One of the things that I struggled with when I was diagnosed was holding on to things and ways and habits that no longer served me in the name of keeping normalcy. However, it caused me more harm than good. It was tumultuous.
Until I fully accepted my illness, I was unable to work around it and set myself up to be living out of alignment.
I had framed my life around the truth of what was possibly before my diagnosis. My first instinct was to suck it up but that was only to my detriment. I'd be out of breath, in pain, and also left behind because people walking up stairs won't even notice when you dying out of breath on step 6. Whew child. I digress.
I gave up my peace and well-being so I wouldn't look "dumb" or "abnormal". However, my needs are my needs and they are NORMAL for me and the BEST PRACTICE.
I'm here to tell you to forget about looking stupid because now you're stuck and unhappy. A lot of times when you have a chronic illness the small adjustments that you need to make in your life look silly or dumb.
However, some of the best things I have done for myself were to ask for special parking, special seating, elevator access, and accommodations. They may have garnered me stares, looks, and judgement. But guess who was breathing just fine.
Make the choices and ask for the things that make your life easier and work for you. You may not even know what those things are right away but as you figure them out, demand them for yourself.