Cultural Health Narratives, Chronic Illness, and Anxiety Therapy in Seattle

Image from Unsplash by Carl Cho 9/22/25

When was the last time you watched a television drama? Especially a drama that involved a medical component. Say ER or The Pitt. Shout out to Noah Wiley fans. Don’t get me wrong, I love these shows as much as the next person. Often, the plot of these shows has a very specific arc: a dramatic challenge around an injury or illness, the main protagonist being tested to discover the solution, and a beautiful resolution of the injury or illness, tied with a bow within the 60-minute window.

According to the CDC, six in ten Americans have a chronic illness with four in ten having two or more. That’s a lot of people. Chronic illnesses don’t fit into a neat 60-minute story arc with happy resolution. Chances are that your life doesn’t look like that either. Not only does media portray medical challenges as an easily diagnosable and treatable experience, but with the lack of focus on wellness, prevention, and wholistic nature, the American medical system supports this ‘fix it’ mentality. Folks experiencing the mental health impacts of chronic illness can experience more anxiety, trauma, and distress dealing with a system that assumes freedom from any medical challenges is and even needs to be the goal.

The Overlooked Connection Between Health Narratives, Chronic Illness, Anxiety, and Trauma

American society is obsessed with productivity. What’s one of the first questions that is asked when you meet someone? ‘What do you do?’ Living in a capitalistic society often means you are equated with what you do to earn money. For people who need accommodations at work, people who navigate the workplace chronically ill, or can’t work, this can be an oppressive mentality. This can lead to depression, anxiety, and trauma if such narratives are internalized and you get into a negative cycle of self judgement. There can be a lot of stigmas associated both with unseen and seen illness and disability.

The American medical system loves bold intervention to save peoples’ lives. In and of itself, not a bad thing to value. However, the focus is keeping people alive and functional, rather than a focus on quality of life. The current set up of the medical system is to get people in, get them ‘fixed’ and send them on their way. The medical system identifies people into two camps, ‘pathological’ and then ‘cured.’ Those are two black and white groups, without room for nuance. How often does inclusion into one group or the other actually happen? Maybe if you break a bone (pathological), you get a cast and once it’s healed, that’s done, but think about the after effects. You most likely will need physical therapy to strengthen the part that was healing. You might need to address after effects from compensating for that injury. You might have some mental health effects from not being able to engage in activities you enjoy. You will have medical bills. Something that on the surface seems like a relatively simple ‘fix’ can have a wide-ranging impact.

If you deal with chronic health issues, you know that it there isn’t always a clear beginning, middle and end in relationship to your health and interaction with the medical system. I joke with clients, according to society:

Stability Isn’t Sexy.

Those tv shows aren’t showing someone with an autoimmune disease who is stable or someone with a degenerative illness stable. No, the excitement is in the drama of it. A dramatic illness or injury and a miraculous recovery. Most people I know don’t want to word ‘drama’ associated with their health journey. Even reporting on outcomes research with certain procedures and treatments typically only follow people for a specific amount of time. What about 20, 30, 40 years later?

Image from Unsplash by Niklas Ohlrogge 9/22/25

Such unrealistic health narratives can negatively impact peoples’ understanding of their own journeys, wondering why they aren’t ‘better’ yet. You might feel bad if you don’t clearly fit into society’s ‘cured’ bucket. Having unrealistic expectations about what ‘healing’ or ‘health’ looks like can negatively impact the millions of Americans living with chronic illness. It can also impact social interactions, causing social anxiety when you get questions like, ‘are you better?’

What if there is no ‘getting better’ physically? What if this is as good as it gets? What if it gets worse? These are questions many of my clients struggle with that are antithetical to the typical, ‘you’re sick then you’re better’ mentality that’s portrayed throughout media.

How Anxiety Therapy Seattle Helps Clients Challenge Harmful Cultural Messages

Therapy for anxiety, trauma, and grief can be helpful for people living with chronic illness or supporting loved ones dealing with health challenges. Firstly, it’s valuable to have a provider who you don’t have to explain this stuff too, I just get it. I help clients and their families dealing with chronic illness and health challenges in multiple ways. Some include:

·      Rediscovering your strengths and inherent worth as a person.

·      Getting curious about your experience.

·      Finding unique ways to communicate your needs and preferences to your friends, family, and care team.

·      Identify and create a life that you want.

·      Deal with unhelpful thoughts or behaviors.

·      Challenge productivity myths.

·      Grieve changes.

·      Face relational challenges.

·      Challenge any moral associations with health.

·      Learning to deal with social situations.

To This Seattle Therapist, Stability is Sexy

Image from Unsplash by Gabrielle Henderson 9/22/25

Society is obsessed with progress, way more than acceptance and meeting ourselves where we’re at. New declaration, stabile is sexy. Stability is my goal for most of my clients dealing with mental and physical health challenges. Can progress be exciting and awesome? Yes, of course, but it isn’t required. If you deal with any chronic health issue, you know that goals shift. Getting caught up in unhelpful cultural narratives about healing and wellness can be tough. Health is not a moral imperative. No one is ‘better’ than you if they are what is socially defined as ‘healthy’ and what works for someone else’s life, might not work for yours. That’s okay.

If you’re sick of dealing with mental health professionals that don’t have any experience with acute or chronic illness, medical literacy, or pain, reach out and schedule a free consultation with me. I’d love to meet you and explore how I can support you.

Empower Yourself and Reach Out Today to a Seattle Anxiety Therapist

You don't have to face life challenges alone. If you are suffering silently or the support you have isn’t getting you to where you want to be, reach out and schedule a free consultation today. My hope for all potential clients is that you get connected with a provider who can meet your needs. If that isn’t me, I’ll guide you towards someone who can. I can’t wait to meet you.

About the Author: Seattle Washington Therapist, Chelsea Kramer LMFT PMH-C

Chelsea Kramer is a Seattle Therapist who works with individual and families facing grief, anxiety, reproductive and medical mental health concerns.

Learn more about Chelsea’s specialties: grief, anxiety, infertility, pregnancy loss, chronic illness, menopause, medical trauma

Learn more about Chelsea

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