Become an expert on yourself
In an earlier post, I talked about becoming an expert on MS. In this post, I want to talk about something that’s just as important: becoming an expert on yourself.
You are the only one who knows what it’s like to live in your body. So you’ve already got a head start on the “expertise” part. When it comes to living with MS, we have to take that expertise one step further, so we can advocate for ourselves in any situation.
Here are my tips on how to become an expert on yourself (and please note, I share this advice while admitting this is a work in progress for me!).
Pay attention to your body
- Pay attention to how your body feels on a given day. Don’t write off a sensation if it doesn’t feel normal. (In this case, “normal” is completely subjective – I mean if it doesn’t feel normal to you.)
- Paying attention to your body helps you to…
Learn your boundaries and your limits
- MS is so unpredictable that a limit or boundary could change day-to-day – or hour-to-hour. That said, as we get to know our bodies better, we’ll start to learn when it’s time to take a break, slow down, take a nap, sit down, or even just close our eyes and take a few deep breaths.
- I am personally still struggling with learning my exact limits when it comes to walking, but I try to take mental notes so I can keep reminding myself of when it’s time to take a break.
Write things down and track
- If I’m having a particularly bad stretch of days, I write it down in my journal so I don’t forget. This goes along with writing down symptoms in preparation for a doctor’s visit. Writing down what you’re feeling physically can help you to identify patterns or triggers to avoid in the future.
- I bought an Apple Watch so I can *try* to learn my steps limit, for example.
Check in with yourself
- In the beginning of my journey, a friend with MS told me that their friend with MS does a check in every morning – a body scan, just to get a feel for how the day might go, physically. Of course, we all know that our bodies can decide halfway through the day to stop cooperating (or, sometimes, begin to cooperate!), but I think a check-in is a great idea. It forces us to be honest with how we’re feeling, and activate those boundaries if we need to.
- Full transparency: I find it hard to not to get caught up in thinking that every little tweak or itch is related to my MS somehow. For me, paying attention to my body takes a little work so I don’t get carried away with worry. Maybe that will get easier with time…
For now, all we can do is our best. And we’re already the experts – we’re just refining our expertise.
