M.Cur. / Who am I? What am I doing here? What is the purpose of life? What is real? Individuals are intent on trying to find an answer to their questions about life, yet many may find that they remain in a quagmire of confusion and vacillating inner torment. In their own lives many individuals deal with pain, guilt and death, each having their own share of suffering where they may either withdraw into their own world or attempt to take from it whatever bit of happiness and pleasure they can, which often leaves them with a feeling of emptiness, futility and despair. What is it aU for? What is life about? According to what Waltos and Waltos (2002:16) have termed "a conscious revolution", individuals have entered an age of responsibility and empowerment. In both human life and healthcare this translates to individuals being more willing to take charge of their lives as well as responsibility for their overall health. Frankl (1984:15) posits mental health and stability to be dependent upon an individual's ability to perceive meaning. This quest for meaning is one of the greatest challenges facing individuals, families and nations (Wong & Fry, 1998:406). At certain points in life, everyone has questioned what sustains their being and what makes life worth living. With a focus on the family, the researcher to this study noticed that the first crack in many famUy structures developed during pregnancy, birth and parenthood due to an inability of the parents to communicate their differing views and perspectives of their reality. Consequently, this resulted in self-expression becoming compromised and inhibited, resulting in inner confusion and turmoil. Parenthood also brings about personal challenges of coping and making meaning out of life circumstances. This breakdown in relationships impacts on individuals' and families' ability to develop and grow holistically, with consequent negative ripple effects on family dynamics and structure. Such discord and disharmony further cascades out to include community and the work environment.

Background: Migraine is a chronic disaese, often described as a growing publich health problem. One of the suffering groups are adolescents and the prevalence of the migraine is one of the most common reasons why school based health clinics are contacted. The state is related to an extensive, physical and psychological suffering. Objectives: The aim with the presented study was to illuminate the experienced life situation of the adolescent migraineurs. Method: The exploration of articles were done with restriction in databases as Pubmed, CINAHL and psycINFO. The 13 chosen articles were viewed, analyzed and compiled in four different categories with eight sub-categories. Results: The presented outcome reveals that migraine effects the life of adolescents in four different dimensions. The state impacts negatively on the physical and psychological well-being. Furthermore it influences school and leisure of the suffered group. A tendency of isolation and denial is seen as a repeated behaviour in the adolescent migraineurs. Conclusion: Embracement and acceptance ought to be present for the possibility, to create and develop an individual lasting coping strategy. This way of thinking might improve the life situation of the adolescent migraineurs. Keywords: Migraine, adolescents, life changing events, coping strategies, effects. / Bakgrund: Migrän är en kronisk sjukdom och den beskrivs som ett växande folkhälsoproblem. En grupp individer som drabbas är ungdomar och åkomman är en av de vanligaste orsakerna till uppsökt skolvård. Tillståndet är nära bundet till ett omfattande fysiskt och psykiskt lidande. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa den upplevda livssituationen hos ungdomar med migrän. Metod: Artiklar har sökts i databaserna Pubmed, CIHNAL och psycINFO och därefter kvalitetgranskats. 13 utvalda artiklar analyserades och sammanställdes i fyra kategorier med åtta underkategorier. Resultat: Resultatet visar att migrän påverkar livet för ungdomar i fyra olika dimensioner. Åkomman påverkar den fysiska och psykiska hälsan negativt och inverkar på ungdomarnas skola och fritid. En tendens av isolering och förnekelse kunde ses som upprepade beteenden. Slutsats: Bemötande och acceptans bör infinnas hos den migränsjuke för att vidare kunna skapa och utveckla en individuellt hållbar copingstrategi som förbättrar livssituationen. Nyckelord: Migrän, ungdomar, livshändelser, copingstrategier, effekt.

Bakgrund: I Sverige insjuknar cirka 220–250 personer av Amyotrofisk Lateralskleros (ALS) per år. Sjukdomen innebär att nervceller som styr skelettmusklerna förtvinar och slutligen dör vilket leder till svåra symtom. Idag finns inget botemedel utan insatserna riktas till symtomlindring och livslängden är cirka två till tre år. Sjuksköterskor som vårdar personer med ALS upplevde svårigheter att balansera både den sjukes och anhörigas vilja/upplevelser samtidigt.   Syfte: Att beskriva upplevelser om hur det är att vara anhörig till personer som lever med Amyotrofisk lateralskleros (ALS). Metod: En deskriptiv litteraturstudie bestående av 14 vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ ansats som söktes i databasen Medline via PubMed. Huvudresultat: Känslor som maktlöshet och sorg uppstod hos de anhöriga samt en känsla av att vara fängslad till personen med ALS och hemmet. Anhöriga genomgick en livsomställning och hittade olika hanteringsstrategier för att klara av situationen. Förändrade roller i familjen medförde starkare och svagare familjerelationer samtidigt som kärleken blev mer komplex. Anhöriga fick en negativ bild av vården och lyfte bristen på information, istället verkade stödet från det sociala nätverket vara mer betydelsefullt.  Slutsats: Anhöriga till personer med ALS kände sig maktlösa och sorgsna men dem hittade hanteringsstrategier som underlättade vardagen. Anhöriga sökte stöd inom det sociala nätverket då vården ofta var en besvikelse. Dem lyfte ett behov av bättre informationshantering från vården och önskade att den skulle vara familjecentrerad. Denna litteraturstudie kan komma att bidra till ett ökat perspektiv hos anhöriga, personer med ALS och vården. / Background: 220–250 people get diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) every year in Sweden. The disease entails that the nerve cells controlling skeletal muscles degenerate and die creating severe symptoms. Today, there is no cure, so the resources focus on symptom-management, the average lifespan after diagnosis is two to three years. Nurses caring for people with ALS struggled with balancing the will/experience of the person with ALS and the close relatives concurrently.  Aim: Describe experiences of being a close relative to people living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Method: Descriptive literature study based on 14 scientific articles with qualitative approach searched on the database Medline via PubMed. Main results: Emotions such as feeling powerless and grief was identified, they felt imprisoned to the person with ALS and their home. Close relatives went through life-changing events and found coping strategies. Changed family roles created stronger and weaker family relationships and love got complex. Close relatives got a negative picture of the health-system and highlighted the lack of information, instead they valued the support from their social networks. Conclusion: Close relatives to people with ALS felt powerless and grief but found coping strategies that eased their situation. Close relatives soughed support within the social network since the health-system disappointed. They highlighted needs for better information management from the health-system and whished for it to be family-focused. This literature study may create wider perspectives among close relatives, people with ALS and the health-system.