After helping to advocate for my dad’s and mom’s health for many years and of course being an advocate for my own children, I’m learning that I’m not very efficient at being an advocate for my own health. I thought I was doing an alright job, but it’s becoming increasingly apparent that all too often, I allow doctors to talk over me as I try to explain myself, or that I don’t speak up to ensure my point is made clear, and that I don’t push back as much as I should. Instead, it seems I am putting a little too much trust in my doctors, believing that what they are saying might just be what I need for my care. Learning to be a better healthcare advocate for myself is something I need to work on, apparently.
It’s definitely easier to be the third person in the room and ask questions on behalf of someone else or speak up for someone else’s needs. I’m finding that it’s more challenging when it’s for yourself because more emotions are involved – primarily frustration – making it easy to shut down when speaking with a doctor. It’s not that I don’t want to ask questions or challenge what the doctors are telling me, it’s just that I’m incredibly overwhelmed by the current state of my health. So perhaps I forget to bring up a concern or question or perhaps something they mentioned veered the conversation in another direction. Or maybe the doctor’s answer to a question brought up a thousand more questions that I didn’t have written down and wasn’t prepared to ask!
I share this, so that if you ever come across the need or opportunity to be someone’s healthcare advocate, you may know how to better help them. Ask them ahead of time if they’d like for you to speak up on their behalf should they find themselves feeling overwhelmed. I’m thankful for my husband who is always there for me and willing to be my advocate when I find myself at a loss for words. I’m also thankful for my mom who continues to advise and console me despite her own struggles, as well as other friends and family members who continually check in on me as I continue this battle with pseudotumor cerebri.
Are you good about being your own healthcare advocate?
All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™
Thank you for sharing this message!!!! Remember that you have the almighty of you only believe on divine healing. Go ahead as God’s help everything will be possible.
I hope that by sharing, I can help remind others how important it is. 🙂
Hm! I’m terrible expressing how I feel… I never know how to express how I feel… I guess we all latinas tend to observe more others than ourself… Don’t know… Thanks for reminding us the importance of expressing our health concerns.
It’s so important! I think we tend to focus on helping others, we forget how to speak up for ourselves.