How I Use Swearing to Cope with Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain
Coping with rheumatoid arthritis pain takes a toolbox of many different remedies and trips. In addition to the standards, such as medication, heating pads, ice packs, and careful stretching, mine also includes swearing like a sailor. My new essay for CreakyJoints Canada shares my swearing story and tips on how to use curse words to…
Having A Swish: How Self-Pity Can Help You Cope Better with Chronic Illness
Living with chronic illness is often difficult. There are medical appointments, work, family, keeping the dust bunnies (buffalo?) under control and it goes on and on. Not being able to stop and rest and heal makes it even harder. There’s a lot of pressure to keep going in with a stiff upper lip, not complaining,…
5 Platitudes That Don’t Help Me Live Better With RA
When people don’t know what to say about your rheumatoid arthritis, they often rely on old adages or platitudes. The problem is, none of these actually help you feel supported and they are hardly ever useful. In this column for HealthCentral, I pick apart five platitudes that don’t help and suggest alternatives: “EVEN THE MOST introverted…
January 2021 Chronic Journeys with My Guest Toni Bernhard
I was so honoured (and fangirling) when seminal chronic illness author Toni Bernhard agreed to join me on the first Chronic Journeys of the year! We talk about Toni’s new pocket version of How to Be Sick, the magic of the three breaths technique, and other ways to make life with chronic illness just a…
How I Use Gratitude to Live Well With RA
Let’s pull no punches: living with rheumatoid arthritis is really difficult. Figuring out how to create a good life nonetheless requires a lot of coping skills. In my new column for HealthCentral, I share what works for me. “Gratitude. It’s a lovely concept, trotted out for the Thanksgiving table and inspiring Instagram posts in beautiful…
How to Listen to Your Body When You’re Not on Speaking Terms
One of the hardest things about living with rheumatoid arthritis is listening to your body, yet it is an essential part of breaking the overdoing it-crashing-overdoing it cycle. I wrote about this in my new article for HealthCentral: “I live with an absolute jerk. She bosses me around, every day telling me what I can…
Managing RA (or Any Chronic Illness) Is a Full-Time Job
No one ever tells you just how much work it is to have a chronic illness. Just how many roles and tasks does it include? I tell all in my new Made with RA column on HealthCentral: “I am exhausted. My doctors would tell me this is due to the stress of living with a…
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…
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…
Using Findaway Voices to Create the Chronic Christmas Audiobook
Updated November 20, 2021 I am an independent author and that means I do it all myself. It can be a real challenge, but new things happen all the time. One of those new things enabled me to create an audiobook version of Chronic Christmas: Surviving the Holidays with a Chronic Illness! I know there…
Chronic Illness Brain Fog, Part Two: What You Can Do To Cope
Updated April 19, 2021 Brainfog. It’s part of many people experience when they have a chronic illness. Yesterday, I discussed what brain fog is and what causes it. Today, let’s talk about how to cope. When you have brain fog, there are number of things you can do to reduce the density of the fog,…
My RA Made Me Do It: 10 Really Great Things About Having RA
Photo description: a girl dances with a rainbow-coloured umbrella on a black and white backgriound. Credit: Dan Park Living with rheumatoid arthritis is a dance on roses — there are plenty of thorns. In my new Made with RA column, I flip it. Can I find 10 reasons to be grateful for RA in my…