The first question people newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis usually ask
One of the most frequent questions people with with rheumatoid arthritis ask me is: “Will this get better?”
I usually start by explaining that the vast majority of people are able to do well on current treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (either medication alone or a combination of medications and lifestyle changes). I also urge them to get their personalized prognosis from their medical doctor.
The second question people newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis ask me
They then usually have a follow up question: “Ok, I get that most people with rheumatoid arthritis are able to live full lives with the current treatments, but how do I know for SURE that it WILL get better for me?”
The answer to that question is trickier, not only because around 20% of people have “difficult to treat” RA. It’s difficult because fundamentally the future is uncertain and unknowable.
OK…it might get better, it might get worse…how am I supposed to cope with that?
The bad news is: we can’t change the fact that the future is uncertain (believe me…I’ve tried!). The good news is: we CAN choose how we relate to uncertainty; we can alter our mindset and attitude towards it, so we feel more at peace rather than stressed and anxious.
People tend to fall into one of three categories when it comes to responding to uncertainty:
✅ Door #1: It WILL get better, or “positive thinking only:” we can convince ourselves that it WILL get better, we just have to discover the secret (maybe it’s a diet, magic pill or other lifestyle change)
✅ Door #3: “IT will get worse,” or doom and gloom: we can say that things will for sure get WORSE and there’s not hope for us
✅ Door #2: We can attempt to accept, or at least tolerate, that “It might get better, it might get worse. I don’t know. I can still have a meaningful life despite this uncertainty.” This is the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) way
Accepting Uncertainty is HARD but important
I’m the first to admit: I was dragged kicking and screaming into acceptance, by my lovely therapist and the phenomenal book “The Happiness Trap,” a primer on ACT, by Dr. Russ Harris. At first, acceptance based approaches seemed like giving up, and I was too stubborn to fully consider their merit.
However, as I will explain more at my upcoming webinar, the paradox about acceptance is that at first it feels like giving up but ultimately it’s actually the only thing that, in my experience, has opened me up to living fully in the now, and considering the possibilities for a full and rich life with arthritis, rather than waiting for the day when my arthritis would be fixed or solved.
Changing my attitude about uncertainty, and learning to accept the unknown, has been the single MOST important thing I’ve done for my mental health…it is HARD, but so worth it!
Want to learn more? Come to my free webinar!
If you’d like to learn more tools for coping with the uncertainties that come along with a chronic, lifelong condition like RA, I’d love to see you at my FREE upcoming webinar! It’s geared towards newly diagnosed patients, but many of the lessons are applicable to anyone who’s lived with RA or a similar condition.
- 🌟Topic: Welcome to Rheumatoid Arthritis: Tips for Navigating Your New Normal
- 🌟Date: Tuesday, January 28th
- 🌟Time: 5:00pm ET / 4:00pm CT/ 3:00pm MT / 2:00 pm PT!
- 🌟Register here
I’ll be covering these 3 topics, with tips from 22 years living with rheumatoid arthritis and from my training as an Occupational Therapist:
- 🌟RA and rheumatic disease 101
- 🌟Tips for adjusting to your “new normal”
- 🌟Audience Q&A
Questions? Drop them in the comments!
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