Life's Challenges

Usually, happy occasions come with preparation and advanced warning. Dating precedes an Engagement. Birth is preceded by pregnancy. More often than not, bad news comes out of nowhere. No preparation, no warning signs. Suddenly your life is changed. There is no looking back and you feel like you’ve been living with this problem since the beginning of time. Often you cannot remember a time when you did not have this problem.

During difficult times you may experience a wide range of emotions. Fear, despair, loneliness and anxiety are among a few. Although these are normal reactions, if prolonged these emotions can become destructive .Bad things that happen especially medical ones, tend to take over our emotional, mental and physical well being. As in the case of an illness in the family, these experiences are difficult not only for the patient but for those people closest to the patient. For much of what I write it applies to both the patient as well as those around them especially family. Unless explicitly stated it can be assumed that the topic applies to both.

I think there is still a stigma about getting psychological help especially among many religious communities, but I am sure this extends itself to all cultures. This stigma applies to people of all ages but even more so when the person who needs help is a child. That is because adults tend to underestimate our children’s’ ability to understand what is going on around them. Children have real feelings just like adults. This makes sense, since typically, people underestimate themselves. This is both a symptom and a cause of widespread low self-esteem. There are several purposes of this book. One purpose is for patient and family to help them understand how they can, although at certain points may not believe, become normal and even happy again. This is also a guide for friends and relatives to know what to say and what not to say. As well as to point out which behavior is appropriate and the behaviors that are not appropriate in dealing with a family in crisis.