by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
An interesting phenomenon that I used to observe in bereaved family members during my years working in hospice palliative care is the range of personal grieving styles, and the resulting conflicts over the “right way” to grieve. Continue reading “Which one’s right? Eight ways that patients and families can view heart disease”
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
Earlier this week, I revisited Dr. Wayne Sotile’s excellent book, Thriving With Heart Disease – a favourite of mine since I discovered it several months after my own heart attack, and particularly the book’s second chapter, The Four Stages of Heart Illness. Dr. Sotile, a cardiac psychologist, describes the newly diagnosed heart patient’s journey through a series of four separate stages.
Dr. Sotile believes that your recovery will have fewer surprises if you are familiar with these commonly-experienced stages and know what to expect. The stages may not occur in any particular order.
Today, we consider the second stage of cardiac recovery*:
Stage 2: Creating a Coping Strategy – Everyone starts to grasp what heart illness is, what’s involved in treatment and recovery, and that the patient and family must work as a team.
According to Dr. Sotile, once your heart condition has stabilized and your fears of imminent death have eased, you start asking:
“What happens next?” Continue reading “Creating a coping strategy: the second stage of heart attack recovery”
Heart Sisters 