Boundaries Start with U: Protecting Your Health with RA
It was my nap that taught me about boundaries and my role in maintaining them. Years ago, my rheumatoid arthritis (RA) progressed to the point that I needed a daily rest to manage fatigue and pain. And that’s when I banged hard up against other people’s preconceptions. “It must be wonderful to have a nap…
Chronic Illness Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Contribute
I can’t work, so I feel like a deadweight in my marriage. We used to do active things together and now we can’t. I worry that it’ll end our relationship. I see these comments all the time as I talk to others in the chronic illness community. When you can no longer do everything you…
What Accepting Your RA Really Means
It took me a long time to know that acceptance isn’t something you arrive at and stay there forever more. It’s something you work on, all the time. In my new column for HealthCentral, I talk about how I do that: “Let’s say you found an old lamp at a flea market and it had…
Easy Soup Recipes
Soup. It warms you inside and out on cold days and comforts when you need a hug. But when you have a chronic illness, cooking can be difficult. I asked the community on my Facebook page to share their favourite easy soup recipes for this post. I’ll share mine at the end, too. Garbage Soup…
9 Quotes That Inspire Me When the Struggle Gets Too Real
We all have when you wake up to discover that everything has chosen this exact moment to fall apart: your chronic illness has flared, your pain is out of control, the cat puked in your shoes, and brain fog is making it impossible to think. For instance. And sometimes, we have several days like that…