Have you ever thought about how a mechanic troubleshoots a problem with your car? How about a plumber, an air conditioning repair man, or someone who helps you over the phone with your computer? When trying to arrive at a possible cause to the problem you need fixed, professionals will asked a series of questions that lead to “If” and “Then” troubleshooting responses. However, until the problem is actually found and confirmed, the remedy is an assumption or best guess.

Now let’s dial this problem down a little further. What if they didn’t ask the correct questions to find the root of the problem? What if information was left out, or assumptions about the problem you described were made? What if the professional uses words and terms unfamiliar to you and you’re left to responding with assumptions which you hope answer their questions? Who’s really in control here?

Have we arrived at all this sounding a bit maddening? Maybe you’re thinking, “Make it all go away!”

Independent research is a crucially important part of each person’s recovery. Your own research directly effects your long term outcome while you work to heal each day. This is all quite frustrating for sure, but when it comes to your body this troubleshooting is vital — especially if it leads to possible surgery. How you learn to listen to your body and communicate to others makes a marked difference in how you move forward or how you digress.

Therefore, ensuring you’re in control of decisions about your body and speaking the same language as other parties is a top priority. Refer to the list below to ensure you’re advocating for yourself and your health to the best of your abilities:

1. Anticipate Assumptions

2. Learn the Terminology

3. List All Options

4. Always Ask Questions

5. Do Your Own Homework

Let’s go back to troubleshooting. While communicating the problems at issue, let’s agree that the person you’re talking to has experience in their field. Overtime, repetition has provided them an ability to act with familiarity each time they hear something moving in an anticipated direction. We could say this is form of listening on their part is a conditioning, where they’re waiting for key words from you so they can provide pre-programmed responses. These assumptions may be right on the money, but they could just as easily be off target.

This is where independent research on your part becomes a valuable tool in ensuring you’re getting exactly what you need to improve. By anticipating assumptions about what you’re currently facing, you can anticipate and head off wrong judgement calls.

When you learn the terminology and the professional’s language, you can engage in conversation more confidently. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification when needed. Likewise, listing all options and tracking each’s statistical outcomes will prevent you from blindly moving forward with anything being suggested.When you do your own work outside of a professional’s office, you take charge on your own behalf and are more informed of all that will affect your body in the present and future.

Here’s a personal example of how these 5 listed tips made a marked impact in my own journey after paralysis:

When relearning over time — as I still do — to regain my walking ability, I found I was being given a lot of medication. Through my own research, I discovered some of those medications had side-effects, including muscle rigidity. Well, how can I relearn how to walk with stiff leg muscles? When I brought this finding to my doctor’s attention, I was told I was incorrect. I produced the facts from the manufacturer. After doing so, the subject was immediately changed, and I was told I could benefit from surgery to cut my Achilles’ tendon and loosen the muscles. I brought the doctor back to answer my questions. Had I gone down that road of assuming the doctor knows best and agreed to that unnecessary surgery, I would have been plagued for the rest of my life with an uncontrollable dropped foot. I was also told about how I could benefit from Botox injections in the back of the same leg. Upon further research and speaking with someone who actually had the procedure done to them, I found no positive returns to that painful process. What I did find immediately useful was removing those medications. Upon doing so, my muscles relaxed on their own. I not only avoided unnecessary surgeries, but I started walking better. That’s the power of independent research and self-advocacy.

To sum up, there’s nothing wrong with becoming your own advocate and empowering yourself. When it comes to your life, weigh your decisions for improvement carefully. Realize that once surgeries are done, they can’t be undone. Consider that your troubleshooters are not always correct or all-knowing. No one but you lives in your body, and the canned responses to a problem are not always the solution.

So do your research and live a happy, healthy life!