Support for long-term health conditions

Long term conditions are physical health conditions that require ongoing management over a period of years and includes diabetes, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, COPD, heart conditions, asthma, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME and arthritis. Visit www.nhs.uk for more information about your long-term health condition and the support that is available.

Many emotions and feelings can arise from living with a long-term health condition. You may feel frustrated, tired or worried.

There are many challenges involved, especially when dealing with difficult or unpleasant symptoms, procedures or treatments. It’s understandable that this can cause you to feel down, stressed or just not your usual self.

A long-term condition can affect all aspects of your life. You can struggle to manage the changes that a health condition requires of you or find it more difficult to cope with your usual daily activities.

• Maybe you feel frustrated about how your condition makes you feel
• Maybe you worry about when the next flare up may be
• You might feel down if you’re finding it difficult to adjust to your condition
• You might not feel as confident as you used to or reluctant to try things differently
• Maybe you feel alone and isolated with your condition.

Who does it affect? More than 15 million people in England live with one or more long term conditions, according to the Department of Health (2011) and more than four million will also struggle with their emotional wellbeing and experience depression and anxiety.

Our physical and mental health are inextricably linked and when both are affecting you, you may find yourself struggling to cope, feel alone or afraid of how your life can improve.
Social care and support guide If you need help with day-to-day living because of illness or disability or care for someone regularly because they’re ill, elderly or disabled – including family members the NHS guide to care and support explains your options and where you can get support.
 

Self-management is about finding ways, and learning techniques, which enable you to control your long-term health condition, rather than having it control you.

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust offer a self-management programme called Live Better to Feel Better: here