Health is an important value in the modern society and its counterpart – illness – presents a crisis life event. It brings big changes to an individual's life and shatters his or her lifestyle. Social interactions and individual’s working abilities change. Illness affects experiencing and demands many adaptations and sacrifices. There are several ways of coping with illness. Which one an individual will choose, depends upon many factors, but especially upon him or herself.
In the theoretical part, the following topics are presented: the concepts of health and illness, coping with illness, coping strategies and styles that individuals use, the experience of illness and emotional reactions to it, patient’s social environment and social support, and self-help groups.
The empirical part has two parts. In part A, my first person research of my own coping with illness is presented. Its purpose was to analyse the experience, feelings and relationships in time of my illness and the modes and strategies that helped me to cope and live with it. In part B, my action research of establishing, managing and analysing a self-help group for young adults with physical illness experience is presented. I studied personal experiences and emotional reactions of members of the group as well as their coping strategies, the process and the development of the group, and its dynamics.
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