What stress management skills can we use in our daily lives with MD?

I recently read a New York Times article about stress. Whether you live with a disability or not, stress is a universal phenomenon. Life is full of stressful moments both large and small that can overwhelm the best of us.

In the article, the author asks three questions designed to help readers process stress: Is the problem permanent? Is it pervasive? Where do I have agency with this problem?

I thought about living with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and laughed at the first question. Yes, this problem is definitely permanent. After pondering the other two questions, my mind kept returning to a philosophy I’ve followed my entire adult life: the fact that muscular dystrophy pervades only where I let it, and my agency, or connection to this problem, is the ongoing management of my disease.

In other words, I’ve largely been able to separate the fact that I live with a rare, chronic illness from the rest, and best parts, of my life. This is how I manage the stressors.

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The question about where I have agency, or the ability to take action and make decisions that affect my life, is a concept I’ve written about before. I’m not a problem, and I didn’t make the problem, but I do have to accept, manage, and deal with it. In this case, the problem of living with muscular dystrophy is formidable, but I do have the ability and the power to view it as a stressor to be managed.

To do this, I must first look at the smaller parts of the whole. Living with muscular dystrophy is the big part, but being able to identify and manage day-to-day life provides me the opportunity to zoom in and focus on the present.

For example, as I lose my grip strength, it has become harder to feed myself. Loss of function is the big stressor. The smaller parts include using adaptive silverware and my robotic Jaco arm and making sure I’m seated at a table with a good height for me.

Muscular dystrophy is a part of my life, but it does not define me. As the stressors come, tackling them one at a time by using technology and a bit of ingenuity, and leaning on the support of family and friends, allows me to adapt and live life to the fullest.

Note: Muscular Dystrophy News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Muscular Dystrophy News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to muscular dystrophy.