Don’t fear, because I am with you; don’t be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will surely help you; I will hold you with my righteous strong hand. ~ Isaiah 41:10 (CEB)
Talk About It Tuesday: How’s the weather?
Can your body tell you when bad weather is on its way? I know mine can! And we ARE NOT crazy!
The skies can still be blue but the achiness starts as soon as the barometric pressure in the environments starts to drop. Why does that happen? Does anyone believe you when you tell them “Bad weather is on its way.” They should listen to you!
Talk About It – The Power of Sharing Your Struggles
Welcome to Talk About It Tuesday – my blogging day to remind myself (and hopefully you as well 🙂 ) that talking about your chronic pain struggles is not complaining — It is THERAPY!
I know for some out there that it is difficult to talk to family about your struggles, sometimes even your closest real-life friends just don’t understand. Even though your pain might not be able to be seen physically, it does take its toll. That is where talking about your struggles comes in…
When I was battling RA, my husband who is usually very compassionate and understanding was not so understanding of my pain at first. Even this wonderfully caring man did not think that the pain I said I was in was a true representation of what I really was dealing with. In the first year after my diagnosis, there were times he thought that the pain was “all in my head” and there were times I know he thought I was exaggerating when I could not get out of bed. However, I kept talking to him about it – the struggles I dealt with each day, as well as the little triumphs (Hey, I was able to get out of bed on my own today!! type of things). And eventually, he began to understand what I was going through although it was not until about year 3 after diagnosis. Thank GOD that hubby finally understood.
However, I know there are those out there whose loved ones NEVER understand, accuse you of just being lazy, or exaggerating and my heart hurts for you – living with chronic pain is not a choice and you certainly are not exaggerating or being lazy – I know because I have been there (even my doctor accused me of over-exaggerating my pain descriptions 🙁 Ugh!)
So, if you can’t talk to your loved ones, I urge you to find someone you can talk to – even if it is online in a Facebook group. There are many people out there struggling with am “invisible” illness and they DO know what you are going through… they will listen and they will understand and they may even pray for you. Being able to talk about your struggles and triumphs with chronic pain is so very therapeutic – to find someone or even a group of someones that FULLY understand your struggles and can confirm that you are NOT crazy, lazy, or exaggerating – well, that makes all the difference in the world!
Feel free to comment below and Iwill answer. 🙂 You can also connect with me online by clicking one of the social media buttons to your right.
Talk to you soon!
Alicia
Image credit: andreyutzo at sxc.hu
Music: Encouragement to Keep Fighting
I did not have time this weekend to write out all of my thoughts into a post, so for today I am posting two songs that have really been helpful to me lately. When I feel like giving up, listening to these can help lift me up when I need it the most.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avYxiIRG4xQ]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7eZD3TKn_M]
Related articles
- The Power of Music and How It Can Help You Write (creativewritingforme.wordpress.com)
- Music changes your brain: Listen to a soothing song after an argument? (westallen.typepad.com)
- The Amazing Benefits of Music Therapy (everydayhealth.com)
- Something About Music . . . (suzyisopinionated.com)
Even my medicines have medicines!
I’ve finally done it! I have reached the milestone of 20 medications, vitamins, supplements, etc… That I need as a result of my RA. Yuck!
This is not a milestone I am proud of, but rather, one that saddens me.
A couple meds are for the RA directly; a few are for pain. But, the majority of things I take/use on a regular basis are necessary because of the side-effects caused by a few medications. Then, the meds I take to control the side effects of cause their own set of side effects, causing more meds to be taken for the latter set of side-effects. It just feels as if it is never-ending. 🙁
Ok. Enough complaining for me for now…
With all those meds, it is tough to remember what I took, when I took it, and if I took it correctly. So… I came up with an idea… [Read more…]
Work a little, Rest a little

Today, I had a good reminder of how NOT to overdo it. There are times with my RA where I simply cannot push myself too hard. It happened again today while I was helping my children clean out their guinea pig cages, as well as later on when I was helping my youngest clean and organize her room.
[Read more…]