Reflection on Chronic Illness: A Personal Clinical Integration Account

This assignment presents a reflective account of a student's personal experience with chronic illness, structured using the 5 R's of reflection: Reporting, Responding, Relating, Reasoning, and Reconstructing. The student details their life before and after diagnosis with conditions like Interstitial Cystitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, highlighting the physical and psychological impact, including anxiety and depression. The reflection describes a turning point at a conference, where the student found solace and a new perspective through a colleague's story, leading to a realization of wholeness and authenticity. The assignment analyzes the effects of chronic disorders on the immune system and mental health, referencing relevant literature. The student reconstructs their experience, emphasizing the importance of early intervention, accepting the situation, and developing coping mechanisms. The reflection concludes with a commitment to further training and skill development to better manage chronic conditions and support others facing similar challenges.

Running head: CLINICAL INTEGRATION SPECIALTY PRACTICE 1
Clinical Integration Specialty Practice
Name of Author
Institution of Affiliation
Date of Submission

CLINICAL INTEGRATION SPECIALTY PRACTICE 2
Clinical Integration Specialty Practice
1. Reporting
This paper reflects on the writer’s experience of living with chronic illness. Before being
diagnosed with a chronic disorder, his life was good, he had energy and didn’t wake up fatigued.
He got excited about taking the next meal, going for a walk, etc.
His life changed certainly when he was diagnosed with a chronic disorder. He remembers
very well the feeling he had when he was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, a condition
characterized by a painful bladder. The condition is auto-immune where the immune system
mistakenly attacks the body. Since his diagnosis of chronic illness, his overall health had
continued to worsen. He has been diagnosed with multiple disorders such as irritable bowel
syndrome, stabbing pain and a repetitive stress injury. The stabbing pain that he experienced
made him think that he had cancer. He sometimes felt he was dying a slow and painful death.
2. Responding
The situation made him have anxiety which was coupled with depression. His life was
fucking horrible and made him to sometimes think of committing suicide. His turning point is
where he responded to the situation by deciding to attend the 2017 SAGNAS conference. This
was his last time to attend the conferenced of a non-profit organization. While at the conference,
his anxiety was very high and he had trouble falling asleep as he had taken anti-depressant.
At 3 am he went through one of the worst panic attacks and the night was a blur. He
remembers very well trying to call for aid. The next thing he saw was doctors in his room trying
to talk to me. This time, he was confused scared and desperate. The doctors give him two

CLINICAL INTEGRATION SPECIALTY PRACTICE 3
choices to either stay there or let his anxiety pass or else go with them. Certainly, he was
strapped into a stretcher, taken back of the ambulance, and then taken to a mental health clinic.
While in the clinic he walked into the VIP lounge only to find his colleague, a Native
American speaker with his wife. The man began sharing his story about having to sleep in the
forest for three months. His story made him have tears of release. It is at that moment that he
finally saw himself as whole and authentic.
3. Relating
The situation of having to leave with a chronic condition was challenging for him. It
changed his thoughts towards his life, a life full of distress. He was extremely upset and
depressed about the multiple health conditions that he had. However, he is pleased that he
miraculously met his colleague who motivated him by sharing his sad story. Everything that he
had learned at the conference embodies, diversity is our strength, bringing the whole self to work
and embracing oneself had manifested to him. He now had hope of living a positive life.
4. Reasoning
A chronic disorder takes root to the body’s immune system by weakening the immune
system thus making the body prone to multiple illnesses (Gomes et al., 2016). According to
(Årestedt et al., 2018), chronic infections trigger feelings of depression and depression increases
the risk of getting another disorder becomes high. It points out that the depression that is as a
result of chronic condition mostly makes the condition worse, commonly if the disease causes
pain and fatigue (Jowsey, 2016). The combination of chronic disease and depression can result in
isolation from other people thus making depression worsen. Besides, as per (Be, 2016), the best
way to manage chronic infection is by accepting and embracing who you are

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5. Reconstructing
While looking back at the incident, I can conclude that the writer should have acted
sooner when he was diagnosed with chronic infection. He could have decided to go to physical
therapists who could have taught him how to manage his chronic condition so as to achieve long-
term health benefits (Davis & Murphy, 2016). I can see that his failure to act immediately had
made his life to be miserable and had put his life in danger as he was really depressed. From the
incident, I have realized that one crucial aspect of living quality life is letting go of the
preconceived ideas of how you think of life and how it is supposed to be.
My perspective about chronic disease is that it can flare up unexpectedly making one-
stop doing some of the crucial tasks in life. I need to go for special training on how to manage
chronic disorders as this will provide me with skills that I can use whenever I meet a client with
such conditions. Besides, I aim to develop skills of taking control of distress as this can help
reduce the severity of chronic diseases (Denham, 2015).

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References
Årestedt, L., Persson, C., Rämgård, M., & Benzein, E. (2018). Experiences of encounters with
healthcare professionals through the lenses of families living with chronic illness. Journal
of clinical nursing, 27(3-4), 836-847.
Be, A. (2016). Disablism in the lives of people living with a chronic illness in England and
Portugal. Disability & society, 31(4), 465-480.
Davis, B., & Murphy, M. S. (2016). Playing with Moon Sand: a narrative inquiry into a teacher’s
experiences teaching alongside a student with a chronic illness. Teachers and
Teaching, 22(1), 6-20.
Denham, S. A. (2015). Family focused care and chronic illness. Family
‐focused nursing care,
25-47.
Gomes, G. C., Nornberg, P. K. O., Jung, B. C., Nobre, C. M. G., Rodrigues, E. F., & Xavier, D.
M. (2016). Chronic disease in children: family experience in diagnostic reception. Rev.
enferm. UFPE on line.[Internet], 10, 4837-44.
Jowsey, T. (2016). Time and chronic illness: a narrative review. Quality of life research, 25(5),
1093-1102.