Each Sunday I share something from another blog or website that made me really think. This week I'm sharing a post from Kate, The Almost Great, on the topic of acute pain vs chronic pain. She dislocated her knee and the responses she got were interesting, as was her post. Here's a … [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.
Ask For What You Need
When I was 17 I'd just moved back to AL and I needed a job. I'd graduated the year before and spent the last six months in Michigan with family. After several months of looking I walked into Shoe Carnival. If you've never been in a Shoe Carnival (especially back in the early-90's) let me describe. … [Read more...]
No One Deserves Pain
I ran across this image on Twitter recently that said "Just Because I am Strong Enough to Handle PAIN, Doesn't Mean I Deserve it!" I couldn't help but be struck by the truth of it, but what really jumped out in my mind was this thought that NO ONE deserves pain. We didn't earn it. We didn't do … [Read more...]
Dealing with Disappointment
Reading through the 3 Things the Chronically Ill Want Their Loves Ones to Know, one in particular stood out to me, because it's the one that is most true for me. " We can feel as if we’re letting you down even though you’ve repeatedly told us that we’re not." - 3 Things the Chronically Ill Want … [Read more...]
Face the Past, But Focus on Today
I've had this post from Rachel on my "inspiration" list for a while now. "Say no to a fresh start". "No one is safe from the past, so don't run away from it. Face it, but don't walk into it and drown." This post really hit me when I originally read it and it hit me again today. My whole life … [Read more...]
Changing Your Perception of Chronic Pain
Perceptions of control make a difference.People who think they have more control show less response to stress. {Stress}may be less intense among those who think of them as challenges to be overcome. Many stressful events are not inherently stressful. Their impact depends partly on … [Read more...]
We Are What We Think: Don’t Worry About Tomorrow
How often do you avoid doing something because you are worried about how it will make you feel? How much time do you spend worrying about tomorrow? What could happen? Instead of living life to the fullest? As I read Sue Ingbretson's article on Rehearing Positivity, and I couldn't help but relate … [Read more...]
You Can Only Be Who You Are
Those of us with chronic illness often spend a lot of time and energy on envy. We envy the lives that others have. We envy their health, the ease with which they seem to live, their ability to do all the things. However, often we don't stop and take notice of what we have and think about whether … [Read more...]
13 Commandments of Fibromyalgia
It seems there is a 10 Commandments for everything these days. As I was reading The Happiness Project, her mention of her Commandments for Adulthood, got me thinking about what the 10 Commandments of Fibromyalgia would be. As I thought about it, I realized that I could not stop at 10, instead I … [Read more...]
Caution: Chronic Illness May Cause Relationship Conflicts
Relationship issues have been in the foreground of my mind lately, so today's Sunday Inspiration post has been inspired by three posts on handling relationship conflicts. We've been in counseling for several months now and if there's one thing I've learned it's that I can't focus on what I'd want … [Read more...]
