You may wish to revisit my original post on my Top Five Ways to Conquer Chronic Illness. For your convenience, I’ve summarized them here:
1) Start somewhere.
2) Become your own health detective.
3) Have confidence in your decisions.
4) Do research.
5) Be open to new ideas.
Today’s post will take a deeper look at item #3:
3) Have confidence in your decisions. Go ahead and seek the advice of experts, but you’re the only expert in “you.”
Have you ever felt completely in the dark? Like everyone else “got” something that you did not?
Some people feel that their health quests are like that — as if their health professionals hold all the keys. Doctors, nutritionists, chiropractors, physical therapists, etc. may have extensive knowledge in each of their respective fields, but none of them are experts in “you.” Their answers are only as good as the questions they’re asked.
To learn how to ask better questions of your health professionals, pay attention to your symptoms. Analyze them. Can you find patterns? Frequencies? Log your findings into a notebook to carry with you. Keep your personal health notebook up-to-date and include data you come across from various sources. Tidbits of information come from both likely and unlikely sources. Tracking your health details will eventually help to fill in the blanks. It’s time well spent.
Collecting personal information is an ongoing process. There’s no “finish line” to cross where you’ll find a magical state of wellness. Instead, wellness will find you through a series of confident decisions you make along the way. Decisions such as the pursuit of various treatment options, or CHOOSING the right professionals to be a part of your wellness team.
This type of confidence is borne of self-education. And who better to teach, than you?
