Coping and Self-management

This chapter focuses on the way men talk about coping and self-management for long-term conditions. This includes how men begin to reclaim the control lost due to illness through taking responsibility for their disease management and becoming experts in their condition. Many men discuss the importance of keeping going despite limitations imposed by illness, and the chapter covers the various creative ways they employ to manage this. Whilst public narratives suggest men don’t talk about their health, in the chapter I discuss how men will engage in selective disclosure with trusted others. The chapter also covers risk-taking in the context of a long-term condition, and I discuss how men with long-term conditions may take calculated rather than reckless risks in managing their health. Finally, this covers how men discuss acceptance of their condition, with some men redefining their masculinity to support effective coping.