Coping with Critical Illnesses – What should you do?

Learning to cope with critical illnesses can take a mental and emotional toll on both you and your loved ones, more so if these illnesses are terminal. These illnesses bring with them not only the high cost of medical bills, but feelings of sadness, hurt, frustration, fear and anxiety.

In today’s piece, we would like to discuss ways of coping with critical illnesses.

1.?Get information on your illness?– Being educated on your illness is the first step you should take and can make all the difference in overcoming it. Many times, we prematurely give up when diagnosed without knowing that there are things that we can do to mitigate and recover from critical illnesses. Take heart attacks for example, despite being a critical illness, simple steps such as proper medication, diet and exercise can greatly assist you in recovering and continuing with your life.

2.?Reach out to your support group?– You do not need to do this alone. Critical illnesses can be a time of great mental and emotional pain and having a trusted circle of loved ones to talk with and express yourself can ease this burden.

3.?Seek professional help?– Having a critical illness can be a difficult time in anyone’s life and there is no embarrassment in seeking professional help in the form of counseling or a psychiatrist/psychologist to help you get through it. Do not hesitate to do this if you feel like it would make things easier for you.

4.?Make your final decisions?– If you have been diagnosed with a terminal critical illness, then take the time to plan and make your end-of-life decisions. This can mean putting your assets in order, finalizing your will, last wishes and preparing any health care that you may need.

5.?Put your finances in order– Critical illnesses can be a sinkhole for your finances, especially if you require crucial medical treatments. This may lead to you using savings that you would have put aside for this very situation. Having a secured line of credit by using your home as collateral to handle these expenses is also a good way. However, you can invest in a Critical Illness Plan which is a sound financial decision to make as it gives you a lumpsum cash payout on the advent of being diagnosed with a critical illness. As a result, you can avoid having to use your home as collateral for credit.

Thank you for joining us for this week’s blog. Do have an enjoyable weekend and join us again next week for more.