Self management and how can it help you?

Self management is about:

• Understanding your COPD and how it affects you.
• The positive things you can do to improve your health and wellbeing. Small changes can make a big difference.
• Having the confidence to manage your COPD day to day.
• Being able to make informed choices and decisions about your life and health.
• Including support from family, friends and community as part of your well being.
• Enabling you to have an equal partnership with the health care professionals and non NHS partners who can help you.
• Knowing when, where and how to get the help you need.
• Getting answers to your health questions.
• Setting your own goals and priorities to help you move forward with your life while living with COPD.
• It is about you being in control of your condition and not it being in control of you!
• It is about you gaining and using skills which can be used to better manage your COPD with support from your health care professionals, carers and family.
• Self management is you approaching the day-to day challenges you face while living with COPD in different and more effective ways.

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