Improving Communication

More than four million Canadians have arthritis, yet you rarely hear a word about them — not in formal reports in the news media, not in casual conversations around the water cooler. As a character in the movie 'Cool Hand Luke' once said, what we have here is a failure to communicate.

That's only one level of communication that's in grievously short supply. People who have arthritis often fail to communicate what they're going through to the very people who most need to know. They may fail to tell their friends; they may fail to tell their families; they may fail to tell their colleagues and employers. They may even fail to tell their doctors. And that failure to communicate — or that failure to communicate effectively — all too often means they aren't getting the understanding, help and treatment that they need.

Open, effective communication is vital in dealing with the everyday aspects of arthritis. Admittedly, talking about how you feel, both physically and emotionally, isn't always easy, but if you don't express your feelings, the people around you are in no position to provide the help and support you may need.

Living with arthritis can be tough, especially if you do it in isolation. Learning to communicate effectively with every member of your treatment team — from friends, family and colleagues to the health professionals you deal with — can make your road a lot smoother in countless ways; it can even make a difference in controlling the symptoms of your disease.

This page was last reviewed/updated on : 02/23/2008