Learning to advocate for myself has been one of the steps in my journey to find resilience for wellness. Self-advocacy did not come easily for me. It has been a learning process to advocate for myself on a day to day basis whether it be interacting with a doctor, friends, family members, colleagues, or even strangers. The fear of coming across as rude, demanding, awkward, whiny, or out of turn has lead to my not speaking up when I knew that a going to social activity or on a trip somewhere would be too draining for me, trying a new medication or having procedure done was not to my best interest, or completing an additional job task would tip me over to exhaustion. I can look back and see that the times I have put my own need for self-advocacy aside I have suffered unnecessary emotional or physical pain. 

Through my own struggles I have come to learn that self-advocacy in my own life includes...  

Saying no to friends or family members when my plate is full.

Putting my needs for self-care above my fear being judged.

Getting the help I need financially to finish my education and  live independently.

Telling others when I am overwhelmed and exhausted and need to rest and recharge. 

Recognizing when a task like yard work is too much for me and asking for help.

Asking my boss to move a deadline for a project to help my stress levels.

Preparing my questions and gathering information in advance for a doctor’s appointment.

Asking why my doctor is ordering a test or procedure when I am unclear of its benefit for me.

Not giving up when specialists could not figure out what was causing my myriad of symptoms.

Learning about my medical conditions to help me make informed decisions about my care.

Standing up for my rights as an individual and a patient to have access to my medical records.

My learning about self-advocacy noticeably includes interacting with doctors as a patient (not as a PT for others) and learning about my own medication conditions. To give a little background on that, for years I felt like there was a unifying underlying cause of my myriad of symptoms affecting different systems of my body. After seeing multiple specialists and not getting an answer for why I felt so exhausted with widespread joint and muscle pain, elevated pulse, color changes in my feet, dizziness, worsening GI issues, weight and memory loss, I finally found one endocrinologist that put the pieces together and suggested getting tested for POTS. From her suggestion and with the help of my PCP, I was able to find a specialist to assess, diagnose, and treat me for POTS. This diagnosis led to my getting diagnosed with a genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome that has POTS as a common comorbidity. By continuing to self-advocate, I found validated answers, treatment, and direction on how to regain my quality of life. Through continuing to learn more about these conditions, I am empowered to self-advocate for the testing and treatments I need and know which paths to explore or to avoid. I have learned that it can take decades to get diagnosed with my connective tissue disorder and around 3 to 5 years to get POTS diagnosed since many doctors consider both of them rare conditions and do not know what to look for, making self-advocacy even more important to get diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Looking back, I know that having the courage to learn how to self-advocate for my own health needs served a higher purpose of now being able to help clients advocate for themselves and keep searching for answers when they want to give up as I have been there myself. I formulated a plan to help figure out what direction to go to find wellness. The steps included searching for another opinion, learning more about my condition, exploring different conventional and alternative medical treatments, trying out new dietary approaches, discovering restorative movement, locating a supportive community to know I was not alone, and finding balance in the social, mental, and spiritual aspects of my well-being. Through my journey, I learned self-advocacy is a very important step in moving toward resilience for wellness.  

When you are not being heard or you know there is a missing piece to your wellness yet to find or you are hesitant to express your wants and needs, use it as an opportunity to self-advocate. Remember, you are your most valuable advocate!

How have you advocated for yourself lately?

If you are struggling to figure out how to advocate for your needs and take the next step in finding resilience for wellness, reach out and book a free 30-minute session with me or contact me via email.

Reference for further reading:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/be-your-own-advocate_b_4971477