What sorts of life changes did you make after you received your diagnosis? What, if anything, looking back, changed because of your disease? They say we can live normal lives, and for the most part I do, but how do we do that? I recently posted a list of things I like to control in my life, to keep myself healthy and prepared for when a flare arises. I’ve written about foods I eat, groceries I buy, diets I subscribe to when I’m ill. I find I think about my body and the structure of my life much more than I ever did. Perhaps because it came at a time when I was growing up, as well, I became more organized and conscientious about my life, or I was predisposed to being organized and orderly, or was there a reason, beyond my own natural inclinations? How much of my battle influenced my appreciation of and care of my own life? How about yours?

I control as many factors in my life as possible. I control my diet—I cook and pack healthy and tasty lunches every day to take to school/life. This means making a specific shopping list of ingredients that will last for a whole week. This means thinking ahead to marinate the chicken so it doesn’t taste like cardboard when I cook it in the oven. This means staying up late on Sunday night to cook said marinated chicken, and waking up early Monday morning to chop and assemble all ingredients, including homemade dressing, that is milk and allergen free. If I can control my diet, I’m one step closer to eliminating flares of my disease.

I control my sleep, because when I burn all of my energy, I am too tired to cook, to tired to work, too tired to study, and my body starts to shut down. Without sleep, I am that much closer to triggering a flare of my disease. With good sleep and good food, I control the outside world impact on my disease. The outside world doesn’t cause disease, but I can do my best to eliminate triggers and lower the chance of my body breaking down.

I control my daily schedule. If I don’t wake up early enough, I will not have my mornings to cook / assemble lunch foods—food that will keep me strong throughout the day and allow me to be productive and not feel ill—I won’t get to school in time to get my work done. If I don’t get work / homework / etc. done, I will not finish it before my classes and appointments begin in the afternoon. The evenings are taken up by events, other classes, and miscellaneous chores that prevent me from otherwise doing said work that should have been done in the morning. If i don’t do that work in the morning, as I had planned, I will have to do it in the wee hours of the morning to get everything done. Something will be compromised. I will have to give up my sleep, or my food, or my chores. If I don’t do my chores, I won’t have groceries to cook, or a clean bed to sleep in, or research from the library to read to get my work done. Not doing my work on time means I won’t sleep and I won’t eat right, thereby enhancing the possibilities that I will induce a flare of my disease.

I control my physical activity to keep my body as strong as it can be, so that I am less apt to get sick, from poor physical condition, (cold or hay fever or anything small) that could ultimately lead to a relapse in my disease. I also stay fit so that if a relapse does occur (because let’s face it, none of the aforementioned things, food, sleep, or exercise, can cure or prevent disease), I am strong to fight back. If I’m already physically weak, what will I do when my immune system makes me weaker? Start strong, end up weak. Start weak, end up dead.

Lastly, I control the people that I deal with, to the best of my ability. When bad people come your way, do your best to avoid them. In the case that you cannot, remember to surround yourself with the best of people, to overcompensate. If you can’t forget about those horrible people, fill your life with the best of friends, who matter that much more than the horrible ones. Happiness reduces your body’s extreme reactions to stress, and with a lower stress level, your body can run normally, thereby reducing the number of factors that could lead to or fuel a relapse in a disease.

These are thoughts I had after I was “criticized” so to speak for “thinking a lot,” and when I realized that I was most upset with someone’s life habits, not only because they hurt him, but because if people only knew how fragile the human body actually is. I want to scream at people who take advantage of it, who abuse it, because it is a gift, and should be treated with care and adoration. If you are sick, know someone who is sick, or if you’re just interested in staying NOT sick, remember to treat your body with respect. Even if you don’t plan all these things into your life. Schedules aren’t what keeps me together, it is the result of the schedules that keeps me going. The good food, the sleep, and the happiness, none of it would be possible, if I didn’t plan it. I am not a person who can wake up and just make everything happen correctly. If it needs to happen, I’m going to have to plan it. Find your way. Keep your body healthy, in whatever way you know how. You owe it to yourself.