Creating a Rheumatoid Arthritis Self-Care Space

Living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has affected every area of my life, like it also does to so many of you in our community. Living every day can seem like an uphill battle physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. This past year has been a rollercoaster ride for my mind, body, and spirit.

I am always looking for new strategies and ways to help me cope with living with chronic pain and illness. My life on a daily basis is not always pretty or for the faint of heart. I have found that speaking with a mental health professional has been very beneficial to me.

A question no one had asked me before

In a recent session, my therapist introduced a new concept to me. She asked me, "Do you have a dedicated space where you take care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?" I looked at her like she had 3 heads.

It was a question that no one had posed to me before. She said the space can be as small or as big as you have room for — one space where you can bring all your therapeutic tools together, and you can use it to take care of your mind, body, and soul.

Creating my RA self-care space

I started by brainstorming and looking through all the therapeutic tools I use and the activities I do to take care of myself and maintain my health. It was a stark reminder of how much of a full-time job it is to take care of ourselves when living with a chronic illness. It got me thinking about all the little things I do just to make it through the day.

My RA toolkit

Until I sat down and had the conversation with my therapist, I had no idea how many therapeutic tools I used or what I have collected to take care of myself in the last 20-plus years of living with rheumatoid arthritis.

My RA toolkit includes the following items:

• Red light/infrared lamps, and red-light infrared slippers, infrared heating pads
• Foot spa
• Heated blanket, heated shoulder pad, extra large heating pad
• Weighted blanket
• Dry eye drops and heated dry eye mask
• Various sizes of ice packs
• Knee braces, wrist braces, and foot braces
• Aromatherapy products/diffuser
• Various binders full of exercise sheets and regimens collected throughout the years of my career in physical and occupational therapy
• Therapy resistance bands, light weights, exercise stretch straps, various resistance Theraputty.
• Fine motor calming activities like my adult coloring books, coloring supplies, and adult sticker books.
• Various pain relief creams and lotions
• Paraffin wax bath
• Box of fidget toys to keep my hands active and to calm my anxiety
• Light therapy lamp (natural light and mood lighting)

Completing my self-care space

This year, I am going to continue to work on completing and setting up a dedicated space to meditate, rest, read, listen to music, exercise, use the tools in my RA toolkit, and heal. A space where all my self-care items are together and easily accessible. I am really excited to complete this project. I feel like it is such an investment into my overall health.

Setting up a self-care space of your own

I am hoping this article is helpful in getting you to think about the self-care tools you use. Also, I am hoping that it gives you some ideas on how to make a space that’s healing for you on your journey of living with chronic illness and pain.

Please remember that your self-care space could come in the form of a room, a self-care closet, or even an easily-accessible self-care cart. Whatever is most helpful to you and your particular situation. I would love to hear if any of you in our community already have a self-care space.

If you don’t, I hope this article inspires you to create what might work for you. I'm hoping this will be an additional technique you have to help you cope, live, and thrive on your rheumatoid arthritis journey.