The Importance of a Support System

Do you have a good support system?  I am lucky enough to have a wonderful husband of over 16 years to support me in so many ways! My husband keeps me grounded.  He is my rock!  He has been by my side doing whatever he can to support me since I started having health problems.  

Today, my husband took off work and got up bright and early to drive me to my doctor appointment in Washington, D.C.  It takes us about an hour and a half to drive there from our home.  Traffic and parking are awful!  I see a specialist there for my kidneys.  So, it is important that I go. But, I have anxiety and I’m terrified to drive in D.C.  So, whenever I have an appointment there, my husband drives me without complaint.

It’s so important to have a good support system when you have a chronic illness!  It is really hard to get everything done by yourself when you’re feeling fatigued all the time.  I’m not the kind of person to ask for help. Actually, it kills me to have to ask for help!  I’m one of the most stubborn people I know and I am also a control freak. So, I like to just do things myself.  But, I have learned that it is impossible to do everything myself when I’m feeling bad. So, I am very lucky to have such a great husband to support me.  He usually helps without me asking because he’s seen me struggle to try to do things myself.  Not only does he take me to my appointments in D.C., he also helps with things like dishes, laundry, picking up the kids from activities when he can, and just generally being supportive.  He listens to me complain about how it’s not fair that I do everything right and still feel bad.  He tells me to “just breathe” when I’m anxious and it calms me. He takes me to three grocery stores every weekend because he understands how important it is for me to eat well.  He’s seen the changes since I started following AIP.  So, he doesn’t complain about having to take me to one store to get all of the grass-fed meats and pasture raised poultry.  Then, to others for organic produce, fresh seafood and other specialty items. He tells me all the time that he just wants me to feel better.

I’m not telling you how wonderful my husband is to brag.  My point is we all need to have a support system.  Maybe yours isn’t your spouse.  It could be your parent, child, sibling or friend.  Maybe you have many supportive people in your life.  If you do that is even better!  If you really don’t have anyone in your life that is supportive, I recommend you at least join some Facebook support groups.  They can’t help you physically, but they can help support you mentally.  Having a chronic illness is stressful.  So, having people you can talk to even if they’re strangers on social media is very helpful.  Sometimes it’s easier to deal with the illness when you know there are others that are dealing with something similar.  

Stress can cause flare-ups, so it is important to control it as much as possible.  Believe me, I know that’s easier said than done in the fast paced world we live in.  But, having a good support system can help.  They can help with tasks that you’re too exhausted to do so that you’re not stressing over trying to get it all done on that one day that you feel more energized.  They can also be there to listen when you are feeling sorry for yourself and need to vent about your illness.  

Do you have a good support system?  Who supports you?  In what ways?  I’d love to hear from you!  We can be here to support each other too!  If you don’t have anyone I strongly encourage you to let people in to support you.  Whether it be in real life or online.  We all need someone.