By Angie Ebba
"A friend often reminds me (so frequently, in fact, that I got it tattooed on my wrist): 'Choose Angie.' Choose yourself. You are what matters most."
"Social media can be a powerful tool, but it’s essential to navigate it mindfully and exercise discernment when engaging with both the information and the people you encounter."
"From cooking meals to cleaning to running errands and managing finances, every responsibility falls squarely on my shoulders — shoulders already aching from arthritis."
Managing RA pain goes beyond joint care. Explore these patient-approved tips for identifying triggers and finding relief.
"The effort it takes to push through the pain and fatigue often leaves me running on empty. It’s no wonder I can feel burnt out when I am constantly stuck in survival mode."
By Ian Carroll
The Global Healthy Living Foundation’s latest Patient Support Program Poll explores how honest patients are with their doctors and examines why those with chronic illness might hold back.
By Angie Ebba
“We aren’t separated into sections like the game 'Operation,' where you can fix things by focusing on just one part at a time.”
By Angie Ebba
“By allowing ourselves to both feel our more difficult emotions, while also cultivating an attitude of gratitude for the positive aspects of our lives, we find a balance.”
By Angie Ebba
“My body finally put its foot down, telling me in no uncertain terms that it was time to start saying “no” to things and saying “yes” to myself.”
By Kelsey Kloss
Let's take a closer look at the science of manifestation and whether it's a boon or bane for those with chronic illnesses.
By Kelsey Kloss
It's normal to feel guilty when pain interferes with chores. Here’s how to turn your guilt into a productive and healthy path forward with your partner.
By Kelsey Kloss
Chronic pain demands coping mechanisms that go beyond simple phrases like "breathe deeply" or "just stay positive." Here, we help you navigate high-pain days with practical tips.
By Kelsey Kloss
An arthritis diagnosis can significantly alter your life, and it's completely understandable to feel a sense of grief. Here, we chat with mental health pros about managing grief and boosting resilience.
By Kelsey Kloss
Don't let chronic pain apologies weigh on your mental health. Manage cancellations without placing blame on yourself.
New study suggests a link between clinical anxiety and depression and self-management behaviors such as treatment adherence, physical activity, and active health care participation.
Do friends, family, and peers often attribute anything amiss to your rheumatoid arthritis? Remember, while RA may be invisible, you are not. Your experiences and identity go beyond the condition.
Patient advocate Eileen Davidson shares how stress impacts her RA and offers tips for coping with stress and chronic illness.
By Angie Ebba
"I’m beginning to realize that in trying to keep my girlfriend, my therapist, my kids, my friends, my family from seeing my pain, I’ve been denying them access to a very real part of myself.”
Chronic conditions can bring unpredictability and heightened anxiety levels. Here we explore triggers and how to change the channel in your mind through healthy distractions.
By CreakyStaff
In honor of Arthritis Awareness Month, we asked our patient community: What is one silver lining that has come from living with a chronic illness?
By Angie Ebba
"There will be days where it feels like too much and that is okay. Just remember you can always wake up tomorrow and approach the world anew. And remember those days that feel like nothingness? They will pass, and you will feel again."
By Kelsey Kloss
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we took a moment to reexamine this ancient Chinese martial art and how it can help you manage your arthritis.
By CreakyStaff
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and what better way to prioritize your mental well-being than by taking action to cultivate positivity and resilience.
By CreakyStaff
Naming your chronic illness can help you distance yourself from it and feel more in control. Learn more about this creative coping mechanism.
Discover the benefits of developing emotional intelligence, from managing chronic pain to improving all areas of your life.
By Jae Walker
“I have this ache inside me for nothingness. I want oblivion. Pain makes me yearn for it. Do not misunderstand me, I do not mean death and I do not mean suicide. I mean quiet darkness. The absence of pain.”
By Kelsey Kloss
If you’re in an underrepresented group or have an “invisible” illness, you may be particularly prone to medical gaslighting.
Researchers examine yet another negative health consequence of discrimination: increased inflammation and a higher risk for inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Chronic disease and depression often go hand in hand. To the rescue: Real-life tips on how to manage both.
By Angie Ebba
Mental health mainstays like walking outside aren't an option if you're bed- or housebound — but these creative alternatives can help.
By Kelsey Kloss
New research shows that your susceptibility to long COVID may be at least partly based on how healthy your mind is.
Looking for a way to remind yourself about daily goals, self-care, and overall good mental well-being? Here's how a game-like app can help.
Rheumatoid arthritis patient and family nurse practitioner Stefanie Remson shares how she’s managed the feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and inadequacy that came with her diagnosis.
By Jae Walker
“No matter how strong I think I might be, or no matter how tough or stoic, the relentless grinding and repetition of this waiting cycle wears on me as a patient. It used to dig into me until I began to bring sensory items with me to help me cope.”
Psoriasis and eczema share some symptoms, so getting a proper diagnosis is key to treating and managing both conditions.
Treatments for scalp psoriasis often don’t account for the textures, hair care regimens, and styling techniques common among Black people. Here, solutions for advocating for yourself and finding relief.
When the slightest thing goes wrong, do you instantly jump to the worst-case scenario? Unfortunately, that can kick-start a damaging anxiety spiral. Instead, try putting a stop to it with some tried-and-true tips.
That’s not just the name of Gigi Robinson’s podcast — it’s the driving force behind the 24-year-old’s messages about chronic illness, body image, resilience, and confidence.
By Angie Ebba
"Today it isn’t my body keeping me in bed, but rather my brain," says patient advocate Angie Ebba. You see, in addition to these physical health conditions, I also live with complex PTSD and major depressive disorder, the symptoms of which can also be completely debilitating."
By Jae Walker
“I refuse to smash my emotions down inside myself so I can put on a happy face and make other people feel better. I will not pretend like I have learned a fantastic lesson when my body and my life are falling apart in this moment — I need time to cry and scream into a damn pillow," says patient advocate Jennifer Walker.
By CreakyStaff
People often think of stress relief as yoga or journaling — but our patient community shared that their furry friends are perhaps the best remedy for managing the emotional and physical ups and downs of living with a chronic illness.
Our psoriasis warriors and mental health experts agree: You can't control the stares, but you can control your reaction and how you choose to respond.
The unpredictable nature of chronic illness can make staying confident a challenge — but these patient-approved confidence boosters can help you hold your head up higher.
Taking care of mental health may be important for achieving relief from rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, and in turn, feeling better may help improve your mood and emotions.
Patient advocate Zoe Rothblatt gets real about chronic pain — and how to take the power back when pain-free days mess with your emotions.
Researchers suspect inflammation may play a key role in both depression and psoriatic arthritis.
We’ve all had that moment when we’ve left the doctor’s office and realized we forget to ask a question or bring a topic. Here’s what patients and doctors say you can do about it.
These inspiring insights, usually learned the hard way, are the perfect reminder to treat yourself to self-love today — and every day.
There are many benefits of journaling for people with chronic illness, but what if arthritis or painful joints are making it hard to make this self-help activity a habit?
Living with a chronic illness, such as rheumatic disease, can make you feel like your body is out to get you. We asked mental health experts and patients to share what helps when you feel betrayed by your body.
Living with a chronic illness can feel completely overwhelming. These tips can help ease these feelings so you can have the headspace to control what you can.
By Jae Walker
It’s been a journey for Jennifer Walker to figure out that anxiety and related depression was no longer something they could manage with self-care alone. Here’s how they’re getting help and moving forward.
A new study from the ArthritisPower research registry found that following a mindfulness therapy program may help patients with rheumatic diseases, like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, decrease their anxiety and stress levels.
Mood disorders commonly coexist with chronic physical health ailments, and new research suggests depression and anxiety might make it harder for PsA patients to achieve minimal disease activity (MDA).
A new study found that cognitive behavioral talk therapy may treat sleep issues in people dealing with osteoarthritis and insomnia.
By Susan Jara
People with chronic pain from arthritis and other conditions may be at an increased risk of having suicidal thoughts and behavior. Learn more about this link and when and how to get help.
More research is needed to understand why mental health conditions are linked to low “medication persistence” — the amount of time from starting to stopping a medication.
When conditions like arthritis and chronic pain cause pain, disability, and other physical changes to your body, it’s natural for self-esteem to dip. Here’s what other patients report about their experience coping with changes to their identity and body image.
When treatment for inflammatory arthritis escalates, so does the risk of depression and anxiety — and there are many possible explanations for this link.
But it’s not entirely clear whether being unemployed, perhaps due to arthritis-related disability, leads to depression, or whether having depression and arthritis increases the risk of unemployment.
According to study authors, ‘psychological treatments that combine a focus on increasing valued activity with improving inflammatory arthritis patients’ mindfulness could be useful for reducing fatigue-related disability.’
By Tina Donvito
CBT is rooted in the idea that the way you perceive situations influences the way you feel, and that you have the ability to change your thought patterns to feel better.
By Dibs Baer
‘I’m no Perfect Pollyanna. But I just don’t want the experience of living with a chronic illness — I’ve had RA for more than a decade — to be negative 24/7.’
This advice from Laurie Ferguson, PhD, clinical psychologist and Director of Education Development at the Global Healthy Living Foundation, can help you process all of the emotions you’re feeling right now to help you fight anxiety and feel more in control.
Writing can help us admit to our feelings, accept our fear, manage our anxiety, and move through serious trauma.
This advice from Laurie Ferguson, PhD, clinical psychologist and Director of Education Development at the Global Healthy Living Foundation, can help reduce anxiety and stress.
By Dibs Baer
Several studies also show that depression and chronic illness feed off each other in the worst ways.
This advice from mental health experts and fellow patients could help prevent a bad day from become a bad week, month, or worse.
Geography, sex, and sexual orientation seemed to affect mental health too.
By Jae Walker
‘It soon became pretty clear that if I did not start listening to my sick body now, I would pay dearly for it later.’
Widespread inflammation could may be the connecting factor between depression and autoimmune conditions such as RA.
Overwhelming feelings of worry and dread are common among people with arthritis, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with them.
Stress and arthritis can be a vicious cycle. Any one of these tips can help you improve your stress management and coping strategies.
Eileen Davidson wasn’t prepared for the emotional and mental health roller coaster that followed her rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. Here’s what she learned along the way.
There’s a strong connection between arthritis and depression, but this advice can help protect your mental health.
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