NURSING 5: Exploring the Impact of Illness on Individuals

This reflective essay delves into the multifaceted impact of illness, examining its effects on individuals, families, and healthcare professionals. The essay explores how illness, particularly chronic conditions, can negatively affect the social, physical, and psychological functioning of patients, leading to stress, anxiety, and depression. It also analyzes how illness impacts family dynamics, potentially straining relationships and creating emotional and practical challenges for caregivers. Furthermore, the essay discusses the challenges faced by healthcare professionals in managing chronic diseases, including feelings of powerlessness and the emotional toll of caring for patients. The author emphasizes the importance of seeking support and developing coping mechanisms to navigate the complexities of illness and its effects on all involved. The essay uses personal reflection and supporting references to illustrate its points.

Running head: NURSING 1
Meaning of Illness on an Individual
Name
Institution

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Reflective Essay
An illness negatively impacts on several people from the patient, to their family, a professional
healthcare giver, and the society at large. Chronic illness, in particular, is perceived to affect the
social, physical and psychological functioning of an individual ("Living With Chronic Illness |
Cleveland Clinic", 2019). From the perspective of the individual being taken care of, I believe
that illness can affect one in several different ways. A counselor may be needed to help the
patient deal with the stress and pain associated with the illness. I believe that an illness especially
chronic illness takes a toll on a patient and they can notice that they are unable to cope when they
experience disturbed sleep, irritability, body aches, and anxiety. It is a different story being ill
with an acute illness like flu because I would expect this to go away after a short time. A chronic
illness, on the other hand, disrupts your life in several ways.
I believe that there are other invisible symptoms such as mood disorders and fatigue that
accompany the disease-specific disorders associated with chronic illness. There are also
associated physical changes that change the appearance of the patient. I can ascertain that these
physical changes can affect how one feels about themselves. As a patient, when I do not feel
good about myself I would avoid associating with people and prefer to be alone. As a result, one
develops stress, frustrations, anger, and depression. However, I believe that one should seek help
immediately they feel unable to cope with their condition. As a patient, if I manage to take action
early I can learn to manage the stress that may help me in maintaining a positive emotional and
physical appearance.
An illness will also affect the family of the patient in many ways. I believe that the quality of life
of an individual has a very close relationship with the quality of life of the people around them.
As a result, I am obliged to state that an illness negatively affects family relationships such as

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between the patient and his/her relatives and between other members of the family. Each
member of the family may be struggling to deal with their frustrations and fear brought by the
illness. Sometimes the caregiver struggles alone with very little support ("How Chronic Illness or
Disability Affects a Family", 2019). The family in some situations gets consumed with the care
for one of their own thus affecting other aspects of their lives. They start seeking alternatives
once they lose patience about a particular medication. This can create frustrations and sometimes
illness in the family. I also think that the illness may make some members of the family feel that
others are not doing enough to provide care and support. This creates animosity within the
members of the family which may even lead to them neglecting the patient.
The people closest to the patient during an illness may in some instances feel that the demands
upon them are way too much. I believe that this may lead to a constant feeling of tiredness to the
point that the individuals closest to the patient never have the energy to engage in other
activities. The time that one may wish to spend on personal interest is in most cases given up to
provide care for the ailing member of the family ("How Chronic Illness or Disability Affects a
Family", 2019). I, however, can also confirm that illness to one member of the family can bring
the family together. The experience that comes with caring for a chronically ill patient may
strengthen families and bring the family members closer.
I can also ascertain that a chronic illness posses a great challenge to healthcare professionals.
Sometimes as a doctor, one feels powerless due to the low duration and slow progression of
chronic diseases. Doctors, especially the young ones always want to be saviors but treating
chronic illness may prove to be a very big challenge (Braillard, Slama-Chaudhry, Joly, Perone &
Beran, 2019). In some instances, the patient does not anticipate getting better and I believe this
feeling massively contributes to the feeling of powerlessness among the healthcare professionals.

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As a doctor, if one feels that the intervention they are proposing may not change anything, their
feeling of powerlessness is heightened.
The responsibility of a healthcare professional is not to cure but to simply provide treatment. I
believe this reasoning can help the healthcare professional to understand that they cannot always
be saviors and they can thus realize the limits of their capabilities. Some doctors take on their
patient’s burden and this can have both positive and negative impacts on the healthcare
professional (Braillard, Slama-Chaudhry, Joly, Perone & Beran, 2019). I believe that doctors
require a lot of emotional support and energy to deal with and take on the burden of their
patients. On the other hand, it also motivates them to provide the best care for the ailing patient.

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References
Braillard, O., Slama-Chaudhry, A., Joly, C., Perone, N., & Beran, D. (2019). The impact of
chronic disease management on primary care doctors in Switzerland: a qualitative study.
Retrieved 16 August 2019, from
How Chronic Illness or Disability Affects a Family. (2019). Retrieved 16 August 2019, from
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/chronic/Pages/How
%20Chronic-Illness-Affects-the-Family.aspx
Living With Chronic Illness | Cleveland Clinic. (2019). Retrieved 16 August 2019, from
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/4062-chronic-illness