When you love someone, you hope and pray; nothing ever happens to them. You want them to stay happy and healthy forever and never have any troubles in life. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the cards that life deals with you. If you have a loved one dealing with a medical condition, it’s easy to feel helpless and lost. You want to do whatever you can to help, but you’re not sure exactly what to do. Do you leave it up to the health care professionals or try and offer assistance in areas where you can? How can you make your loved one’s life as easy as possible while they go through medical treatment?
The key to helping anyone through a difficult season in life is empathy and grace. Remember to focus on the other person and not make anything about yourself. Find ways to show them love and comfort while also understanding their diagnosis with more health-related information. Practical help can sometimes be the biggest gift you can give someone and make sure their mental health stays in check. Also, remember to take care of yourself as you help your loved one. All you can do is show them love and support as they get through their condition. Here are a few other practical tips for ways you can help your loved ones manage a medical condition.
Know the facts.
Oftentimes a new diagnosis can come with a lot of confusion. You may not fully understand the risk factors, side effects, or symptoms of their disease control or the treatments they can expect to undergo. One way you can be helpful is to take the time to understand their diagnosis. A quick disease search can help you stay informed and discover ways you can help.
It can be exhausting for someone going through a difficult medical situation to explain their condition and health requirements constantly. You can show your love by coming with them every step of the way and being ready to answer questions instead of asking or searching for them. Remember, you don’t have to be a laboratory expert or an expert in epidemiology, but you can still do a systematic review to get yourself the most health information possible.
Offer practical help.
It’s easy to offer help to your loved one in a vague way. Saying things like “let me know if there’s anything I can do” seems kind, but it puts the onus on the other person to reach out. Instead, find ways to offer practical assistance. Say you’re making them dinner, and ask what day would be best for distribution. Offer to run errands and correlate necessities and then tell them to make a list for the grocery. Pick up their kids or offer babysitting help. These practical offers and helping with notifications will go a long way. They will then focus on healing and medical care rather than worrying about all the little things life can throw at you.
Help care for their mental health.
A critical diagnosis or another health scare can affect more than just the body; it can throw your mental health off as well. Being confined or restricted because of your medical condition can leave your loved one feeling anxious, lonely, or depressed. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to care for their mental health. Just be there and spend time with them. Talk about other things or participate in fun activities to help maintain a sense of normalcy that they are craving. Or recommend time with a therapist or in group counseling. Helping them get back to a positive outlook and attitude can go a long way during their fight with their disease.
