I’m Not Doing This Alone: The Strength in Connection
- Written by: Joanne McCoy — MySelf Management — Manager
- Published: 28th July 2025
Joanne McCoy on the collaborative process of self management and what she needs to lead in the management of her health.
As Self Management Week 2025 approaches, I find myself revisiting a powerful and enduring principle from Gaun Yersel!:
“I am the leading partner in the management of my health.”
It’s a statement full of possibility – and full of challenge. It asks a lot of individuals living with long term conditions. But it also asks a great deal of the systems, professionals, and communities around them. Because being a ‘leading partner’ doesn’t mean being left alone – it means being recognised, supported, and empowered to live well on your own terms.
At MySelf-Management, and through the wider Self Management Network Scotland (SMNS), we’ve worked for years to champion this approach. Last year, I reflected on the value of the network as it reached 1,000 members. I said then, and I still believe now, that self management is a collaborative process – we’re stronger when we work together, share knowledge, and stay focused on better outcomes for people.
But for self management to truly take root, we also need cultural change. It can’t just be something people discover when they get a diagnosis or reach a crisis. We need to embed it earlier – as a way of living and thinking. That means prevention, yes – but also a shift in power, language, and trust. And that shift must happen at every level, from policy rooms to GP surgeries to living rooms.
So, when I ask myself as a person living with Multiple Sclerosis, what do I need to lead? – this is what I come back to:
I need clear, compassionate communication, and supportive relationships with health professionals who value lived experience. I need to be listened to, not just spoken to. I need appointments that give time, space, and respect for the fact that I live with my conditions every day – not just in clinical moments.
I also need trust – from others, yes, but also from myself. That means learning to listen to my body, recognising when to slow down or say no, and feeling confident enough to take action for my own wellbeing. It’s taken time, but I’ve learned the value of compassion for myself, and of hearing – really hearing – my own advice.
End of page.
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