RA and Relationships
Having a chronic disease is not the easiest thing in the world.
Yulanda talks about how important it is for the loved ones in your life and the people around you to know how much RA affects you and in what way.
I think half of the battle with having a disease or a condition or any illness is not having the right support. So if you can have the right people around you to support you in a way that you need, I think that's, you know, so important.
Support Helps You Heal
Support is so important for healing. You know, knowing that there's going to be people that can help you get through those tough, tough times.
For me, the most important relationships in my life are the relationship I have with my husband, with my mom, with my sisters, and my best friend. Because from day one, they've been there for me helping me through every step of the way.
Educate Your Loved Ones
They know how my disease affects me because I've educated them on the disease. And I, you know, taught them a lot about the disease that they didn't know before. So I think that is a major key.
You know you don't have to go into too much detail. You don't have to tell them everything. But you can tell them, let them know, especially maybe people at work and work colleagues, because some days you'll go into work and feel low and bad especially if you're having a flare up.
Let Them Know How You Feel
So it's important for those people to know that sometimes you go through that and it's a process. And maybe one day, if you come in and you're looking a little bit energy-less then maybe there are things that they can do to help support you in that way.
So, yeah, I think that making sure that everybody is aware of your illness to a degree is very important and I think people will surprise you at how loving and caring they can be.
Knowing that someone is there for me, knowing what I'm going through is important to me and it helps get me out of that low period quicker.
