Sick And Tired Of Feeling Sick And Tired: Living With Invisible Chronic Illness

Front Cover
W. W. Norton & Company, Oct 10, 2000 - Health & Fitness - 304 pages
Unlike a leg in a cast, invisible chronic illness (ICI) has no observable symptoms.

Consequently, people who suffer from chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and many other miseries often endure not only the ailment but dismissive and negative reactions from others. Since its first publication, Sick and Tired of Feeling Sick and Tired has offered hope and coping strategies to thousands of people who suffer from ICI. Paul Donoghue and Mary Siegel teach their readers how to rethink how they themselves view their illness and how to communicate with loved ones and doctors in a way that meets their needs. The authors' understanding makes readers feel they have been heard for the first time. For this edition, the authors include a new introduction drawing on the experiences of the many people who have responded to the book and to their lectures and television appearances. They expand the definition of ICI to include other ailments such as depression, addiction, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. They bring the resource material, including Web sites, up to the present, and they offer fresh insights on four topics that often emerge: guilt, how ICI affects the family, meaningfulness, and defining acceptance.
 

Contents

Introduction to Invisible Chronic Illness
3
The Baffling Forms of ICI
12
The Psychological Consequences of ICI
29
Three Dimensions of ICI and Their
39
CHAPTER 5
55
Seeking Answers Seeking Cures
72
Consulting a Doctor
79
Relating with Family Friends
89
Living Your Story
140
Identifying Your Story
152
HealthCare System
160
Coping with ICI in the Family
171
CHAPTER 17
187
CHAPTER 18
207
Managing Stress Associated with ICI
223
Notes
241

Coping with Invisible Chronic Illness
95
Thinking Clearly
105
Irrational Thinking and ICI
116
Using Imagery to Confront Irrational
129
Authors Recommended Reading List
248
Illness Associations
257
Index
269
Copyright

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About the author (2000)

Mary E. Siegel, Ph.D., is a psychologist in private practice in Stamford, Connecticut.

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