Are you terminally ill and how do you deal with it mentally?

Answer 1

No, I'm not, but someone close to me is.
It depends on a lot of things - like how long one has to live and what symptoms they suffer during that time. In this case, the patient has had "less than two years" for the last ten years, but there were trials and experimental treatments that promised no cures but only bought time. When those ran out, it was clear that the final countdown had begun. Symptoms were minor until the final six-month countdown.

One deals with it because they have to. Drugs are a major factor. Anti-anxiety drugs, anti-depressants, and painkillers all play a role. Concerns about addiction become irrelevant. Also, the patient is involved in the planning process, down to writing their own obituary, calling relatives in to discuss who gets which furniture and personal belongings, getting paperwork straightened out, consulting lawyers about more complex stuff.

Birth and death cause breakdowns of certain social taboos. During pregnancy and after childbirth, women openly discuss the state of their female organs and whip out their breasts regardless of who's watching. During the weeks leading up to death, the victim talks about it like they're transferring to a new job. There are still a few weeks to go here. I don't know how that period will be.

Answer 2

I have just been diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer and even though I'm expected to make a full recovery I do wonder what will happen if they find out it's worse than we first think. I have had several close turns with death but this is the first time that I have had to deal with this while knowing about it. The last time that I almost died I was in a coma and didn't really have the faculties to deal with the reality of the situation, now I have children and I have a minor child. I really would have to think things differently. I also have to think about what i would have to do to make sure that my minor daughter is taken care of. As for the idea of dying except for leaving my children it wouldn't bother me, I've lived with the idea all my life as I was born with a rare blood disorder that might reoccur in adolescence or adulthood. So the idea that I might redevelop this disorder and this time die from it has always been something that I've lived with all my life. It's leaving my children and family that upsets me the most.

Answer 3

im not, but people learn to accept it eventually. they try to embrace what life they have left. it doesnt make much sense to waste your last time in bed eating pints of ice cream.

Answer 4

i just keep telling myself that i am going to die of something someday anyway,it happens to us all!! i just live one day at a time and do all i can to have a full life in it.