The recognition that changing behavior and attitudes may be a matter of life and death is a significant motivator for change. Many of our patients have reported that one of the benefits of their illness was that they could no longer ignore their true needs. The illness permitted them to override their social conditioning and begin to grow as humans beings: to express their feelings and go about meeting their needs openly and directly. Without the incentive of the illness, they could have continued to live lives of quiet desperation.It is essential to recognize that the needs being met through the illness are fully legitimate and deserve to be met. The body is demanding attention in the only way it knows how. Whether it is Willie’s need to feel that he has some control over his life, the psychiatrist’s need to resolve his guilt, the young professional’s need to balance his work with other parts of his life, or the businesswoman’s need to say no, all Of these are needs that human beings must meet to maintain their physical and emotional health. From this viewpoint, the intent of the organism is constructive, even in illness. Illness is an opportunity for the individual to achieve emotional growth.*37\347\2*
OVERCOMING CANCER: THE LEGITIMACY OF EMOTIONAL NEEDS
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