Tell them how much you care. As a loved one, you can do your part in reassuring someone you care about by letting them know what they mean to you. Of course, this won't make their troubles go away, but it will help them feel less alone in facing them.
Full Answer
How do you reassure someone you care about?
Simply being there and showing concern can make a world of difference. Reassure someone you care about by simply being present, displaying kind gestures, and telling them how you feel. Make yourself available to them.
How do I choose the right treatment for me?
Communicate your preferences with your doctor. Keep the focus on you. Don't let yourself be pressured into a particular treatment option. Take your time and choose the option that you feel most comfortable with. Accept help. You'll need support throughout your treatment. Support can come from your doctor, your friends and your family.
How do you deal with reassurance-seeking behavior?
Understanding that excessive reassurance-seeking is a compulsion that needs to be reduced or eliminated is the first step. This can often be done very effectively in family meetings facilitated by a mental health care provider or OCD therapist. Broadly speaking, there are two key strategies to keep in mind:
Should you respond to excessive reassurance seeking?
While responding may seem supportive, it only serves to perpetuate OCD behaviors and thoughts . Excessive reassurance seeking is a compulsive act done in hopes of reducing the anxiety associated with an obsession. 1 The compulsion often goes up when levels of distress are high and/or when the person feels unable to tolerate uncertainty.
Do patients have the right to refuse life sustaining treatment?
Under federal law, the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) guarantees the right to refuse life sustaining treatment at the end of life.
What if a patient refuses medically necessary treatment?
Competent patients have a right to refuse treatment. This concept is supported not only by the ethical principle of autonomy but also by U.S. statutes, regulations and case law. Competent adults can refuse care even if the care would likely save or prolong the patient's life.
Can a patient say no to treatment?
Every competent adult has the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment. This is part of the right of every individual to choose what will be done to their own body, and it applies even when refusing treatment means that the person may die.
How do you decline medical treatment?
The best way to indicate the right to refuse treatment is to have an advance directive. This document is also known as a living will. Advance directives are kept on file with a hospital.
What is the nurse's legal and ethical responsibilities toward the patient who refuses medical care or treatment?
They must maintain patient confidentiality and observe the right to refuse treatment. Nurses should also be involved in informed consent, medical treatment in an emergency, and continuity of care.
What to do if someone refuses to go to the hospital?
Sometimes there is no one available to help, and you have to take them to the hospital yourself or call the police. Remember that police aren't trained in mental health, and seeing them can scare people. Whenever possible, it's best to rely on support systems that include people with mental health backgrounds.
Why is refusal of treatment an ethical dilemma?
In general, ethical tension exists when a physician's obligation to promote a patient's best interests competes with the physician's obligation to respect the patient's autonomy. “When you don't take your medication, you're more likely to get sick.”
Who should you inform when a service user refuses to take prescribed medication?
If, for some reason, the person you care for is unwilling to take their medicines, talk to their GP or pharmacist. They may be able to suggest a form of the medicine that's more acceptable than tablets.
What does the right to refuse mean in medication?
By law, a valid advance decision refusing life-saving treatment means you can't be treated. If a doctor did treat you, legal action might be taken against them.
What is excessive reassurance seeking?
Excessive reassurance seeking is a compulsive act done in hopes of reducing the anxiety associated with an obsession. 1 The compulsion often goes up when levels of distress are high and/or when the person feels unable to tolerate uncertainty. What people feel the need to be reassured about varies, but there are often consistent themes ...
How does reassurance affect OCD?
However, in the end, your efforts are likely only hardening the hold OCD has on them. It can also end up having a negative effect on you. Excessive reassurance seeking can result in the following unwanted results: 2 1 Harms relationships: Friends and family members, who are often vital sources of social support, often become annoyed and withdraw from the affected person, which only serves to raise stress levels for all parties. Of course, stress is a major trigger of OCD symptoms and needs to be managed effectively. 2 Promotes avoidance: It also reinforces the idea that the person cannot cope with the uncertainty or distress associated with an obsession, and that avoidance is the only way to deal with it. Avoidance is particularly harmful in the case of OCD as it keeps the person from discovering that their fears may be unfounded. 3 Validates the obsession: Every time someone with OCD engages in a compulsion, it serves to reinforce the validity of the worry or obsession. After all, why seek reassurance if there is nothing to worry about?
What are the negative effects of reassurance?
Excessive reassurance seeking can result in the following unwanted results: 2. Harms relationships: Friends and family members, who are often vital sources of social support, often become annoyed and withdraw from the affected person, which only serves to raise stress levels for all parties.
What does Jake's obsession with a stranger mean?
Jake has sexual obsessions related to sexually assaulting a stranger . Even though Jake finds these thoughts distressing and does not want to have them, he is convinced these thoughts mean that he is a molester.
Why is avoidance harmful?
Avoidance is particularly harmful in the case of OCD as it keeps the person from discovering that their fears may be unfounded. Validates the obsession: Every time someone with OCD engages in a compulsion, it serves to reinforce the validity of the worry or obsession.
Why is stress important for OCD?
Of course, stress is a major trigger of OCD symptoms and needs to be managed effectively. Promotes avoidance: It also reinforces the idea that the person cannot cope with the uncertainty or distress associated with an obsession, and that avoidance is the only way to deal with it.
Why does Zhang call his wife at work?
He will often call her many times a day at work to make sure she is alive and will sometimes become angry if he is unable to speak with her. His wife's coworkers have started to become concerned about the number of times he calls her at the office, and she is worried about the impact of this behavior on her career.
Why do doctors need reassurance?
In a complex clinical case, doctors may seem so preoccupied with finding the solution to the clinical problem that it is sometimes easy to forget that the patient might be overwhelmed by anxiety, frustration and negative emotions, and require re-assurance to feel safe, at ease and trust in the doctor.
Why do patients seek professional help?
Patients seek professional help because they are in pain or are concerned.
What are the emotions of patients?
Patients can be overwhelmed by a variety of beliefs and emotions: frustration, feeling they have little to no control over their diagnosis and health condition, uncertainty over the course of their treatment and prognosis, fear, worries, and overall dissatisfaction with the healthcare system.
What does it mean when a patient's condition is a dead end?
Patients can have very high expectations and trust in the system, and when it appears that their condition is a medical “dead end” or that their prognosis cannot be determined with precision due to the nature of the disease, it can be very upsetting.
What are the factors that affect healthcare interactions?
Two important factors are the local healthcare setting in which the interactions take place, and the variation in clinical practice between regions and countries. In particular, the majority of healthcare settings are overworked and overstretched to meet demand, and this continuously affects interactions.
Is being defined by diagnosis the only thing in their lives?
Being defined by their diagnosis and labelled as “a patient” is not , and should not be, the only thing in their lives. The healthcare practitioner. There is a wide variability in the development of appropriate communication skills among European healthcare practitioners and this has been a challenge.
What is the best way for a patient to indicate the right to refuse treatment?
Advance Directives. The best way for a patient to indicate the right to refuse treatment is to have an advance directive, also known as a living will. Most patients who have had any treatments at a hospital have an advance directive or living will.
What are the rights of a patient who refuses treatment?
In addition, there are some patients who do not have the legal ability to say no to treatment. Most of these patients cannot refuse medical treatment, even if it is a non-life-threatening illness or injury: 1 Altered mental status: Patients may not have the right to refuse treatment if they have an altered mental status due to alcohol and drugs, brain injury, or psychiatric illness. 6 2 Children: A parent or guardian cannot refuse life-sustaining treatment or deny medical care from a child. This includes those with religious beliefs that discourage certain medical treatments. Parents cannot invoke their right to religious freedom to refuse treatment for a child. 7 3 A threat to the community: A patient's refusal of medical treatment cannot pose a threat to the community. Communicable diseases, for instance, would require treatment or isolation to prevent the spread to the general public. A mentally ill patient who poses a physical threat to himself or others is another example.
What is the end of life refusal?
End-of-Life-Care Refusal. Choosing to refuse treatment at the end of life addresses life-extending or life-saving treatment. The 1991 passage of the federal Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) guaranteed that Americans could choose to refuse life-sustaining treatment at the end of life. 9 .
How can a patient's wishes be honored?
Another way for a patient's wishes to be honored is for the patient to have a medical power of attorney. This designates a person to make decisions on behalf of the patient in the event they are mentally incompetent or incapable of making the decision for themselves.
What must a physician do before a course of treatment?
Before a physician can begin any course of treatment, the physician must make the patient aware of what he plans to do . For any course of treatment that is above routine medical procedures, the physician must disclose as much information as possible so you may make an informed decision about your care.
What are the four goals of medical treatment?
There are four goals of medical treatment —preventive, curative, management, and palliative. 2 When you are asked to decide whether to be treated or to choose from among several treatment options, you are choosing what you consider to be the best outcome from among those choices. Unfortunately, sometimes the choices you have won't yield ...
Why do patients make this decision?
Patients make this decision when they believe treatment is beyond their means. They decide to forgo treatment instead of draining their bank accounts. Those who live in a country with a for-profit healthcare system may be forced to choose between their financial health and their physical health.
How to help someone who is failing a test?
Instead, suggest that they take a bit of a break, even if it’s just for a day. Suggest they take a walk outside, or even focus on chores at home . A break can be good for their mental health.
How to avoid disappointments?
If you have any disappointments, contain them. Giving voice to what you wanted from the other person's efforts will not help them any and it will often end up eroding their self-confidence and make matters worse .
How to teach someone to not fail an exam?
1. Remind them that everyone fails at some point. Failing an exam might be especially hard for someone who has never failed one before. Remind them that everyone fails at some point, even if they don’t talk about it.
How long should I wait to react to a failure?
It can be really easy to obsess over a failure for days or even weeks. Suggest they give themselves a certain amount of time – say, 24 hours – to react however they want. Then suggest that once that timeframe is over, they focus on moving forward. ...
Can you tutor someone who has failed?
Some people simply need help learning how to study or learning certain material, and that’s okay. Suggest to the person who has failed that a tutor might give them the boost they need. You can suggest they look for tutor services at their school, or through websites for companies like Sylvan Learning.
Why is it important to include a referral in a therapy proposal?
That is why it can be important for your referral proposal to include a reference to those goals, and to the way their emotional difficulties hold them back.
What do you commit to when you meet with a therapist?
What do we commit to when we commit to meeting with a therapist? Many people fear that by meeting with a therapist, they are committing to a long-term relationship. They sometimes also fear the therapist will decide how long the therapy lasts. These are anxiety-provoking preconceptions, and they are incorrect. When we try to refer people to therapy, it is important that we remind them of the truth—they are agreeing to one session at a time, and the length of the treatment is their choice, based on their goals and preferences.
What does it mean when you press someone into doing something that is anxiety provoking?
Pressuring people into doing something that is anxiety-provoking will usually lead to avoidance, submissive compliance, or stubborn defiance. It is hard, but we must accept that we all have the right to avoid therapy and the anxieties that are built into it.
What is a therapist?
A therapist is an employee whom you can hire and fire.”. When we present the idea of therapy as a test drive, something the person can continue for as long as it meets certain conditions for them, we take away anxieties that therapy will be more of a commitment than the person may want.
What is initial therapy session?
It may help to be frank about what an initial therapy session is: a test drive. You can say, “You can meet with Maury and decide if you’d like to meet with him again. The first session or sessions can help you decide if you think he might help.
What is the effect of making promises or suggestions regarding a particular outcome?
Making promises or suggestions regarding a particular outcome can promote misleading or false hope. It may also distract from the fact it’s the work of the person in therapy, not the work of the so-called “expert in depression,” that makes or breaks the therapy.
Can therapy make you less miserable?
Therapy can help with that and it might make you less miserable at work and home.”. In this example, it is clear the referral is in the service of the person’s feelings and interests, done out of care and concern for them and not out of some demand or expectation by the referral source. 2. Make it optional.
How to make a reasonable treatment decision?
To make a reasonable treatment decision, keep in mind the type of cancer you have, its stage, what treatment options are available and how likely these treatments are to work under these circumstances. Talk to your doctor about trustworthy websites, books and patient education materials to supplement your discussions.
What to do if you don't feel supported?
If you don't feel supported in your decision-making, contact advocacy groups such as the American Cancer Society, which can put you in touch with cancer survivors who may be able to help you through this process. It might help to write down your expectations and preferences before you meet with your doctor.
How to make sure you're getting the information you need to make an informed decision?
Effective communication with your doctor is the best way to make sure you're getting the information you need to make an informed decision. To make communicating with your doctor easier, try to: Speak up when you don't understand. If you need further explanation or clarification, tell your doctor.
Can you endure the side effects of harsher treatments?
If this is your goal, you might not be willing to endure the side effects of harsher treatments. Comfort. If you have an advanced stage of cancer or a cancer that hasn't responded to treatments, you might decide that comfort is most important to you.
Can you cure cancer?
When you're first diagnosed, it's likely you'll be interested in treatments that cure cancer. When a cure is possible, you may be willing to endure more short-term side effects in return for the chance at a cure. Ask your doctor about your chances for a cure to help you understand more about your situation. Control.
How to help someone who is worried about you?
Keep trying, asking questions, listening, and reflecting. Help them feel heard and ask again. Continue to say things like, “I’m really worried about you. I’m thinking we should just go get checked out by a doctor to see what’s going on.”. Reassure them that you’ll stay with them and help them through the process.
How to tell a family member they are having a psychotic break?
When you admit your family member to a hospital, tell the staff what is going on—for example, that you think they are having a psychotic break. Explain to them whether this is the first time this has happened, or how long it’s been going on and what symptoms you’ve seen. The hospital will want to make sure your loved one has not used drugs. They’ll need to be off drugs for 72 hours before a hospital can clearly diagnose any type of mental illness, like psychosis.
What is a psychotic break?
A psychotic break can be the result of drug use, or a symptom of a mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
What is an emergency room?
Emergency rooms are designed for physical health emergencies and are not well equipped to handle psychiatric emergencies. If your family member needs some kind of bed and respite but doesn’t meet criteria, some communities also offer peer run respites as alternatives to hospitalization.
How long do you have to be off drugs before you can be admitted to a hospital?
They’ll need to be off drugs for 72 hours before a hospital can clearly diagnose any type of mental illness, like psychosis. Once they’re admitted, your loved one will be monitored, kept safe, and possibly given medications.
How much does a hospital visit cost?
Hospital visits can be very expensive. On average it can cost anywhere from $1,200 to $1,500 a night—sometimes more. If you have health insurance, make sure you know beforehand how much will be covered. If not, the hospital will have someone you can talk to about getting your loved one on Medicaid.
Can you go to the hospital against your will?
Still, there’s a time and a place for taking someone to the hospital against their will. A person can be involuntarily committed to a hospital if they are a danger to themselves, a danger to others, or gravely disabled. They are considered a danger to themselves if they have stated that they are planning to harm themselves.