The First Time You Have a Really Bad Brace Day

At some point during the first month, many teens have a day where everything feels harder than usual.

The brace feels uncomfortable.

Your patience feels gone.

Your motivation feels gone.

You feel frustrated before the day even starts.

Maybe nothing specific happened.

Maybe several things happened.

Either way, you find yourself thinking something like:

I can't do this today.

Bad brace days are a normal part of the journey.

That doesn't make them fun.

But it does make them common.

One mistake many teens make is assuming a bad day means something is wrong.

They assume they're failing.

They assume they're not adjusting properly.

They assume everyone else handles bracing better than they do.

None of those assumptions are usually true.

Even people who are doing well have difficult days.

Even people who seem positive have difficult days.

Even people who wear their brace consistently have difficult days.

A bad day is not proof that treatment isn't working.

It's not proof that you're weak.

It's not proof that you'll feel this way forever.

It's simply a bad day.

The problem is that bad days often convince us they will last forever.

When you're frustrated, it's easy to believe tomorrow will feel exactly the same.

Most of the time it doesn't.

Feelings change.

Days change.

Situations change.

What feels overwhelming today may feel manageable next week.

That is why it is important not to make huge decisions during difficult moments.

A rough brace day is not the best time to decide what the rest of your treatment will look like.

Instead, focus on getting through today.

One day.

One afternoon.

One hour if necessary.

Sometimes success during the first month looks very simple.

You keep going.

That's it.

You keep going even when you're frustrated.

You keep going even when you're tired.

You keep going even when you wish things were easier.

Every teen who has successfully navigated bracing has experienced difficult days.

The difference is that they didn't let one difficult day define their entire journey.

And neither should you.