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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

What is your COPD personality

The following was my first post published as a COPD expert at healthcentral.com/copd back on Feb 13, 2014:

COPD Personalities: Which one are you?

I am a respiratory therapist with 17 years experience. Chances are, if you’ve ever been to the emergency room for your COPD, you’ve met one of us and know what we do. If not, you can check out my introductory post I’m Your Neighborhood Respiratory Therapist.

In the meantime, my fellow therapists and I spend quality time caring for people with chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), and so recently we sat down and compiled this list of COPD personalities. See if you can spot which one represents you.

Happy

You are happy no matter what happens to you. You are among the most pleasant people we’ll ever meet. You are fun to sit and chat with, and most certainly you’ll want to show me pictures of your happy family and tell me happy stories. No matter how far along your disease is, you have a very positive spin on life. Generally, you're happiness spreads to the people you meet.

Talky

You love to tell stories. You’ve had many wonderful and amazing things happen to you during your life, and you want to share it all. You’ll share stories about your kids, your career, your retirement, your friends, or any such subject that crosses your mind. You’ll even share your wisdom on such prohibited topics as religion and politics, and you'll do so in a nonintimidating way. Quite often your stories are so interesting we lose track of time.

Busy

You’d consider yourself industrious, as you are usually involved in some useful project. You’ll spend your hospital hours knitting, drawing, coloring, painting, reading or writing. Chances are you’ll have a list of things to do or, more likely, a list of questions to ask your doctor on your bedside table. You tend to be very intelligent and are particular to detail, and thus are prone to ask intelligent questions. You tend to be pithy when you speak, although you are likely to be a great conversation about things that interest you.

Easy

You are calm, cool and collected. You act unbothered no matter what happens. You could care less that your hair is a mess, or that you are barely covered by your gown. You tend to take being short of breath in stride, and this may concern others more than you. You love listening to relaxing music or, better yet, a classic movie. You’ll say things like, “have a seat,” and “take it easy.” Otherwise, you speak only when spoken to, and your answers are generally pithy. You also tend to be witty with a dry sense of humor. You are easy and peaceful.

Assertive

You are completely in charge of the situation you are in, and know exactly what you need. If you like what the doctor says, you’ll be happy and quietly do what he says. If you don’t like what is offered, you’ll speak up, even at the risk of offending him. You say what you mean and mean what you say. Since you are a leader, you are likely to be a very successful person. Those who listen to you are likely to learn a lot. Those who don’t listen are likely to be on your list of most miserable and annoying people.

Friendly

You’re a loving, friendly, and very social person. You tend to become so absorbed in the social world that you become emotionally attached. When something concerns a friend, it also concerns you. When sad stories are told, you’ll be the first person to offer a big hug. Even when you’re sick you still put other people first this way. In fact, you’re so used to putting others first that you’ll feel like a bother when you are the one who needs help. You’ll apologize for others having to do things for you, and you’ll ask lots of questions. Soon enough, we’ll be your friends too.

Keep in mind these personality types are not meant to be judgemental, they're meant to help you identify yourself. You may also find you are made up of more than one personality type.

We also made a similar list of 11 asthma personalities. You may like to check out this list too, as these personalities pertain to COPDers too.

So, which COPD personality are you?
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