This document discusses communication within families dealing with chronic illnesses. It compares chronic physical and mental illnesses, noting they differ but also have similarities in how families interact. For chronic physical illnesses, uncertainty from diagnosis can impact family relationships and communication. Maintaining strong marital bonds is challenging, as daily life changes to understand and support the diagnosed family member. Studies show couples who communicate about their relationship experience more benefits. Narratives also help families effectively communicate changes and identities emerging from chronic illnesses. Chronic mental illnesses can be difficult for families due to social stigma and need for constant care and monitoring depending on severity.

1. Chronicphysicalandmentalillnessesareseparatelyreviewedhereduetothe
differencesbetweenthetwo.Inthispaper,theywillalsobecomparedagainsteach
otherinordertodoacrossanalysisbetweenthedifferencesandsimilaritieswith
thewayinwhichfamilymembersaretreateddependingonthetypeofillnessthat
theyhave.
ChronicPhysicalIllness
Chronicphysicalillnessvaryinintensityandtypes,butthereisonecharacteristic
incommon.Theseillnessesrecurthroughtime,typicallyatrandom intervals.The
uncertaintythatusuallycomesalong with a diagnosiscan intenselyimpact
relationshipsandcommunicationwithinthefamily.
Marriageisthefoundationofmostfamiliesacrossdifferentcultures.Makingsure
thatthemaritalbondstaysstrongisquitechallengingwhenamemberofthefamily
facesachronicphysicalillness.Achronicphysicalillnessmaychangetheeveryday
life and interaction ofthe entire family tremendously in orderto attempt
understandinghowthosewhohavebeendiagnosedandtreatedalreadyconducted
aroundrelevantcommunicationprocesses.BashandArkinson(2007)foundthat
amongcouplesthattalkaboutthedirectionandnatureoftheirrelationship,couples
whowhoarechronicallyillexperiencedmorebenefitcomparedtocouplesthatdidnot
includesomebodywhohadsomechronicphysicalillness.Thisliteratureonlyproves
thatinascenariowhereinaspouseischronicallyill,itisveryimportanttouse
communicationinmakingeachotherawareofspecificthingssuchastheirfeelings
aboutacertainsituation,orwhatoneexpectsorneedsfrom theirpartners.
Expressingaboutthestatusoftherelationshipcanbeparticularlyhelpfulforpeople
whoarechronicallyillespeciallywhenitcomestoexpressingfearsrelatedtotheir
marriageandtheirillness.marriageandtheirillness.
HowareIndividualsLivingwithChronic
IllnessTreatedWithintheirFamiliesAfter
Diagnosis?
LiteratureReview

2. BeanandUmali(2009)suggestedthataso-calledcollaborativetalkisthekindof
communicationwhichiscorrelatedcommonlywithpositiveresults.Thisonlygoes
toshowthatitisveryimportantforallmarriedcouplestotalkabouttheirissuesand
situationaltogetherinordertokeeptheirrelationshipverystrongbecausethese
tacticshavealreadybeenproventobevaluableforthecouple.Shim andSimon
(2015)add to thisfurtherbyexplaining thatcoupleswho areawareofthe
expectationsoftheirpartnersregardingcommunicationwithinthemarriageare
momoresuccessfulinprovidingsupporttooneanother.Also,beingawareofthe
desiresoftheirpartnersandbeingabletofulfillthemisimportanttowardsachieving
satisfactioninthefunctioningoftherelationship.Maritalsharingandcopingisnot
justlimitedtothetalkwithintherelationship.Anotherverypowerfulwayofdoingso
isthroughnarratives.
Narrativesissomethingthatisrecognizedstronglyandoftenpraisedthrough
literaturesonchronicphysicalillnesses.Variousstudies(Free&Chapman,2008;
Ottenson&Scott,2005;Dickson&Walker,2006)stresstheprimaryimportanceof
communicatingwithnarrativesforthehealingprocessofthefamily.Narrativesare
verybeneficialsincetheyallow studiesandresearchtocapturesomepersonal
accountsofdisease,letting theillperson actasagatekeeperoftheirown
informationregardingtheirillness.OttensonandScoot(2005)statethatthosewho
araredealingwithchronicphysicalillnessesaremorelikelytoshareactivelyiftheir
perceptionsandfeelingsareconfirmedbyothers,especiallyfamilyandfriends.
Some chronic illnesses resultto a negative socialstigma,and receiving
confirmationthatpeoplewillturnouttoberespectfulisveryimportantingettingthe
patienttoshareandopenupregardingtheirexperiences.Storytellingandnarratives
helpfamiliestoeffectivelycommunicateregardingthechangesthattheyhave
experienced and havetaken placein thefamily.Ottenson and Scoot(2005)
concludedconcludedthatthechangingidentitywhilefacingtheillnessneverstops.Infact,it
isendlesswheelofdevelopment.Sharingvianarrativesincasesofdifferentchronic
physicalillnesshasthepossibilityofexperiencingbettercommunicationinthe
familybecausethepatientcanconciselyandclearlyexplainwhatiscurrentlygoing
onwiththemfromtheirpersonalperspective.

3. Thiscansignificantlyhelpthefamilydeterminewhatthepatienthasbeen
through,whileunderstandingnew identitiesthatareemerging.However,Losch
(1982)pointsoutaveryimportantparadoxexplaining thatpatientsmaybe
empoweredbyexplaininganarrativeaccountoftheirstory,andothersmayalsofeel
anxiousfromrememberingthosemomentswithintheirlife.AsexplainedbyGrethel
andSatchkinson(1992),whentheparticipantsusedcommunicationinreducingthe
fearthattheyfeelregardingtheirillness,theyweremostlikelytocommunicate
regaregardingtheirillnessbetter.WinsyandDenton(2006)showthatnarrativesarevery
importantinmeetingtheexpectationsandunderstandingofthefamilymembers
whentheyexperiencechronicillness.Mostoften,peoplewillalsofaceexpectations
fortheirfamilymemberswithoutevenexpressingthem verbally,leavingthem
confusedmoreoftenregardingthedirectionthattheyneedtotake.However,aform
ofstorytellingornarrativeincasesofchronicphysicalillnessmayalsoreflectsome
oftheunfulfilledneedsofthepatients,helpingfamilymemberstodeterminethem.
Ontheotherhand,achronicmentalillnesscanbequitedifficultforfamiliesto
dealwith,givenitsnegativesocialconnotationsinmostsocietiesallovertheworld
today.Afamilymembersufferingfromchronicmentalillnessmayleadtoconstant
monitoringandcare,dependingontheintensityandtheillness.Assuch,families
mayendupfindingitdifficulttodealwithunderstandingthediagnosisofchronic
mentalillnessduetothenumberofchallengespresented.(Smith,2009).
References
Bash,Bash,J.,&Arkinson,W.R.(2007).Dyadicadjustmentrequiredinchronicillness.Doesitmattertoengageinrelationshiptalks?FamilyPsychology
Journal,21(5),467-471.doi:12.3534656-123.12.3.4543
Bean,G.A.,&Umali,R.(2009).Adevelopmentalmodelofmarriedcouplesdealingwithchronicillness.TheBulletinofPsychology,135(8),
922-956.
Dickson,W.E.,&Walker,G.A.(2006).Copingtechniquesamongcancerpatients:Imaginedinteractionsandactualcommunications.Health
Communication.4,257-268.
FFree,G.A.,&Chapman,E.G.(2008).Culturallybasedapproachesinfamiliesanditspractices.ContemporarySocialServicesJournal.45(5),
200-210.
Grethel,D.F.,&Satchkinson,G.(1992).Docommunicationstylesmoderateinteractionbetweenmembersofthefamilies?FamilyCommunication
Journal,12,153-144.doi:10.1080/2352352.123.2141
Losch,A.D.(1982).Communicationresearchquestions:findinganswers.NewYork:ABCPress.
Shim,A.,& Simon,W.(2015).Caring forcaregivers ofindividuals with mentalillness.JournalofPsychiatry.58(5),223-229.doi:
10.355/124-135.5436
Ottenson,Q.,&Scott,A.(2005_.HealingandnarratiOttenson,Q.,&Scott,A.(2005_.Healingandnarratives.Exploringthepossibilities.HealthCommunication.17(4),135-145.
Winsy,A.,&Denton,Y.(2006).Thecancerjournals.Florida:Sheba.
Smith,T.(2009).Stigmaandsocialdisruption–networkdynamicsinmentalillnesses.SocialandPersonalPsychology.33(2),23-34.