There is a delicate balance between being informed about your condition and gathering too much information so that it becomes overwhelming.
- Gather information about your condition from reputable sources specific to you.
- Look for trustworthy information on how to manage your symptoms and talk to your doctor about these options.
- Everyone experiences their condition differently so if you get information from peer groups, corroborate it with reputable sources and think about how it may fit with your experience.
But remember there is time to learn and you can collect information over time, so there is no need to know everything from the moment of diagnosis.
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/servicesandsupport/finding-reliable-health-information
https://lungfoundation.com.au/news/finding-reliable-health-information-online/
Searching the web is often the first step for anyone seeking information about health and wellbeing. But there is a whole lot of health information out there, so how do you sort the fact from the fiction?? Have you ever told someone you have a chronic condition and they come up with a all in one solution to fix it?
Well the internet and social media is the same. Sometimes it’s just ill-informed people either using heresay or anecdotal information – or it can be companies trying to sell you things!
With so much available online it can be hard to know if information is coming from a credible source and if it can be trusted.
Women’s Health Matters has developed a simple tool, WCHM Assured, that allows you to quickly assess the quality, credibility and trustworthiness of a website offering health and wellbeing information.
See https://www.womenshealthmatters.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WCHM-Assured.pdf for more information.