How can friction be eliminated in my daily life with ALS?

Before ALS entered my life, I barely noticed how easily I completed simple, everyday tasks. But living with ALS can be tiring, and it makes everything — including the little things, our run-of-the-mill habits — feel difficult and tedious. I reached the point where I contemplated giving them up entirely.

“Will this be another win for ALS?” I asked myself. “Nope,” I answered, “not gonna let it. I just need to eliminate the friction.”

These are tiny habits, small stuff, unique to me, such as applying eyebrow pencils and mascara and wearing earrings. I’m even embarrassed to be making such a fuss about them. But by golly, they help me feel like me.

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What’s friction?

People who study our habits and behavior often use the term “friction.” Basically, the easier an action is for someone to do, the greater the chance they’ll continue to do it. Friction is anything that gets in the way and prevents us from doing whatever we want to do.

For example, my initial symptoms of weak legs and feet could be thought of as friction, preventing me from walking well. My options were to quit walking altogether or find a solution that kept me moving forward. A rollator was the answer. I’ve been relying on the same “eliminate the friction” strategy for all my subsequent ALS symptoms.

The strategy has become a habit. Whenever I notice that I’m consistently annoyed or frustrated while doing something, I try to think of a way I can change how I’m doing it or when and where I need to do it. I’m saving my limited energy to expend it on actions that give me more satisfaction.

But it’s the little things that have been bugging me.

Why mascara?

Starting with my high school days, I’d always put on my makeup in the bathroom, leaning over the sink while peering into the medicine cabinet mirror. With my professional days behind me, I’ll still glam up for a special meeting or dinner out. Around the house, I leave my face bare, but eyebrow pencils and mascara are my nonnegotiables. Applying them helps me feel ready for the day.

But eyebrow pencils and mascara wands need a steady hand. Lately, my leaning over the sink has felt more unstable, as if I’m lurching. More than once I gazed at my attempts and concluded that I looked as if I’d been on a bumpy amusement park ride.

My weak back muscles and shaky hands were the friction.

My solution was to put my eye makeup in a nifty container and move it to my seated dressing area near my closet. A lighted, stand-up magnifying mirror completed the arrangement.

As for earrings, I’d become accustomed to keeping my earrings in the top drawer of our bedroom’s dresser, so that’s where I stood to put them on. Trying to stand steady with both hands fiddling at my ears was not good. Often, I dropped the earrings and had to start over. Friction identified, solution at hand: I moved my collection of earrings to my seated dressing area and used the same lighted mirror to guide my hands.

I’m happy and no longer feeling annoyed — and most importantly, no longer angry at my ALS. For me, learning to live well with ALS is a process of successive problem-solving until I’ve found ways to resolve the issues I face in my daily life.

I hope you’ll give my strategy a try. Let me know in the comments below how it helped you.

Note: ALS News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of ALS News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to ALS.