I am over a “certain age”. Often the medical world just lays it out as the cause, and that’s that. But I have some really good days… and some really tough ones… so somewhere in there is the possibility for more good then bad days.

I bring this up to help understand why coaching in IP is crucial. When I am having good days, like right now, it’s easy to focus, eat right, sleep, and move. But, when I have my tough spells, I hibernate, and isolate… I can’t move, I don’t eat well and the only healthy thing I do is sleep… all the time.

I have been struggling for the past year. Starting, stopping, gaining, losing, gaining. My bones hurt, nothing fits, my body feels foreign, my emotions are all over the map, and I am depleted.

My coaches, they are a lifeline. Renee, Judy, and Laura encourage me to keep making better choices. When I go into isolation mode, Renee calls. It’s like having my own guardian angel standing on my shoulder.

About two weeks ago I came out of a tough spell. One reason I was able to break out of it was a meeting with coach Laura. She didn’t judge my tough spell, but worked with me to set small goals. Then this week, I went to her coaching session, and we talked about tools to combat the tough spells.

Laura encouraged me to share a tool that is helping me. I have been working on something called habit stacking, which goes hand in hand with Laura’s tool kit! Habit stacking is a method of building on healthy habits daily. So on day one you may congratulate yourself for just getting out of bed… or brushing your teeth. You keep adding to your daily routine and congratulating yourself on each mini success. (Yay you, you got up, showered, brushed your teeth and took your meds! What a great start!) What happens is that by the time you get finished with your morning ritual, you are pushing to congratulate yourself on the next one, and you have a big list of accomplishments to keep you going.

I have a long ways to go, and there will be good days and tough days. I am not alone. One thing I know, my IP coaches are not giving up on me. They are my village, and in my case, I need that village!!!