The Importance of Pacing and Fibromyalgia Pacing is possibly your greatest ally in avoiding the roller coaster of pain and fatigue that is often associated with Fibromyalgia. Pacing is simply the act of learning your limits and working with them. Instead of trying to complete large … [Read more...]
Extra Spoons and Inspiration
These posts contain little tips and inspiration to help you gain an "extra spoon" or two. Many with invisible illness call themselves "spoonies" in reference to The Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino. The idea is that we equate our energy levels to spoons, when our energy levels are low, we need spoons. These posts are meant to help you increase your energy (whether mental or physical), and therefore your spoons.
Sunday Inspiration: Just don’t give up
"Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong." - Ella Fitzgerald My inspiration this week is from somewhat of a different source. Last week I was introduced to the story of Mike Persi - now known as Miracle Mike … [Read more...]
Sunday Inspiration: Turn Into the Skid
When you feel your car go into a skid, should you: a) try to hold the wheel as steady as possibleb) steer into the skid c) step on the brake d) take your foot off the gas e) floor it f) steer in the direction you want the car to go. I can hear you now asking "Julie, WTH does this have to do … [Read more...]
Solving the Fibromyalgia Puzzle
Have you ever thought about fibromyalgia as a puzzle to solve? Often we think of fibromyalgia as one big thing and as a result we look for one big solid answer, But perhaps the answer is really more of a puzzle with many pieces that need to be fit together. That's the thought that my friend Donna … [Read more...]
5 Tips for Staying Positive Despite Chronic Illness
5 Tips for Staying Positive Despite Chronic Illness When you live with chronic illness, life can be rough and it can be very difficult to remain positive. The little things often drag us down, we focus inward, and we forget to notice the small joys in life, while the small (and large) negatives … [Read more...]
My Chronic Illness Dream
Chronic Mom wrote an amazing post about Why People Don't Care About the Chronically Ill, then she wrote this great follow-up post. As I read it I saw this one section and it resounded with me as something that I've dreamed. If I could ask for just one thing to change about my chronic illness, this … [Read more...]
The Importance of Being Vulnerable
Vulnerability is difficult. Too often we associate vulnerability with weakness. Even looking at the thesaurus for synonyms that's what we find, weakness, exposed, sitting duck, naked, defenseless. But, what we don't realize is that it's the avoiding vulnerability that really makes us weak. … [Read more...]
When Caregiving Roles are Reversed
This week my inspiration comes from my husband. Monday morning I woke up to find out that my husband had been awake and sick all night. Really SICK! He was fairly sure (and so was I once he told me) that it was his gallbladder. We headed to the doctor and he sent us to the ER. By Monday afternoon … [Read more...]
Accepting Your Diagnosis
Acceptance is one of the five stages of grief, and it is not the first one. So, it's not a surprise that it's a struggle for many of us to accept our diagnosis. If you're like me, you've probably gone rounds with this, at times accepting your diagnosis only to follow it with another round of being … [Read more...]
The 3 Ms of Coping with Chronic Pain and Fatigue
Coping with chronic fatigue can be difficult on the best of days. However much we struggle, we need to focus on maintaining a three important things in our life. I call these the three M's of Coping. Coping with chronic pain requires that you maintain relationships When you live with chronic … [Read more...]
