Advocating

According to the dictionary Advocacy means:

ad⋅vo⋅ca⋅cy Show Spelled Pronunciation [ad-vuh-kuh-see] –noun, plural -cies.
the act of pleading for, supporting, or recommending; active espousal: He was known for his advocacy of states' rights

As I think about advocacy I think about how long I've been an advocate in my lifetime. For as long as I can remember I have always helped everyone I've come in contact with through testimony or just plain old networking to advocate for a persons needs. I guess the best way to advocate for anyone is through personal experience. You have to experience most things so that you can give an accourate account of the things that you're advocating.

The hardest things about advocating is how do you assist others in a field that you yourself have had difficulty in finding the help that you need?

Hmmm...

I ponder this question on a daily basis. Especially as I encounter people who don't believe what I say as I experience the difficulties that I experience in life. Because the good Lord has deemed it necessary to be as sensitive as possible it is difficult to adjust to medications that are given. It's a long and lengthy process of adaptation and life doesn't allot the time for the adjustment. So, when you are advocating for medications that are supposed to be life altering and you yourself can't take the meds that you're advocating for then what good are you as an advocate? I have to help people understand that what may be good for them is not necessarily good for me. I encourage others to follow their doctors orders and feel good about the progress that they are making in their lives to become healthier individuals for themselves.

Then I come back to me again! I advocate for myself all the time. I work very hard to find assistance with mental health professionals, general practitioners and all other medical professionals that I can find to help with my over all health concerns. I Google to find the proper people in my area to go to (then I mapquest, google, call the bus company and walk to find these people since I still get lost going around the corner!) and ask a zillion questions to make sure that I understand what is going on. As I do what I am told and things don't work for me then I feel like an never ending cycle of "what now!" All the while I keep my frustrations to myself (when I'm not complaining to my mother...thank God for her!) as I advocate for the facilities that I come in contact with. Just because they can't provide me the assistance that I need doesn't mean they can't help someone else.

I guess that makes me the "Town Crier". The people that I network with give me all types of information that I happily pass on to others. When I am asked what services these organizations provide I happily reiterate what I've been told or what I've read about the organizations that could be of use to the people that I am sending there.