YOU’RE THE EXPERT ON YOUR BODY

Let me give you a gentle reminder: You are the expert when it comes to your body and your experience. Yes, I said expert. I know we go into the doctor’s office, therapy, or any other healthcare space and give the professional the credit because they are the “expert.” While that may be true, there is no greater knowledge of your experience than the knowledge you have from actually living it. Be the professional patient We Are ILL reminds us to be.

You are the one living in your body every single day. You know when something has changed. You know when a symptom feels different than how you’ve experienced it before. You know when your energy is off. You know when something that may look “normal” on paper does not feel normal for you. Living with MS has made me even more aware of this. There have been times when I’ve had to pay attention to what my body was telling me, advocate for myself, ask more questions, and keep speaking up. One thing about me, I am going to ask the question and if something doesn’t feel right, I need us to talk about it.

Self-advocacy is a HUGE part of living with chronic illness. Unfortunately, we also live in a world where our experiences can be minimized or downplayed depending on what we look like when we walk into the room. That makes trusting yourself and using your voice even more important. Please do not discredit what you know to be true about your own experience just because someone has credentials behind their name. You do not have to know all the medical terminology to know that something has changed in your body. You don’t need to be able to explain the science behind what you’re feeling to know that you’re feeling it.

As a therapist, I remind the people I serve of this too. I may have clinical knowledge and experience that can help guide someone, but they have the lived knowledge. My job is not to tell someone who they are or what they’re experiencing. My expertise should work alongside theirs, and I believe the same should be true when we receive care. The people we entrust to support us should bring their knowledge, resources, and expertise to the journey without requiring us to abandon what we know about ourselves.

So ask the questions. Tell them when something has changed. Say, “That is not normal for me.” Ask them to explain something again when you don’t understand. Get another opinion when you need one. Keep advocating for yourself, even when it feels uncomfortable to do so.

There is room for both kinds of expertise in the room. Their knowledge does not cancel out yours.

You are the expert on YOU. Don’t you forget it!