{"id":6349,"date":"2020-02-13T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifestyle.org\/?p=6349"},"modified":"2023-05-19T08:56:41","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T15:56:41","slug":"how-to-disclose-a-difficult-diagnosis-to-your-loved-ones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifestyle.org\/how-to-disclose-a-difficult-diagnosis-to-your-loved-ones\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Disclose a Difficult Diagnosis to Your Loved Ones"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"> <\/figure>\n<p>Having a serious illness like cancer, heart disease, or ALS can be very lonely, and no one should try to bear it alone. First, it isn&#8217;t practical to hide something that serious from friends and family without them noticing that something is troubling you. Second, acting like everything is okay when it&#8217;s not, requires energy you need for treatment and recovery.<\/p>\n<p>However, sharing a difficult diagnosis with<br \/>\nloved ones makes it more real, which can be a huge challenge when still coming<br \/>\nto terms with the diagnosis yourself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Get the Right<br \/>\nDiagnosis&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Misdiagnosis happens, so make sure you get a<br \/>\nsecond opinion. Until then, keep the news within your inner circle. You might<br \/>\nconsider sparing the kids until you get confirmation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell Your Nearest and<br \/>\nDearest First<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once you have the right diagnosis, talk to your<br \/>\nclosest family members and friends. Leave your neighbors, childhood friends,<br \/>\nand coworkers out of it for now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s best to do it in person, if possible. If<br \/>\nyou&#8217;re not feeling up to the task, ask your spouse, sibling, or any other close<br \/>\nfamily member to share the news on your behalf; follow up personally when<br \/>\nready.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ask them to keep the news confidential, at least<br \/>\nfor now. You don&#8217;t want to be &#8216;outed&#8217; in a heartfelt social media post before<br \/>\nyou talk to the people outside your inner circle.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell the Kids<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The desire to shield your kids from the news is<br \/>\nnatural. However, the kids probably already know something is wrong. Decide how<br \/>\nmuch to tell them depending on their ages and emotional maturity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell Friends and<br \/>\nAcquaintances<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not everyone deserves to know about your<br \/>\nillness. You don&#8217;t need to and probably shouldn&#8217;t post about it on social<br \/>\nmedia. Proceed with caution and use your judgment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re not ready for the world to know about<br \/>\nyour health condition, only tell friends and acquaintances who&#8217;ve proven their<br \/>\nability to keep secrets in the past.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell Your Coworkers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a reason why your coworkers should be<br \/>\namong the last people to learn about your diagnosis. Although you should be<br \/>\nprotected under the Americans With Disabilities Act, unethical employers and<br \/>\ncoworkers could find a way to make you regret sharing your health condition<br \/>\nwith them.<\/p>\n<p>First, do some research. Find out how similar situations were handled in the past, and talk to a lawyer if needed. Second, depending on company policy, talk to your boss or HR department; it&#8217;s not good for them to hear it from your coworkers. Lastly, talk to a few trusted coworkers who will support you on this journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sharing a difficult diagnosis with your loved ones gives them the chance to support you in your treatment and recovery. Use the above guidelines to help decide when, who, and how to share your important health issues.<\/p>\n<span class=\"et_bloom_bottom_trigger\"><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Having a serious illness like cancer, heart disease, or ALS can be very lonely, and no one should try to bear it alone. First, it isn&#8217;t practical to hide something that serious from friends and family without them noticing that something is troubling you. Second, acting like everything is okay when it&#8217;s not, requires energy&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1593,1541,1600,1029],"aware":[1755,1753],"class_list":["post-6349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","tag-health-recovery","tag-health-symptoms","tag-loneliness","tag-social-connection","aware-relationships","aware-wellness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Disclose a Difficult Diagnosis to Your Loved Ones - Lifestyle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifestyle.org\/how-to-disclose-a-difficult-diagnosis-to-your-loved-ones\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Disclose a Difficult Diagnosis to Your Loved Ones - Lifestyle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Having a serious illness like cancer, heart disease, or ALS can be very lonely, and no one should try to bear it alone. 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