Self-management

So what does self management mean to you? In terms of your health conditions, if any? Last fall I took part in a survey on this very subject. I don't recall the survey itself but I was sent an email telling me that I did so I guess its true.

It was an Open Research Exchange by Patients Like Me. The survey was called "Perceived Medical Condition Self-Management Scale". They asked patients with a range of long term conditions - from RA to Crohn's and diabetes.

The questions covered topics from how often you take medications vs. how often you forget and not running out of pills before getting a refill. I was glad to see a lot of us are human and occasionally forget to take them.

Two take-aways for me are:

• Self management hinges on being knowledgeable about your disease and being your own self advocate.
• It also involves not just the physical aspects of the disease but the mental aspects as a coping mechanism.

Some interesting concepts here, worthy of some thought.