Hope is complex and dynamic, comprised of patients' many different hopes that wax and wane as their circumstances change and as their outlook evolves. I define "healthy hope" as hope that helps patients get good care and live as fully as possible.
Here's a useful way of looking at the hope-and-happiness issue after colostomy:
- learning how to care for their colostomy, so they minimize problems.
- finding a safe place to express all their unpleasant emotions, including their grief.
- learning how to adjust emotionally to their losses.
- obtaining support.
- focusing on the benefits of their colostomy.
- working toward a sense of renewed wholeness.
- letting go of hopes that no longer help.
- nurturing healthy hopes*
As you can see, hopefulness can be one of many factors that affect patients' happiness. Nurturing healthy hope(s) can help patients pursue happiness.
What constitutes a healthy hope depends on whether the colostomy is temporary or permanent, as well as the patient's personal experiences, values, beliefs, relationships and other factors. But every patient benefits from letting go of some hopes and embracing other hopes.
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