「支えること」の意味―一精神科医の立場から―

Abstract

More chronic cases have been noted during the course of various illnesses in recent years, while acute cases were more prevalent in the past. "Acute" means that an illness has a short duration, resulting either in recovery or death, and makes an explicit separation between the two outcomes. "Chronic" means that the illness progresses gradually and comes to mark the various folds of death onto life's vitality. Today many of us are conscious of approaching death in our daily lives; today's health care boom is a reflection of this awareness. Death, like illness, is often avoided and excluded because it fundamentally implies decay and extinction, which make us feel nausea. Why are we inclined to take "care" of the "ill", while we ourselves avoid the issues of illness and death? Is it because we already have the potential for illness and death within ourselves? Awareness of our mortality will enable us to be more willing to take "care" of others, and we will thus be able to deepen the understanding of ourselves, ultimately resulting in self-therapy, self-healing, and self-realization.