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RA is not the boss of you, though it often feels that way. In this column for HealthCentral, I write about how to reclaim agency over your life:

“I HAVE NOT been in full control of my life for over five decades. That’s how long I’ve lived with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an unpredictable condition that regularly decides to take the wheel and when it does, my life goes off the tracks. When you never know what your symptoms might be tomorrow, or even an hour from now, feeling fully in charge of your life goes out the window. And when that happens often enough, it can change your personality from a go-getter to someone who feels consistently helpless, even passive.

If you’ve ever been in this position, you know it ripples past all things RA and into grocery shopping, staying in touch with people you care about, and cleaning the bathroom. Because when RA has been the ultimate decider of how you function in the world for a while, taking a different action can seem insurmountable and that way leads to depression, even despair. RA has an impact on your life, sometimes a profound one, but there’s a better way ahead than giving up on your own happiness and well-being. Let’s take a look at how to reclaim your life.

When RA flares repeatedly and randomly, it can be very difficult to maintain what therapists call a sense of agency and it’s got nothing to do with being a spy or an organization. In the context of your mental health and personality, agency means the ability to exert power and influence; essentially, feeling the opposite of helpless. Having agency is about taking responsibility for your life, feeling in charge, rather than as if things just happen to us.”

Read more about how you can take back a sense of control over your life with rheumatoid arthritis on HealthCentral.