeting new people and situations, it may be an advantage for you to let others
think you have mastered your disease. The anxiety of other people is reduced by
not having to confront illness. The danger is that this Pollyanna image may
create a barrier between you and the people who can offer real help.
Ask anyone with cancer (or anyone with any serious illness, I suppose), and I guarantee that they will completely relate to this 'Pollyanna' approach from others.
3 comments:
Hi there Dee,
Its Cuddz... just wanted you to know that I pray for you daily and you are always in my thoughts,
I pop in here and read your posts as you write them.
You are an inspiration to anyone with a chronic illness of any kind... and I so admire you and your courage.
Love and Huggz to you
Suzy
xxxxxxxxx
I check your blog often. I found it when I was having treatment for cancer this year. This entry is interesting to me because I wrote on my blog about being a "Pollyanna" - only from a different perspective.
I had an opposite reaction to my cancer from others. I found most everyone else was concentrating on the pain and suffering part of it, while I was a total "Pollyanna" through most of it. The "Pollyanna" thing comes naturally to me... It's just who I am. But other's who were watching my journey seemed to want to "bring me down"...
Cancer is such a complex and deeply personal journey. Thanks for sharing your story with me :)
Hey Dee.. just to let you know that i'm thinking of you.
Amanda
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