Ever notice how some that are chronically ill spend more time suffering whereas others lead full life? Contrary to popular opinion, a diagnosis is only the beginning of your health journey. Follow these five steps and you’ll increase your chances of leading a life that is virtually symptom free. 
Understand your chronic illness and what it means for your lifestyle. Find out what you can about your chronic illness. Increasing your knowledge will help you start to take control of your symptoms.
Determine what YOU can do to help yourself. Take responsibility and you’ll find there are many things that you can do to help mitigate your symptoms and/or decrease the frequency and duration of your flair ups.
Learn from your first choice. Analyze the process you used to select your first practitioner. Take into consideration any mistakes you may have made and be thorough in your new search. You’ll thank yourself later when you don’t repeat the same mistakes twice.
Determine your commitment level. Are you willing to do EVERYTHING that’s asked of you or do you have boundaries? Figuring out your level of commitment will help you make realistic decisions about your healthcare. Remember, lasting changes are those that fit your personality and are true to who you are.
Maintain your new lifestyle. Once you start feeling better, it’s tempting to revert back to your old ways. However, it’s important that you not forget the level of awareness you’ve developed over the course of your wellness journey.
Need help with these tips? Take the Coachability Assessment to find out if you’d benefit from working with the Good Health Coach.
These tips were written by Verria Kelly, the Good Health Coach. Verria's web site is a comprehensive resource for men and women with ongoing health challenges. For free resources including articles and valuable health and wellness tools, visit her web site at www.goodhealthcoach.com, or email her at Verria.kelly@Goodhealthcoach.com.
Five Steps to Living with Your Chronic Illness © Verria Kelly 2009. All rights reserved.
