I will pay for the following essay Chronic Illness. The essay is to be 4 pages with three to five sources, with in-text citations and a reference page.Download file to see previous pages... After the

I will pay for the following essay Chronic Illness. The essay is to be 4 pages with three to five sources, with in-text citations and a reference page.

After the onset of a chronic illness most people begin to adjust to their situation. Using one theory, discuss how this might occur. (I want to choose Cognitive Adaptation Theory with its three reaction) This theory proposed by Taylor is a way for individuals who have suffered and who are still suffering chronic illnesses to deal with their traumatizing situations in the past or present. It can also be said to be a defence mechanism which prevents the reoccurrence of the trauma experienced as a result of the chronic illness (Buss, 2005). Cognitive adaption through its three themes allows for the patients to recover and bounce back to reality from their past. These three themes or reactions are steps through which the people who have experienced the chronic illnesses go through as an adjustment process before they fully recover or go back to their “normal self.” These three themes or reactions are: search for meaning in the experience, attempts to regain mastery of their lives in general and finally restoration of self-esteem which happens through self-evaluation. The first reaction of searching for meaning involves the patient trying to fully understand the chronic illness and get to know how and why it occurred and generally everything concerning the illness. This search also leads to the person understanding the significance of the illness in not only his or her life but to that of others as well. It is through this search for meaning that the patient with the chronic illness is able to make peace and get in terms with the situation facing him or her and also learn how to adapt and even make the necessary adjustments whether they are physical or psychological and also help the others make such adjustments as well. Other than understanding why the illness occurred, the person is able search for the implications of such a chronic illness to life and this mainly leads to bringing new meaning to the whole concept of life. This has especially been proven to be true for patients with cancer or those who have suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for a long time (Schwabish, 2009). The second reaction of gaining a sense of mastery involves gaining a sense of control over the situation (mentally and physically) now that the patient has already understood what the illness entails in terms of causes. The patient therefore in a process of recovering psychologically also starts changing lifestyle for the better to avoid the recurrence of the illness. These changes which are as a result of mastery of the illness include eating habits, exercises and change of other harmful lifestyle. For cancer patients for example, they start avoiding carcinogenic food and keep on with regular check-ups in the hospital. All this is possible because at this point, the patient has started gaining control of not only the illness but of life in general and psychologically, the patient is settled (Brennan and Moynihan, 2004). The last is the process of self-enhancement where now that the patient has taken control of his or her life, he or she seeks to restore self-esteem. This happens through self-evaluation where the patient seeks comparison with others who have gone through the illness but adjusted differently or also compares how he or she was at the onset of the illness and the psychological and physical state currently.