Chronic Illness Counseling and finding a chronic illness therapist

Your chronic illness should not define you. You can adjust to it but it shouldn’t dictate your life.

Finding out that you have a chronic illness can be quite a blow. You may start feeling a rush of emotions, you may almost feel dizzy or in shock just as you heard it. Maybe you’ve seen it coming because it runs in your family or maybe you are at a total loss about how you could have developed a chronic illness because you live a healthy lifestyle. Then you start thinking of how it will affect you and the people around you and it starts making you anxious. You’re not sure how to take it.

Chronic Illness and your new normal

Chronic illness can happen to anyone, regardless of age, genetics, or lifestyle. Chronic illnesses are defined as medical conditions that persists for at least over a year and may not yet have a cure. The most common chronic diseases include: autoimmune diseases such as Lupus, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS, and Hashimoto’s Disease. Osteoporosis, Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD and even mental health disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. Coping with the physical and mental strain resulting from a chronic condition, such as managing chronic pain, or managing chronic unwanted thought patterns, can require a lot of effort and at time be difficult to manage alone. Working with a chronic illness therapist can provide much needed support and help you create a treatment plan that meets your needs.

Understanding what your new diagnosis and the ways that it may impact your life is a lot to take in. You may need to reconsider and adjust your current life plans. Depending on your condition, you may worry about your job, future, or even start feeling guilty about how you might become a burden to your loved ones due to your illness. You may go through the five stages of grief as well: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. You may even find yourself questioning your beliefs; why would this happen to you or your loved one? What did you do to deserve or cause your situation? What could you have done differently?

These are all normal reactions after being diagnosed with chronic illness. Many people experience these feelings but learn understand their illness and live a normal, fulfilling life while managing and finding accommodations for their symptoms. If you have recently been diagnosed with a chronic illness and are struggling to cope with the new or are having difficulties adjusting to life after your diagnosis, know that you are not alone. Over 100 million Americans struggle with chronic illness diagnosises; almost half of all people in the United States have been diagnosed with at least one chronic condition since 2025.

Working with a chronic illness counselor can help you navigate any negative thoughts or feelings created by your chronic illness, as well as help you combat the stress of managing your symptoms alongside your day-to-day life and help develop new coping skills that can make managing symptoms easier and improve quality of life.

How can counseling help you and your loved ones?

Human beings are complex systems with multidimensional needs. When diagnosed with a chronic illness, it is also important to understand address the psychosocial. emotional, and mental needs of the person.

The emotional rush and shock assoicated with initial onset and diagnosis can sometimes exacerbate the sympton of your illness. It is important to care for yourself and learn how to cope with the emotional turmoil that can come with the diagnosis.

Many chronically ill patients struggle with anxiety and depression, brought about and triggered by stress of the physical effects of the illness, frequent hospital visits, financial concerns, maintaining a good self and body image, and medication side effects. Click here to learn more about how chronic illness can impact your mental health. The navigating governmental assistance and insurance providers can also be a cause of additional stress for anyone struggling with chronic illness and/or disability. 

Psychotherapy is one way of helping people with chronic illness diagnosis and their families and friends navigate through all the emotional stress and whirlwind of feelings brought about by the illness. A chronic illness therapist at ThoughtWise can help you and your family adjust to your new reality, foresee possible challenges that may arise because of the illness and develop healthy ways of coping to the challenging situations.

Our counseling programs include individual and family talk therapies or psychotherapy. The goal of both is to give you and your family a safe and open space to verbalize and explore your feeling and shifting your negative thoughts to healthier thought processes. The family therapy is essential to assist those taking care of the ill patient how to support the patient emotionally, how to maintain a normal life within the family despite the illness, mitigate emotional stress,  and offer emotional support by helping them understand their own emotions towards the patient’s illness.

The diagnosis may be life-long, but it does not have to define you. You can learn how to better manage your feelings and emotional response towards your illness. Our team of expert therapists at ThoughtWise are here to help. Start feeling better today!