What helps
you cope
with your illness?

How to
make good use of
your
emotional,
spiritual and
religious strengths

By Peter Richmond
Chaplain with Somerset Partnership NHS and Social Care Trust

What helps you cope with your illness?

Your medical and physical needs will be a first priority,
but so are your emotional, spiritual and religious needs.

So, what does help you cope with your illness?

Are some of these things helpful?

* Your beliefs and deep convictions
* Other people's positive behaviour or attitudes towards you
* Your emotional support from friends and family
* Making relationships that bring hope and new opportunities
* Your prayers, religious practices or contemplations

How can we help you use these resources?

* Would you like to speak to someone about your emotional, spiritual or religious needs
* Do you know someone who you think would be helpful
* Do you need help to contact them

Who to ask about religious and spiritual matters

Anything or anybody that gives meaning, value and purpose to us, can be a source of spiritual help. You may have religious connections with your spirituality, but your emphasis may be as much on family and friends, your own inner peace, or being in touch with creation. You are unique in some ways, different from some, and similar to others too. We also have some things 'spiritual' in common with everyone. The trick is to know roughly what you want to talk about, and then ask staff to advise you. You may want to talk to a chaplain for an initial 'think through'.

Has your illness led you to begin asking questions?

You may wish to keep your thoughts on spirituality private, and your wishes will be respected. However, you may want to talk things through with a member of staff. Some questions are deeply thought through, others are just plain troubling, we have all asked questions like -

What am I here for?
Questions about yourself What should I be doing?
Where am I going?

What do I feel about others?
Questions about others What should others be doing?
Where will they be going?

What is the world here for?
Questions about our world What can we expect of life?
What will happen to the world?

What do I believe about God?
Questions about God What do I expect from God?
Why has this happened to me?

If you want to explore any of these questions, please ask. And, even if you do not go in for the 'philosophical' approach, it is a good idea to check with staff how you feel about these key issues

* Your social wellbeing
* Your physical wellbeing
* Your intellectual wellbeing
* Your emotional wellbeing
* Your devotional or religious wellbeing

Health Care Chaplains are there for anyone

Making contacts for you - at your request

* To meet your own priest or minister
* To receive details of local church services
* To have religious books or prayer resources available

We have existing connections with these churches:

Baptist, Church of England. Community Church. Methodist. Pentecostal. Roman Catholic. Salvation Army. Society of Friends. United Reformed Church.

If you come from another religious tradition, we have contact information for most groups, faiths and philosophies, and we will be pleased to co-ordinate contact on your behalf.

Human Spirituality

Spirituality is something we are all accustomed to using
- but sometimes without realising it.
Spirituality brings connection, strength and variety to life
- through our hopes, beliefs and support systems
Spirituality is a creative and healing energy
- we use it well and we are so much the better, and hopefully
- able to cope better with our illnesses.

This leaflet was produced by Peter Richmond- for permission to reproduce- please contact copyright@hospitalchaplain.com and we will contact him.

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