Cindy Stralsoff, who lives in San Francisco, was diagnosed with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) at 67. She shares the practices that bring her balance amid MG’s unpredictability.

You know, I lived in Africa for many years, and then it was six months after I returned that I was diagnosed. And I learned a lot there. I learned about patience and I learned about hope. 

And so I go back to the breathing, and I go back to the positivity in my mind of hope, clinical trials, or what could happen in the future. And I incorporate that, I think, on a daily basis, almost like it’s now become my mantra.

So when I feel emotional about it, I don’t let myself really get emotional because then my symptoms could get worse. 

So I’m very protective of myself, and I use these physical tools of meditation and breathing, and then distraction, whether it’s a movie, a conversation, or something. So I’m not thinking about myself all the time because, actually, it’s kind of boring to me now. After five and a half years, it’s boring to think about myself all the time. I don’t want to do that anymore.

So that distraction and the breathing and relaxing, and I also have a therapist because I think it’s really important to have one person to talk to. 

It’s been very hard for my family because they don’t understand it. My mom is 93, but she’s now on board. She gets it, I think. My daughter does get it. But other members of my family and friends — I’ve lost friends because a lot of friends, they don’t understand it. “You look normal.” They don’t understand why you’re not hiking with them. And so they’re going, you know, “She’s just lazy.”

That’s the way I deal with those things. And if you lose a friend, you lose a friend, and that’s OK. There’ll be new friends coming.