Chronic Illness Often a Taboo Conversation

 

Along with taboo topics such as politics and religion, many people are reluctant to discuss managing a chronic illness with family or friends, according to a new survey of more than 1,000 adults.

The survey found that 82 percent of respondents said they knew someone with a chronic illness, but only 34 percent were likely to suggest ways for this person to better manage their care. That’s about the same number who said they’d debate politics (37 percent) or religion (33 percent) with a loved one or friend.

only 34 percent were likely to suggest ways for this person to better manage their care

Respondents were more likely to;

• discourage friends or loved ones from buying the wrong house (65 percent),
• loan them a large amount of money (56 percent),
• advise them against taking a job they didn’t think was right for the person (48 percent), and
• tell them their spouse was unfaithful (41 percent).

The reasons why many Americans are reluctant to offer advice to chronically-ill friends or family include:

• They think the person has the situation under control (66 percent);
• they are not a health care professional (31 percent);
• they don’t want to seem like a nag (31 percent) or
• rude (29 percent);
• they don’t believe the person would listen to them (27 percent); or
• they didn’t think the matter was that important (15 percent).

Other findings:

• Twenty percent of respondents said their spouse was the easiest person to give advice to about health, followed by a child (20 percent), mother (13 percent), and father (5 percent).
• Most respondents said they’d prefer to receive advice about managing a chronic illness from a health care professional (67 percent), followed by a spouse (10 percent) or parent (7 percent). Men were twice as likely as women (14 percent versus 7 percent) to have their spouse give them such advice.
• Men have an easier time offering health advice to their spouse (28 percent) than women (19 percent). Women have an easier time offering health advice to their children (24 percent) than men (16 percent).
• Thirty-four percent of respondents said the person closest to them with a chronic illness is a parent (34 percent), followed by another relative (16 percent), spouse (14 percent), friend (11 percent), sibling (8 percent), and child (6 percent).

Tips on how to help family or friends, or even patients with a chronic illness:

• Talk to them in order to get an understanding of their goals. Get the conversation started by discussing events or activities they used to enjoy or future events they want to be part of, such as a family reunion. Once you understand their goals, you can help them achieve them along with health care providers, doctors or community service agencies.
• Appoint an “ambassador” — a friend or loved one feels comfortable talking with and respects enough to heed his or her advice. This person can help the ill person manage their condition.
• If you don’t already know, increase your comfort levels by educating yourself about the person’s chronic illness. This will make you feel more comfortable speaking with them about the condition and reinforcing professional advice.

Everybody wins when ex-addicts learn to live again

A great failing of current strategies to solve the problem of drug addiction in B.C. is the near-absence of any long-term programs catering to the needs of patients in recovery.

It is doubly disappointing then, that when a private initiative is put forward offering such a program, it should encounter resistance from within the community.

There is a danger of this happening in Surrey, where, as Kent Spencer reported in The Province yesterday, former business tycoon John Volken is proposing to build a $20-million “campus” in the Newton area designed to teach life and job skills to recovering addicts.

Volken, 66, who sold his United Furniture Warehouse chain three years ago, has since invested more than $100 million in pursuing his grand scheme of social philanthropy.

More of this story at the Province.

Life-long druggie says prison’s no answer

Vancouver granddad says jail turns addicts into hardened criminals

Prison, Terry McKinney tells me, screws up your head so badly that when you’re on the outside, it’s payback time: A confused and off-track kid goes in, a slick, seasoned felon comes out.

So if Prime Minister Stephen Harper thinks users and traffickers like him will rush to change their stripes — spooked by a $64-million anti-drug plan that imposes must-do jail time — he can forget it.

McKinney, a 59-year-old Vancouver granddad, has been a junkie for the past 37 years; a regular in B.C.’s prisons after numerous convictions for peddling heroin to bankroll what was a $1,000-a-day habit at the peak of his intake.

The inmate who has done time is 10 times smarter, 10 times more vicious and 10 times bigger, he says. They have nothing better to do than form alliances, pump iron and plan more sophisticated crimes. The first to befriend an offender when he’s sprung are his jail buddies.

More of this story by Joey Thompson, at The Province

Treatment Benefits Inmates

Long Term Treatment Benefits Inmates

The Residential Substance Abuse and Treatment (RSAT) Program at the Wicomico County Detention Center in Salisbury, Md. provides repeat offenders with six months to two years of holistic rehabilitation services to promote permanent lifestyle changes, the Delmarva Daily Times reported on July 5.

’Substance abuse is more of a symptom than a cause — something else is going on that they’re either trying to self-medicate or ease a difficult situation,’ said Doug Devenyns, founder of the program and director of the detention center.

’When you couple the addictions treatment with the … other treatment that addresses that underlying cause, then we get into a pretty effective scenario. The success rate starts going off the map.’

The RSAT program has graduated 20 offenders since its formation two years ago, and only 4 have relapsed.

While up to 75 percent of offenders commit additional crimes after their release, only 2 of the RSAT graduates have been re-arrested.

RSAT participants live apart from the general inmate population, attending counseling and classes in such subjects as parenting, conflict resolution and hygiene for a total of 10 hours a day.

Those without a high school diploma are also required to complete a GED program to maximize the effectiveness of their rehabilitation.

The program can only admit 34 residents due to limited resources and a strict screening process.

RSAT costs $300,000 a year, 75 percent of which is provided by the governor’s office, while the remainder is paid by the city of Salisbury.

’There is so much talent with that group alone that the world hasn’t yet seen, that is hidden behind addiction,’ said RSAT lead counselor Lynn Schofer. ’They deserve an opportunity to show it and live it.’

Friends Can & Do Help

Mental health study shows friends can help

The study by the Mental Health Foundation discovered almost 80% of people know at least two friends who have experienced mental distress, yet many don’t want to admit their problems for fear of what their friends might think.

The charity surveyed people across the UK looking at the experiences of both people with mental health problems and those of people who have supported friends during a period of mental illness.

Half of all people who did not want friends to know about their mental health problem said it was because they felt ashamed and two in three were worried their friends would not understand.

A total of 49% of those who responded said they did not feel able to talk to their friends about their mental health problem.

Reassuringly, 60% of people with mental health problems reported that when their friends did find out, they were concerned and 47% offered support.

Two in three people said their friend’s mental health problem did not put their friendship under strain, and almost half (41%) declared that it actually made their friendship stronger.

A total of 62% of people with mental health problems said it helped to have friends around and 41% revealed they received more help from their friends than their GP or own family.

Almost half of the respondents who knew a friend with a mental health problem felt that they did not know enough about mental health to give advice and a further 48% said better information would have helped them to support their friends.

Nearly three quarters of people admitted feeling frustrated because there was no simple solution to their friend’s mental health problem.

Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: “Friendships are very important for good mental well-being, yet people can feel ashamed or embarrassed to tell their friends about how they feel.

“We know it can be hard for a person who feels depressed or anxious to discuss how they’re feeling but it is often friends who can provide the most support.”

Based on the findings of the new survey the Mental Health Foundation has developed a number of recommendations for people to support a friend.

Included in the suggestions are for friends to:

• keep in contact through regular phone calls, visits or emails;
• give emotional support through listening and talking;
• try to provide practical support, such as offering to accompany them shopping or on a visit to their GP;
• just be around; and
• try and understand your friend’s mental health problem.