Question

Describe three strategies that actively involve a person to self-manage their chronic disease.

chronic disease being Pneumonia

Answer 1

1. Be Your Own Best Advocate.

No one knows your body better than you do. You must become an educated health consumer. Find out as much as you can about your condition. Don’t be intimidated and don’t stop asking thoughtful questions.

2. Set Up Your “A” Team

Just because some doctors might be the “best,” they may not be the best for you. Start to ask yourself what you need in a partner who can help you get and stay well. Partnership is a key to healing, and you want to find someone who can handle the complexity of chronic health conditions and understands that medicine isn’t the only thing that will get you on the road to health.

3. Self-Care is Health Care.

Setting up personal self-care rituals are the bedrock of your well-being. They help to keep you centered, calm and in a healthy routine. A few examples of these rituals could be meditation, a hot bath at the end of a long day, and journaling in the morning to set your mind right.

4. Food is Medicine.

Food has the ability to change your body and the way you feel. When you fuel your system properly, it alters your health on a cellular level. Fill your grocery cart with organic dark leafy greens, fresh fruit, clean proteins, and healthy fats. Fresh is best.

5. Stay Engaged and Be Honest.

Illness of any kind throws relationships into unchartered territory. It is important to let others know how you feel, and stay connected to the people who love you. Creating community and surrounding yourself with people who feed your spirit is so important. Address the situation with your friends and family, talk about the new dynamic, and find ways to stay engaged by doing the things that don’t exhaust you or put your health in jeopardy.