Self-Advocacy for Chronic Illness

Rita Thompson, NBC-HWC

National Board and Mayo Clinic-certified Health and Wellness Coach

When you think of self-advocacy, what comes to mind?

I just spent 25-minutes on the phone to make an appointment with a specialist doctor. The soonest they could offer me an appointment was January of 2022.

I have some advocating to do. 

For those of you with chronic illness or who support a loved one with chronic illness, you know the hustle it can take to get an appointment with the right doctor.

By the time the appointment arrives, the stakes are pretty high--right? 

You have waited months upon months to get help and answers from this one doctor. There's a lot of hope in that basket.

So, how can you strategize in a way to ensure you get as much out of the appointment as possible? 

Self-Advocacy is not easy. 

It takes thorough preparation.
It takes mind-body work to communicate through the nerves.
It takes working through the emotional hangover of the appointment to take the next steps.