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Now that you're beginning to see the results of your efforts, it's time to consolidate your gains and not slide back.
The nature of dystonia is such that the symptoms became "embedded" in your subconscious and can resurface again .
It is important that you remain alert about this possibility and that you take steps to handle a relapse or relapses.
If you have suffered from dystonia for any length of time, it may have burrowed in and that it may be difficult to mitigate its symptoms, requiring a lot of effort on your part.
If you have at least partially succeeded, keep in mind that a relapse is not the end of the world and it doesn't mean that it is coming back as it was before.
The road from full dystonia to wellness (which may consist of less frequent and less intense symptoms) is not a straight and smooth line. It is more like a zigzag line, whereby you may temporarily feel that you're going backwards.
This is more likely to happen in times of great stress , for example, when something happens in your life that causes a large release of adrenal hormones into your bloodstream.
Your body "remembers" the dystonia symptoms, and the area that was originally affected (eyes, vocal cords, hands, etc.) remains vulnerable to a recurrence of the symptoms. This is normal. What if I get discouraged, lose hope?
If you broke your leg once, it may have completely mended, but it may remain as a vulnerable spot in your body and one that may give some pain if you get too tired. This is also normal.
In case of relapse, as before, the key to handle it correctly is to take it in stride (detach emotionally from it) and to focus on the cause of the stress reaction (the stressor itself) and to temporarily resume your work of reducing the adrenaline in your bloodstream.
The process should be very familiar to you now, and may require less effort than it did before.
Stay calm, be patient, be determined to succeed and the relapse will be taken care of. Trust your body to know what to do.
What else can I do? While you consolidate your gains in symptom reduction, you can also try these suggestions on how to live well with dystonia, by DMRF.
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