Facebook Live: The ADA and Applying for Disability
Did you miss it? In last week’s Facebook Live for RAHealthCentral, I talked about how the ADA can help you work longer when you have a chronic illness, and how to apply for disability. I had a bad cold. Meaning I am woman, hear me squeak!
How Meditation Can Help You Cope with Chronic Illness
To cope with chronic illness, you need a variety of tools. One of these tools is meditation. In my new article for HealthCentral, I look at how meditation can help you live better with chronic illness: “Living with chronic illness is stressful. These types of conditions are often unpredictable and require a lot of changes…
In Which My Chronic Illness Blog Gets Banned by Facebook
Did you know that sexuality and chronic illness is now against Facebook’s community standards? It is alarmingly easy to get blacklisted on social media channels. And once you’re put on the watch list, it is alarmingly difficult to get off it. I have been on social media for a very long time. It started with…
5 Ideas for Eating Well When You Don’t Have the Energy to Cook
Eating a nutritious balanced diet helps you to be healthier, especially when your chronic illness is flaring. But when your chronic illness is flaring, you don’t want to cook. It’s a vicious circle. In my new post for Mango Health, I share tips for how to eat well when you don’t feel like cooking: “Giving…
Coping with Chronic Illness Fatigue on Facebook Live
I’m really excited to announce my first Facebook Live: a talk about chronic illness and fatigue. Well, theoretically it’s not my first Facebook live, but that last one was so marred by technical problems that it doesn’t count. Besides, this is a first for my own page. I hope you’ll join me on Thursday, July…
Preventing and Treating Sinus Infections When Taking Biologics
Biologics are notorious for increasing your risk of infections, especially those of the upper respiratory tract. In other words, sinus infections. Cue headaches, a feeling like your head is filled with cement, post-nasal drip, nausea, debilitating fatigue, thick brain fog, plus that awful smell that no one else can smell. There is nothing like it…
Thoughts from a Bonnie Raitt Concert
Bonnie Raitt and I were in the same room on Friday. Along with 3000 other people, but I wasn’t paying much attention to them. As she was singing, a variety of thoughts occurred to me. When live music is actually live I’m a sucker for singer-songwriters. People who have something to say and know music…
Trailblazers & Pathmakers: Women’s Leadership with the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Me? A trailblazer? Apparently so, because I had the privilege of being invited to the Trailblazers & Pathmakers event at Queen’s Park hosted by The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. On an early April morning, I joined 99 amazing women to discuss issues surrounding women’s leadership. May I get real for a moment?…
Sickness Behaviour: The Many Causes of Fatigue with Chronic Illness
Wrung-out dishcloth. Someone unplugged my power cord. Death warmed over. All of these (and more) have been used to describe the fatigue associated with active RA and other types of chronic illness. And all of them have applied to me lately. Which explains why you haven’t seen much of me. I have fond memories of…
In Which I Appear on the ChronicSex Podcast
Most of the time, what I do involves sitting alone in front of my computer and writing down my thoughts, then posting them somewhere and and you read them and sometimes leave a comment. I like this. It suits my introverted nature, yet at the same time it is a two-way conversation. But one should…
Body Image and Chronic Illness: How to Be Bodacious
Chronic illness can seriously mess with your body image, leaving you feeling disconnected and far from attractive. In my new post for Mango Health I look at ways to get back to feeling bodacious: “Where did the vibrant old you go? The person who felt at home in her own skin, who laughed and danced…
Strategies for Surviving Celebrations (and Daily Life) with Chronic Illness
Updated November 20, 2021 We all have energy-sucking events and tasks in our lives. They can range from doing routine household chores to planning a big celebration, such as a family party or a wedding. When you have a chronic illness, approaching any of them can feel overwhelming. Where do you start? Will you have…