What Helps Jessica, 32, With Primary Immunodeficiency

With our ongoing “What Helps Me” series, The Mighty is leaning into what sets us apart from other health sites: We aim to provide real health advice from real people who live it.

In this spirit, we asked our community for the best insights and tips they’ve developed for managing their conditions. As always, they responded with their unique health stories and we are happy to pass along their well-tested resources to you.

Today, we meet Mighty member Jessica. She is 32 years old and lives with primary immunodeficiency.

Jessica, what helps you?

THE MIGHTY: What helps you most when your condition affects your physical health?

JESSICA: Having a primary immunodeficiency means I’m prone to all kinds of infections, so for me, one of the most important things is constant communication with my doctor for antibiotics [and] antivirals and to address any complications I’m having. When it comes to things I do myself, I rely heavily on hot tea, humidifiers, air purifiers, and my trusty nebulizer and saline solution.

What helps you most when your condition affects your mental health?

I’ve been seeing a therapist regularly for years now, and it’s really helped me address a lot of [the] anxiety and anger I feel around having a chronic condition. For short-term comfort, I like to rely on hot tea, baths, and art projects, [and use] sensory materials, like play-dough, stress balls, [or] aromatherapy. I have also been experimenting recently with home biofeedback and am finding it really beneficial to my mental health.

How do you cope when your normal self-care isn’t working?

That’s usually when I call a friend.

Thank you to Jessica for her contributions to our community. Did you find this helpful? Add your gratitude in the comments.

If you want to tell us what helps you, you can complete our survey here.