A lot of ignorance takes place in terms of suffering. Chronically ill patients don’t just suffer from physical pain, they also suffer from psychological distress as well as the deleterious effects on medical procedures and this is what is often ignored or forgotten by a large number of the public.
People that experience a chronic illness often feel that they loose their identity or 'self-images'.
I could not agree more when Charmaz said 'Serious chronic illness also results in loss of productive function, financial crisis stigma and restricted existence. Over time, many debilitated chronically ill persons become dependent and immobilized'. In my opinion, a lot of their depression results from the fact that they feel bad that a family member as to look after them and contribute a lot of their time taking care of them. I think that this contributes to a large percentage of their depression.
Charmaz explains to us that a life with restrictions causes isolation (socially) and this then leads affected individuals to live with a restricted existence, which 'limit possibilities for positive validation of self'.
Patients in the clips and in the paper both expressed similar reactions. First they were in shock. Then they became angry and then they seemed to enter a state of denial.
Charmaz said something interesting; 'As long as an individual feels that he or she exercises CHOICE in valued activities and some freedom of action to pursue these choices, everyday life does not seem so restrictive, suffering is reduced, and self-images are maintained'. An example was given to support this statement when a woman who was interviewed said that she felt a great deal of comfort and independence just knowing that the car is there in the garage because she can use it if she wants to or has to.
