Supporting a loved one with a chronic illness requires empathy, patience, and a willingness to learn. Explore practical strategies to provide meaningful support. From offering practical help and respecting boundaries to practicing active listening and being a source of emotional support, learn valuable ways to positively impact your loved one's journey with chronic illness.

The hardships surrounding chronic illness not only affect you, but those around you. If you’re in a romantic relationship, chances are that your condition may be impacting your partner as well. If your partner is also your caregiver, they may be dealing with caregiver burnout, which can cause distance and communication issues in the relationship. With this in mind, it’s important to find ways to maintain a healthy relationship while dealing with a chronic illness.

Discussing health can be a sensitive subject for many people. For people with chronic illnesses, specific topics should be left off the table. Here are four questions to ask someone living with an invisible disease and four questions you should avoid asking.

Caregiving for a loved one such as a spouse, parent or child can be a very rewarding experience. Providing the most essential care to a loved one is very important work. While that work can be fulfilling, it can also be unpredictable, overwhelming, and isolating. You can’t pour from an empty cup- it’s important for caregivers to pay attention to their own needs as well! Caring for yourself is key to maintaining your own health and well-being. When you feel good, you can take better care of your loved one.

Empathic listening is a combination of having the intention to connect, focusing on clarifying the speaker's needs first and checking the timing before offering your own feelings, suggestions or thoughts. Empathetic listening is needed most when someone needs to be seen and heard, and are not particularly coming to you for a solution.

There are many aspects of living with a chronic condition that family, friends or coworkers might not understand or even think about. Chronic illness affects pretty much all aspects of life- work, hobbies, social life and relationships to name a few. It’s not something that can be easily compartmentalized, nor should it have to be. Being understanding and compassionate toward your loved one living with a chronic condition means so much.

If you have a chronic condition with debilitating pain and fatigue symptoms, you probably have an invisible illness. These conditions interfere with your daily way of life, but can’t be easily recognized just by looking at someone. Below you will find tips to share with loved ones on how to best support you.