EMOTIONAL WOUND THESAURUS

LIVING WITH A CRITICAL MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS



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Emotional wounds will steer a character's behavior, corrupt his worldview, and cause negative traits to form. To understand exactly how this occurs, please read our tutorial for the Wound Thesaurus.

NOTE: We realize that sometimes a wound we profile may have personal meaning, stirring up the past for some of our readers. It is not our intent to create emotional turmoil. Please know that we research each wounding topic carefully to treat it with the utmost respect.
NOTES:
When a person is told they have a disease such as cancer, it has a huge impact on their life moving forward. It is common to progress through the stages of grief, and even after successfully treating the disease, fear and worry lingers. The character may feel pressure to make sure their life has significance, or believe that their chances to define themselves are now gone. An added complication is that during the course of treatment, the character may forge tight, close relationships with others also being treated, and not all of these people will survive. This alone can lead to a difficult stress load of questions as to why one person dies and another lives, what an individual's worth is, and can even lead to Survivor's Guilt. This entry looks specifically at the longer term aftermath of coping with a life-altering diagnosis.

WOUND CATEGORY:
Disabilities and Disfigurements

BASIC NEEDS OFTEN COMPROMISED BY THIS WOUND:
Physiological Needs, Safety and Security, Love and Belonging, Esteem and Recognition, Self-actualization

LIES THAT MAY DEVELOP FOR CHARACTERS WITH THIS WOUND:
They're going to die before achieving their goals, so it's pointless to try to achieve them
The disease will come back if they don't live life by the book
Only weak people believe in a higher power; a real God wouldn't allow good people to suffer and die
They have to accept fragility as a new way of life
They're defective; people can tell they're sick just by looking at them
Their illness is all other people see
They wasted so many opportunities and now it's too late
Because they're alive, they have no right to complain or be upset about anything
Life is nothing but chance
If you love someone, they will just be taken from you, so it's better to keep people at a distance


THE CHARACTER MAY FEAR:
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POSSIBLE RESPONSES AND RESULTS:
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POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES THAT MAY RESULT:
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NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT MAY RESULT:
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TRIGGERS THAT MIGHT AGGRAVATE THIS WOUND:
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STEPS TOWARD HEALING:
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OPPORTUNITIES TO FACE OR OVERCOME THIS WOUND:
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