If you are undergoing a chronic disease, your health problems can cause more than just physical harm. Let us see how a gap in health can affect relationships with loved ones.
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A gap in health can affect relationships. A person who suffers from an illness knows that he is not doing as much as they used to contribute to a relationship. You may not be able to contribute enough time. It may happen that due to reduced energy, you cannot spend time together. A gap in health may impact the relationships negatively.
Are you wondering how to overcome a health gap and create a good bond with your loved ones again? This article will talk about how you can help your relationship overcome a health gap. But before that, let’s check what causes a health gap and how it affects a relationship.
What Causes A Health Gap?
There are multiple reasons which lead to the health gap. Some of them are:
Chronic diseases:
Being affected by chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart failure is the primary cause of death amongst Americans. When a person is affected by chronic illness, their activities become restricted.
They may feel unenergetic all the time. This leads to a health gap as the person can’t cope with all the tasks on their own. It may require a lifelong treatment of the disease.
Smoking:
Around 16mn Americans are living with a smoking-related disease. People who smoke can get affected by severe diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, cancer emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
Smoking also enhances the risk of being affected by diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis.
While smoking itself is unlikely to cause a gap in health, it is the root cause of many chronic diseases, which is why it is an important factor to consider when talking about health gaps.
Consumption of illicit drugs:
The consumption of drugs may lead to various mental problems like anxiety, depression, and psychosis.
Sometimes financial issues due to these mental conditions may increase the chances of health gaps. The consumption of drugs leads to a change in a person’s behaviour. It may lead to assault in the relationship and health gap too.
Obesity:
Obesity has become a significant cause of worry and concern among people now. Being obese leads to less self-confidence. You may feel embarrassed and guilty for not being fit.
This can lead to a health gap between the couples if one doesn’t feel comfortable about themselves.
Being physically inactive:
Being physically inactive may lead to obesity and other conditions like high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels.
If you constantly suffer from any of these diseases, it may lead to a health gap in a relationship as you feel less energetic. It would help if you visited the doctor more frequently.
Going through neurological and psychological problems:
There are many reasons, which show why a person can have mental conditions. When they cannot achieve a particular thing, they may have gone through a sudden shock or trauma.
It may lead to mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. You may feel like isolating yourself from everything and staying alone. It may increase the health gap in the relationship as the communication ends. It may lead to misunderstanding amongst the couples.
How Does a Gap in Health Affect relationships?
Increased responsibilities:
A person who cares in the relationship is flooded with many responsibilities, responsibilities of the house, family, and a child. It becomes difficult for the person to provide care entirely to the sick spouse and manage the work, cook food and take care of the other things.
It might become difficult and frustrating at the same time. Thus a gap in a relationship would lead to stress about the person’s recovery and handling responsibilities altogether.
Affect intimacy with the partner:
The illness or health gap affects your intimacy with your partner. For example: Due to increased illness and weakness in the body, you may feel unable to become intimate and lose interest in making love. Consumption of excessive medicines may lead to decreased libido as a side effect.
It may affect your overall well being with your partner:
Being affected by illness may affect the overall well-being of a person. Symptoms of the disease can make a person lazy, anxious, isolated, and sometimes it may impact the ability to express empathy for others. These symptoms may cause resentment within your partner. Sometimes it may lead to codependency.
Communication is vital to maintain a good understanding amongst the couples. However, if you are suffering from a gap in health, you may not feel like communicating with your partner. It may lead to many misunderstandings.
It may lead to guilt, resentment, and shame:
If you have a mental illness, it may lead to stress in a relationship because its stigma may cause you shame, embarrassment, and sometimes guilt about the condition.
The ill person might try to hide the symptoms or fail to ask for help if they need it. Meanwhile, the partner may feel frustrated and confused for not being able to work.
Sometimes it may lead to depression or anxiety as the person has to take all the responsibility for himself and care for the partner. It may feel challenging for a person, and it may strain the person as they have to carry out all the activities on their own without support.
Help Relationships Overcome Health Gaps
Try to spend more time together:
Try to support your spouse and assure them that you are always beside them. This would positively impact their mindset. Try to understand their requirements and look after them if they want to talk. Try to share the small routines of your day.
It can be walking with the dog, exercising together, watching a movie, or visiting the doctor. Try to look after how much they have recovered from a particular disease. You both may be very happy spending time together.
Be aware of their conditions:
It would be very fruitful and effective if you could talk to the doctor and pay attention to your partner and the treatment they need. Have a track of the progress from the illness.
The internet may provide you with accurate information about the condition and the necessary treatment. You can try to take information from the doctors and get the best treatment done for your spouse.
Try to visit the specialist together:
Don’t wait outside when taking medical appointments. It is always helpful to talk to the doctor about the treatment plan. You can have a list of questions and concerns you want to ask your doctor.
It would be great to prioritize your questions and ask about the progress. If you cannot visit the doctor together, then you can take consultation on call. It would be great if you were with your partner to boost their self-esteem and morale.
Focus upon the routine:
After the diagnosis of a particular disease, the doctor may recommend changes in the intensity of the physical activities, medicine routine, rest, and the spouse’s diet. With the help of encouragement and support, they may stay on the correct track.
But it may lead to frustration on both sides. The ill one might not appreciate the nagging. Try to seek the support of the health care practitioner and understand what the essential changes you need to make are. Make sure that you don’t get angry and handle them with love and care.
Try to accept help:
If you can’t carry out all the activities on your own, then try to seek help. By taking the help, you can provide the rest and support for your partner. Being a caring partner and working on all the activities on your own may lead to being exhausted.
Trying to ask for house help, home nursing services, and providing physical therapy can also be great. Try to ensure your partner’s safety and pay attention to the functioning of the house.
Show some empathy and compassion:
Try to be motivated to relieve the other person’s pain and suffering. It is called being compassionate towards someone. Being compassionate is helping in difficult situations and getting out of the problems together.
Try to empathize with the other person and try to feel the emotions.
Help them understand that it might be challenging to manage the situation right now. But, there will be a moment when it will be all ok.
Try to believe and give validation:
Try to give validation and believe in their feelings and concerns. Try to feel the same as what would happen if you were suffering from chronic illness. Try to fulfill all their needs. Keep trying to understand what the requirements are and why they are feeling sad, or why they are depressed.
Don’t let them build any stigma or misconception related to their illness in their minds. This is the time when you need to support each other and overcome the health gap.
Try to show interest and support the journey:
People will support you when you are happy and well. But, sometimes, nobody may be there to support. Being a partner, you can make them feel that it is absolutely fine and nothing has changed. Try to ask them to make some healthy choices.
Don’t let them be isolated. Assure them that you need to be patient and support them in this journey’s daily activities. Try to add more fun and interest by doing the things they like. This would help you to overcome the health gap in the relationship.
It’s completely ok not to be ok:
Try to make them understand that it is ok for not being ok. Many people fall sick, and it is completely fine. Try to boost their morale. Don’t let them feel like what has happened to me.
Try to behave normally and do not overreact to anything. Sometimes they need space, so provide them space. Make a note of the things that make them happy. Sometimes people need rest and some personal space.
Let go of the expectations:
Don’t expect the person suffering from a chronic illness to always be there. You do not know when the person is feeling low and weak.
If they do not answer the emails or phone right away, they understand that they might feel low. The best support that you can provide is by understanding them. Trust the process so that everything will be a little better.
Let them rest:
Ask them to rest properly. You may ask them to take holidays from work completely. It is essential to spend some time with them. But, do not force them if they are not feeling well; this may cause frustration amongst them.
You may reduce the health gap in relationships through all these ways. It may strengthen your bond.
What Leads To Healthy Relationships?
Various factors lead to a healthy relationship. The health gap may lead to an unhealthy relationship. It is essential to understand some tips and tricks so that a person can achieve a healthy relationship.
Communication is the key to developing healthy relationships:
Open communication is necessary to build a healthy relationship between two people. Fights and disagreements are normal in relationships.
Fights may lead to stress, and the condition may worsen. But being calm and having constructive communication may lead to overcoming any fight. Don’t argue and try to admit your mistake. Try to accept if another person has made a mistake.
Try to contribute time for the couple activities:
The best way to overcome conflict or problems is by spending quality time together. It doesn’t matter how busy you are with your work. Taking out time for people you care for and loved ones is essential.
The demands from a profession may leave you with little time. But yes, you can make the time enjoyable with your loved one. Doing the activities which you both like will strengthen the bond. You may play card games and board games together.
Try to take out your own space:
Taking out time for the loved ones is essential. But, it is necessary to take time for yourself. Also, ask a partner to do the same and give them a little space.
You can take time for yourself, and activities you like can be self-care or a skincare routine. It is essential to create a balance between all the activities.
If you are too distant and a bit close to each other, you may feel like not being enthusiastic about spending time with each other.
Try to appreciate and give some attention:
Initially, couples in the relationship give each other attention and appreciate each other. But as time passes by, the couples start taking each other for granted. They forget their admiration and stop appreciating each other.
When one of the persons suffers from a health gap or no longer shows affection for the other partner, it leads to less interest and a decreased strength of the bond in the relationship. So appreciating each other is essential for both.
Can a Person Overcome a Health Gap After Being Cured?
Yes, a health gap can be cured if someone overcomes the health issue. But if the person is affected by a chronic health issue, it is essential to manage the health gap.
You can manage the health gap by understanding that it is not a life sentence. You need to make your life a priority and start believing that spending time with your spouse and your health is essential.
Do Health Gaps Cause Stress Between All Couples?
No, when a person is affected by any chronic disease, they might be stressed about it. However, all the couples might not be worried about it.
Some of them may strengthen their bonds and achieve a lovely bond for each other. This might be the best time for them to recollect their memories and share things.
Do All Health Gaps Occur Because of Physical Health Problems?
No, the health gap doesn’t occur because of physical health problems. Sometimes mental health problems may lead to health gaps between the couples. Sometimes, overburdened work or too many responsibilities also leads to the couple’s health gap.
Wrap Up
Health gaps have become a common reason for discrepancies between couples. This may lead to problems sometimes. But, you can work on it and solve this problem together.
We hope that the suggestions, tips, and techniques that we talked about in this guide will help you in mending problems with your loved ones.
In the end, we would like to hear from you. If you have any comments, suggestions, or recommendations, don’t hesitate to share them with us. You can directly contact us through the comment section.
As always, if you liked the content, feel free to share it on your social media handles and in your groups. Relationships are a sensitive subject; we all need advice on managing them from time to time. We hope our little blog can help as many people as possible!
