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emaining energyon goals and meanings in life. And this changein perception re­
quiresa modification in the attitudetoward the illness and the self.
Takashima (1990:86) claims thathe has successfully treated manypatients/clients
with a mixture ofmedicalintervention and modification ofattitudes. He has also
seen people who have led healthy lives resultingfrom their own perception thatthey
have to livewith the incurablesickness rather than fight it hopelessly(see also
Guttmann 1996:124).
Accordingto Lukas (1980b:25-34 & 1986) there are three interrelatedsteps thatcan
beused in any sequenceoforder whenmodification ofattitudes are put into practice.
They are: (i) gainingdistancefrom the symptomsthat cause distress and despair, (ii)
....
modification ofunhealthy attitudes, and (iii) search for new meanings. A briefdis-
cussionofthese mentionedthree steps will illuminate our understanding ofhow mo­
dification ofattitudesworks in praxis.
2.1.3.1 Gaining distancefrom distressingand depressing symptoms
In order to get" rid ofnegativefeelings and despair resultingfrom human losses, it is
vital that patients/clients must bedistanced from their distressingand depressing
symptoms. They can behelped to distance themselves from their hannfu}-symptoms
by pointingout to themvalues that can be found even in distressingcircumstances.
A recently widowed woman may find consolationin remembering those qualities that
made her husband dear to her, qualitiesthatdeath could not wipe out. A life well
lived does not depend on its length, she may say to herself: and?gaID. strength from
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