Jodi Enders, an MG patient advocate, reflects on how myasthenia gravis led her toward meditation, self-compassion, and a deeper understanding that acceptance comes with both progress and setbacks.
Transcript
So I really think the start of my MG journey was the start of my meditation and spiritual journey. MG really forced me to slow down and to look inward in a way that I never have before.
One of the things that I learned — I don’t know if I would say I learned it quickly, or if I learned it gradually — but MG acceptance is not linear. You might think that it’s linear as you start getting there, but then you might quickly realize MG acceptance is very up, down, back and forth. You know, it’s in a circle, a backward circle. There’s no forward direction with it.
Some days you feel steady, and then other days you feel like you’re just starting over at stage one again. It’s just a challenge that your body is facing. And fighting it is good to get you nowhere in the sense that you can’t get rid of a chronic illness. So I just feel like you’re fighting an impossible battle at that point. A battle that you cannot win.
We’re not at a point that at least in your control, I can’t cure my MG for myself. So instead of fighting my MG, I look at treating it like just an issue my friend is going with that, I’m just gonna, you know, pour that compassion into that area of my life.
And there’s still grief in all of this with MG. There’s still grief and acceptance. There’s still grief and going about your day. Grieving changes. You know, you’re always grieving expectations that are changing. But I try not to stay stuck in this place.
