Adjustment Disorder After a Medical Diagnosis: Coping With Chronic Illness
The flood of emotions when you receive a troubling health diagnosis is a normal reaction to difficult news. Grief, fear, anger, and numbness; these are all part of an understandable emotional response.
Most people find their footing over time. They adjust and learn to accept. And they find ways to continue living their lives despite all the distress related to their illness.
But sometimes, the distress of health-related anxiety becomes deeply ingrained. It disrupts life and makes day-to-day living more difficult. It taxes you emotionally and makes you wonder how you’ll have the strength to do everything that needs doing.
These responses are sometimes called adjustment disorder. An adjustment disorder after a medical diagnosis can be challenging, but help is available. This page will cover:
- What adjustment disorder after a medical diagnosis is.
- The difference between adjustment disorder, depression, and health-related anxiety.
- Signs you’re not coping well with your diagnosis.
- Healthy coping strategies and treatment options, including illness adjustment counseling.
What Is Adjustment Disorder After a Medical Diagnosis?
Adjustment disorder is an emotional or behavioral response to a specific stressor that’s stronger than what is typically expected for the situation. That reaction causes great distress and disrupts daily functioning.[1]
In a healthcare situation where you’ve been diagnosed with a chronic illness, the illness itself is the stressor. Secondary stressors that can add to that stress include:[2]
- The financial strain of the illness.
- The physical pain you might experience.
- General uncertainty about your future.
Some have described adjustment disorder after a medical diagnosis as a mental flu. Many people recover on their own, but others develop complications and need care.[3] The latter can be worrying, but having difficulty adjusting to your new reality doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re human, and that your particular experience is best addressed with outside help.
How Common Are Chronic Illness Mental Health Challenges?
If you’re struggling to process a new diagnosis, or it’s seriously disrupting your daily life, you certainly aren’t alone. Developing adjustment disorder or other mental health conditions after a medical diagnosis is common.[1] For example, roughly one-quarter of people with chronic illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis or diabetes also have a mood or anxiety condition, and among people hospitalized for their physical condition, the rate is about 30 percent.[4]
Anxiety symptoms are also common among people with cancer, with nearly one-quarter of patients reporting elevated anxiety levels. Depression is common in this instance as well.[1]
Different physical illnesses come with different burdens that can make adjustment difficult. Diabetes, for example, brings the stress of constantly managing sugar levels. Cancer brings a different kind of stress, with the fear that it will return after remission. Heart disease and chronic lung conditions can mean lifestyle changes and managing symptoms that affect daily activities.
These are just a few examples. The broad spectrum of chronic illnesses all come with their unique set of stressors that can make coping difficult without help.
Chronic Illness and Medical Trauma
Some medical experiences can be traumatic, too. The procedures, scans, doctor’s visits, and hospital stays can be genuinely hard to manage. You might find yourself dreading the next appointment and avoiding talking about your physical illness and the impact it’s having on your mental health.[5] This is medical trauma, and it can add another layer of stress on top of the illness itself.
Sometimes, when faced with situations like this, we dismiss our feelings as the new normal. This makes sense, as having a chronic illness is exhausting physically and mentally. However, if you recognize you’re having trouble coping and catch that distress early enough, you can stop it from getting worse.
Adjustment Disorder vs. Depression and Health-Related Anxiety
You may be wondering what specifically you’re experiencing right now. The line between a type of adjustment disorder, depression, and health-related anxiety isn’t always clear-cut.[4] Some symptoms overlap, and sometimes they occur together. That’s just one reason why professional input can be so valuable: it can help you put a name to what you’re going through. Once you know what’s going on, you can make a plan to address it.[6]
One feature mental health professionals look for when diagnosing an adjustment disorder is an identifiable trigger. Since depression doesn’t necessarily have a specific trigger, this is an effective way of differentiating between the two.[6]
Health-related anxiety is also distinct from adjustment disorder. Health-related anxiety involves a continuous fear of having or developing an illness despite being given a clean bill of health from a physician.[7] Adjustment disorder is a response to a confirmed physical diagnosis.
Perhaps the most important takeaway is this: early attention matters. Adjustment disorders are highly treatable. But if they go untreated, some people may go on to develop depressive or anxiety disorders.[8]
Signs You’re Not Coping With Your Diagnosis
It’s natural to have trouble coping with a serious medical diagnosis. People often experience a range of emotions following a diagnosis, including:
- Shock.
- Anxiety.
- Anger.
- Sadness.
- Uncertainty.
Everyone’s experience differs, and so the support each person needs differs too.[9]
If you feel consistently in crisis mode, your ability to cope with everything going on in your life can be affected. That’s understandable. A serious physical illness is a lot to work through for anyone.
There will likely be specific signs that you’re not coping well. It’s common for people with adjustment disorder after a medical diagnosis not to sleep well and to feel irritable. You may experience trouble concentrating and find that you constantly think about your diagnosis. Grief is sometimes part of it as well, and many people mourn the version of life they expected to live.[1][4]
This can lead to functional signs you’re struggling, such as:[10]
- Difficulty at work.
- Strained relationships.
- Withdrawal from others.
Recognizing these signs matters because with a chronic illness, the stressor behind them doesn’t simply go away.
Mission Connection is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.
Healthy Ways of Coping With the Emotional Impact of Chronic Illness
When faced with the emotional impact of chronic illness, many people cope in one of two ways: engagement or disengagement.
An engaged coping style involves facing the issue head-on. You might learn more about your diagnosis or seek to solve related problems. You might actively reach out to others for support. This type of coping predicts better long-term outcomes.[9][11]
A disengaged coping style is the opposite. You might avoid talking about it with others. You might also become withdrawn and isolated. Coping in this manner is understandable; it’s so much to deal with. But this coping style is also less likely to generate positive results.[9]
It’s easy to frame healthy coping as a form of relentless positivity. But that’s not entirely accurate. Instead, an engaged coping style gives you room to feel the fear, sadness, and anger.[4] It allows you to work through those feelings and share them. It means recognizing how you feel, exploring those emotions, and reaching out for help when you need it.
No one copes perfectly. There will be days when you cope well, and days when it feels like too much on your own, and you need some added support.
Everyday Strategies That Support Illness Adjustment
You can use many strategies to cope with an adjustment disorder after a medical diagnosis. Try your best to:
- Maintain normalcy.
- Keep your routines.
- Stay in your current roles if possible.
Those daily rhythms, whatever they might be, will help you manage some of the uncertainty you’re facing.[11]
Focus on the controllable, too. Things such as:[11][12]
- Take your medications as prescribed.
- Tend to the basics like food and rest.
- Stay physically active to the extent possible.
- Try mindfulness or breathing exercises.
- Prioritize rest and sleep.
- Take comfort in nature, faith, music, or whatever brings you joy.
Focusing on what you can control helps when so much feels out of your hands.
It’s also worth educating yourself. Learning more about your physical illness can be empowering. Taking steps like reading this article to learn more about the emotional component can be empowering as well. You might also write down questions to ask your doctor. Doing so gives you accurate information about what’s happening that can address some of the uncertainty you might be feeling about your diagnosis.[12]
Role of Connection and Support
Social connection is critically important when you have a chronic illness. People with strong social support are more consistently resilient and better adjusted in the face of a major illness.[11] Social support eases the isolation that’s often so common with a chronic illness.
Support groups designed for your specific diagnosis can often help a lot. They’re a place where there’s no stigma associated with your diagnosis, and where others know what you’re going through. You can talk openly about your experience and feel heard by people who understand.[4] Many people find that speaking with others who have the same condition makes them feel less alone in what they’re facing.
You can also encourage others to support you by telling them how they can help. It can be hard sometimes to know what to do for someone with a chronic illness. By communicating what you need, you can build a support network that will benefit you as you adjust to your new life circumstances.[12][5]
Treatment and Illness Adjustment Counseling
While everyday strategies and social support can go a long way, sometimes counseling or other treatments are necessary.
Since adjustment disorder is usually time-limited, it often responds well to brief, focused therapy, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT helps you identify thought patterns that are making your distress worse and teaches you practical ways to respond differently.[1][5]
A type of CBT called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is especially helpful when there is no way to avoid the stressor. You learn how to accept that your illness is part of your life without putting a negative label on it. You also learn how to be more psychologically flexible by accepting the hard thoughts, emotions, and physical pain you might experience as a result of the illness.[1][5] By accepting these rather than fighting them, you can focus your energy on living a meaningful life, even in difficult circumstances.
A prescriber might supplement therapy with medication, too. Though antidepressants don’t treat adjustment disorder directly, they are used to treat symptoms you might be experiencing, such as anxiety or disrupted sleep.[6]
These treatments often occur in a collaborative setting. For example, if you have medical and mental health providers, they might work together to create a plan that addresses the whole picture, not just part of it. This type of treatment has wide support in research as the most effective approach.[8]
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Find Support for Adjustment Disorder With Mission Connection
Adjusting to a chronic illness is hard. The emotional weight of that adjustment is real. But while a medical diagnosis can change your life overnight, it doesn’t have to define how you feel moving forward.
Living with a chronic condition asks a lot of you. If the emotional aspect of it has started to feel heavier and heavier, you don’t have to carry that weight alone. At Mission Connection, we understand how closely the emotional and physical sides of illness are tied.
Our team of licensed mental health professionals goes beyond traditional treatment and provides life-changing care. We offer several options for effective outpatient treatment, including in-person programs at our locations in California, Virginia, and Washington, virtual telehealth, and a hybrid program that combines in-person and virtual care.
We create a personalized, structured care plan for every patient that consists of evidence-based therapies. Mission Connection is Joint Commission-accredited. We also accept almost all insurance providers, so that your recovery is not hindered due to financial issues.
Our team knows that adjusting to a diagnosis isn’t something you simply will yourself through. Support is here when you need it, at whatever pace feels right. If you’re finding it difficult to cope with a diagnosis, reach out to us online or call us at 866-833-1822, and we can discuss your options.
