Trusting Your Gut: Why It's Never a False Alarm in Self-Advocacy

6 hours ago
3 min read

The term "self-advocacy" often brings to mind a very specific image: confidently speaking up to a doctor, asking for a second opinion, or demanding the care you deserve. And while those actions are crucial, the most powerful acts of advocacy often start long before you ever step into a medical office.

They start with an internal practice: trusting your gut.

What if that feeling, that subtle, nagging but helpful intuition, is trying to tell you something? In my latest podcast episode, I share a recent health scare that reminded me that the "false alarm" is a myth, and every feeling is a valid signal.

My experience with breast pain had no clear signs of a serious issue. I did not find a lump, and a mammogram was already scheduled. But my history as a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor who underwent chest radiation meant my gut felt a different kind of urgency. It was a signal that demanded action, and that action began with a quiet, internal decision.

External vs. Internal Self-Advocacy

This experience led me to recognize the two sides of self-advocacy: the external, action-oriented advocacy we all know, and the deeper, internal work that makes it possible.

Here are a few powerful ways to practice self-advocacy, as inspired by my journey:

Validate Your Own Experience. Before you can get a doctor to listen, you must listen to yourself. As patients, we can easily feel that our feelings, our pain, and our history are being minimized. True self-advocacy means recognizing that your feelings are valid because they are yours. Trusting that truth is the first step toward getting the care you deserve. To learn more about this, check out my conversation with Denise Miceli about tapping into your intuition. https://podcast.ausha.co/navigatingcancertogether/the-benefits-of-subconscious-healing-and-tapping-into-your-intuition-with-denise-miceli
Reframe "Problem" into "Information." My breast pain could have been seen as a problem to be worried about. Instead, I worked to reframe it as information my body was giving me. This mental shift from "This is a problem" to "What is this information telling me?" can significantly reduce anxiety and help you approach challenges with a sense of purpose rather than fear. For more on this, read my blog about scanxiety. https://www.ontheotherside.life/scanxiety-is-real
Set Internal Boundaries. The waiting game for test results or a diagnosis can be emotionally draining. This is a time to practice an often-overlooked form of self-advocacy: setting internal boundaries. This means consciously deciding what thoughts you allow to dominate your mind and protecting your inner peace from unnecessary overwhelm.

Turning a "False Alarm" into a Valid Signal

My experience proved that every signal from your body, no matter how minor it seems, is valuable information. My "false alarm" was, in fact, a valid alarm, a sign that my gut, my body, and my self-advocacy skills are all in tune.

To hear my full story and the lessons I learned about transforming fear into empowered action, listen to the new podcast episode, “Trusting Your Gut is Never a False Alarm in Self-Advocacy.” You can find it on your favorite podcast app or platform. https://pod.link/1580570728

Prefer to read? Check out the transcript for this episode.

We believe in the power of shared stories to heal and uplift. If you know someone whose heart could be touched by these messages, please share this special episode. It's another way we navigate cancer together.💜

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