Living

Whether you are new to rheumatoid disease/RA or whether you have fought this battle for years, it is important to understand how chronic pain affects our mental health. You have...

Professor and landscape architect Daniel Winterbottom has been designing and building therapeutic gardens for over 20 years. Here, he shares his unique viewpoint on the power of nature to heal...

Although I took precautions and practiced social distancing, somehow, I still contracted COVID-19. It was unpleasant, but I am OK and was able to safely recover at home. But the...

2020 was going to be a big year for me. Roughly six months ago, I wrote about how this year would be a struggle for me. I “celebrated” my 30th...

Mornings are difficult, especially with RA. I’ve found lately that I’ve had a lot more trouble staying asleep, and at first, I thought this was stress-related—and it might still be...

Living with a chronic disease is a bummer. Taking medications that leave you immunosuppressed is a bummer. But when those medications keep the chronic disease from progressing, that’s PRICELESS!! Sometimes...

I still remember the good old days when I could sleep anywhere, any time, and extremely deeply. In a previous article, I shared the story about the time my college...

Do I really need surgery? Boy, this is a question most, if not all, of us will face at some point over the course of our journey with rheumatoid arthritis...

I was watching a cop show the other day and one of those obligatory, “drug addled-club goers rave” scenes came on. You know, the one that shows what Hollywood thinks...

The thing about living with a sometimes-invisible disease is that it sort of feels like it's you against the world. You're living with this secret, this shadow, this double-life —...

Recently, I wrote an article to empower us ‘Spoonies’ to head into this quarantine with confidence and strength. Now, I am going to talk about all the things I am...

Do you know what my husband needs? A hug. A reassuring hand on his arm. A gentle back rub. All simple physical gestures, and all too frequently beyond my ability...

People who have chronic health conditions like ankylosing spondylitis (AS) or other similar diseases might be advised by their regular doctor or primary care physician to see a specialist known...

Please do not take this as the standard stiffness all of us with psoriatic arthritis usually experience first thing in the mornings. I want to talk more about being active...

Psoriatic arthritis can change how you live your life every single day. This condition is the center of the wheel that outreaches to all different aspects of life: physical and...

I remember the day I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, in May 2004, like it was yesterday. Memories of all the lab reports, research I had done, countless doctor visits...

Pity. Ugh, I know right? It’s awful, and no one wants to be pitied, or pitiable, but even just now when I said the word, you got that feeling, didn’t...

“Have you stopped drinking coffee? You need to exercise every day and that will help you sleep.” It had been awhile since I’d slept a full night and I figured...

Time for celebration. It’s my 13th RAnniversary!! My disease is a teenager now. However, it’s likely older than that. Like a stray cat, we’re not exactly sure how old my...

Storytime: I have osteoarthritis. The end.   Just kidding! I have relatively severe osteoarthritis and take medications to combat further deterioration. I started with a couple of different pills but...