one sudden moment one lifealtering diagnosis and everything just seems to fall apart when a person is diagnosed with a chronic illness he faces chronic uncertainty he not only worries about his life but also fears losing his job in this scenario if an employer offers a helping hand the person can sail through the journey with less distress however if the employer withdraws completely the person stands the risk of sinking into depression the mental condition of the sufferer during this time is vulnerable and he needs support in all areas in order to cope with the illness and ward off frustrationdealing with why me syndrome people dealing with chronic illness usually suffer from the why me syndrome that follows the denial of the illness as dr deepak raheja a senior psychiatrist and psychotherapist director of foundation hope notes in such cases it is important to go through the grief process of the chronic illness keeping in mind the 5 stages of grief denial anger bargaining depression and acceptance the individual at the initial stage might be unwilling to accept the illness especially if it is chronic refusing medical help and trying to maintain the same standard of life and activity he recommends psychological intervention and also support from the company in order to reduce apprehension of losing the job because of absenteeism he adds the inactivity and isolation that accompanies longterm illness has a negative impact on ones physical psychological and social wellbeing whenever possible the best approach is to help the employees stay connected to work however this can require some adjustments with the working hours and conditions in which the employers support is mandatoryseeking your employers support when nikhils father working in a government organization in delhi was diagnosed with intestinal cancer he took a sabbatical to get treated after the treatment he was allowed to resume work with flexible working hours and easy leave request process the family was surely in despair but they did not have to worry about the job security similarly when prachis father suffered paralysis the company he worked for supported him throughout and offered him early retirement with equal benefits prachi seemed content with what the company did for her father and said that the companys medical insurance policy helped her sail smoothly through the financial burden in both the above cases the employers were supportive sympathetic and flexible however in some cases the employers react negatively causing further distress to the sick persondiscrimination on grounds of chronic disease the vacancies are filled with new people and theres limited scope for an employee to return even if an employee manages to return after the treatment he is not offered the necessary support he faces discrimination and is not even involved in critical projects citing the reason of his deteriorating health condition this takes an even ugly route when someone is diagnosed with a stigmatized disease such as hiv which was well depicted in bollywood movies like phir milenge and my