[Coping with chronic disease]

Patients suffering form chronic diseases have to deal with several problems, the illness itself only being one of them. Health care providers have to undergo a paradigm shift to be able to meet the new challenges which differ from those in acute care. From the patient's perspective, coping with a chronic disease is not a limited process, but encompasses different, often recurring phases (trajectory model). The treating physician's support may comprise the offering of information on general and specific stress factors (physical, emotional, social), empathy, respecting the individual's expertise and activating a patient's resources and self-efficacy. The amount of support given is limited by the treating physician's expert knowledge in this area. Physicians should respect their own limits and involve specialists, supervision or Balint groups.