The Seated View Top 5 Posts in 2022
2022 was an interesting year. Here on The Seated View I had a bit of an involuntary blog hibernation as the challenges of life with chronic illness became pretty overwhelming. But in a fit of a well-rested post-holiday optimism, I decided it was time to reawaken this site of mine and what better way to…
Post-Lockdown: Venturing Out When You’re Chronic
We seem to have decided that the pandemic is more or less over, taking off masks and flinging them in the air in celebration. Of course, those of us who are high risk due to rheumatoid arthritis and other types of medical conditions know we are not quite out of the woods yet. For people…
How Journaling Can Help You Live Better with Chronic Illness and Pain
Did you know journaling can be an important tool to add to your bag of chronic illness and pain coping tools? It’s been shown to help people cope with pain, PTSD, depression, and even have a beneficial effect on your immune system. This is the first in a series on journaling and chronic illness and…
Why Does It Take So Long To Get A Diagnosis Of RA?
One of the biggest struggles to effectively treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the delay in diagnosis. In the very recent past, just 20 years ago, the time from the appearance of first symptoms to diagnosis range from a few months to more than 10 years. Thankfully, that has improved more, although the average is still…
When RA Hits Your Jaw: The Facts and Tips to Cope
Did you know that headaches, toothaches, and pain around the neck and shoulders could mean that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is affecting your jaw? For some of you reading this, this could be the first time you heard that RA can affect your jaw. Let’s cover that first — yes, it can, just like all the…
Dear Loved Ones: This Is What RA Feels Like
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is complicated and difficult. It is much more than painful joints and affects every aspect of your life. How do you make family friends and… Well, everyone understand what it’s like to live with RA? My new column for HealthCentral is a letter in which I, on behalf of the community, try…
Rheumatoid Arthritis Will Change Your Life. It Doesn’t Have to Ruin It.
What about your dreams when you get a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis — do you have to give them all up? In my new column for HealthCentral, I muse on future, expectations, and moving forward. “When I was a little girl, I had high-flying dreams and they had very little to do with my juvenile…
Chronic Illness Brain Fog, Part One: What It Is
Updated April 19, 2021 Many people with chronic illness also experience the phenomenon colloquially known as brain fog. This includes symptoms related to problems with focusing and concentrating, memory problems, and basically your mind feeling less nimble than it used to. It can be a really big problem, but it doesn’t receive a lot of…
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…
A Very Personal Take on RA
I am SO excited! I have a brand-new role at HealthCentral: columnist! The Powers That Be are giving me free reign to be opinionated about what matters to how you live with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain. My first column is live now: “It’s time to move on. But thankfully—because I hate change—I’m not going…
Arthritis at Work: Two New Resources to Keep You Working
Over 80 percent of people with arthritis have trouble working because of their health and felt work had a negative impact on their health. These findings from a Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA) study formed the foundation for two organizations to create some fantastic arthritis and work resources that can help you keep working without…
5 Tips for Coping When Your Illness Takes Over
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over my five decades with autoimmune arthritis, it’s that it ebbs and flows. There are times when everything’s as great as it can be, others when you enter the abyss, and everything in between. Having a chronic illness is much like being on a roller coaster, except slower and…