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Thoughts On “Sun Guilt” And How To Enjoy The Outdoors With Chronic Illness
Don’t worry, this isn’t a post pressuring you to go outside more or insisting you should get outside every day. With chronic illness and pain, sometimes this isn’t realistic. So let’s talk about ways to benefit from and enjoy being outdoors with chronic illness. For me, planning and pacing are key.
In fact, I’m giving myself permission to be outside less or not go outside at all, even on days when the weather is ideal. I’m trying to balance benefitting from nature with listening to my body.
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My Go To Natural Skin Care Products
I’m so excited to share this list of my favorite natural skin care products with you! It’s taken me many years to find lotions, soaps, shampoos, etc. that don’t flare up my health conditions. I’m really passionate about this topic because I think everyone should have the tools and information to avoid toxins and make healthier decisions in their everyday life.
I hope that all the products I’ve researched and tried will help you on your journey to better health.
What we put on our bodies matters, especially for those of us with chronic illness. These are the skincare products that don’t aggravate my asthma, fibromyalgia, and other chronic conditions.
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Why To Use Natural Skin Care Products If You Have A Chronic Illness
Why choose natural skin care products? I’m going to share a quick overview of some of the potential health impacts of chemicals that you’d think are safe—after all, they’re in everyday products like lotion, shampoo, deodorant, and soap. I hope this post is a useful resource for learning more about the ingredients in skin care products so you can choose healthier options, especially if you have a chronic illness.
If you’re already dealing with chronic illness or health issues (like I am—more on that below) it’s even more important to address irritants and triggers that could be contributing to underlying conditions—or just making overall health worse.
And even if you’re healthy, there are many reasons everyone should avoid harmful chemicals lurking in skin care products.
Here’s a quick look at chemicals to avoid, where you can find more research about those chemicals, and resources for finding healthier alternatives.
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Blogging Without A Picture Perfect Life
There’s so much pressure online to have a picture perfect life and to have every moment Instagramable, that it can be very daunting to think of starting or maintaining a blog. Do you need to have everything put together and looking immaculate in order to share your story online? I’m here to remind myself and others that the answer is “no.” Here are my tips for blogging without a picture perfect life, and how I’m letting go of perfectionism as a chronic illness writer.
I am a perfectionist, or at least someone who’s trying to be less of a perfectionist. My preference would be to wait to share my writing or photography or crafting until I’ve gotten it polished and as close to perfect as possible. But I live with multiple chronic illnesses that greatly limit my energy and ability to accomplish even routine tasks, so even publishing one post on my blog is a challenge. -
December Wrap Up: Preparing For the New Year
Happy New Year! I’m sharing a wrap up post with highlights from my December, including what I made, what I found challenging, and festive photos. Looking back can help us move forward. So I’m reviewing the last month of 2020 before next year’s fresh start.
This post is inspired by A Chronic Voice’s linkup party, which is a way for bloggers to connect and write about similar themes. I’ve decided to write on three of the linkup themes: Beginning, Enduring, and Revealing. I’ve also decided to add two themes of my own: Creating and Celebrating.
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How To Stay Connected From A Distance-Holiday Edition
The holiday season is coming, and I want to share some fun and creative ways to stay connected even from a distance. It can be challenging to stay connected while apart. Chronic illness can limit our ability to travel or visit, and risk due to the pandemic adds another layer of restrictions.
Thankfully, technology provides a lot of ways to keep in touch so we’re not isolated. I’m going to share ideas for virtual Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas parties.
I’ve been thankful to be able to meet up with a few friends outdoors in the last month or so for socially distanced get-togethers. Now the weather is getting colder (too cold for this asthmatic to be outdoors here in Washington). So I’m thinking about ways to make virtual get-together’s into holiday parties.
I hope these ideas inspire many fun celebrations!
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Easy Popsicle Cards
Summer is my favorite season, and I’m quick to point out that it lasts until September 21. So there’s still plenty of time to send summery greeting cards! This design for a popsicle card is quick, easy, and so cheerful.
I love thinking up new ways to be creative in spite of my health issues and fatigue. Cards are a great craft project that doesn’t use too much energy.
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The Helpful Chart My Doctor Recommended I Create
Do you ever discover a useful resource for your health that just makes you want to share it? That’s the way I felt when my doctor recommended I create this chart. This is a helpful way to prepare for a doctor’s visit. It led to a lot of light bulb moments as I considered the future direction of my treatment plan, especially when it comes to medication and supplements.
This chart will help you streamline appointments by having more information at your fingertips, whether you’re meeting with your doctor in person or doing televisits. (I’ve actually found televisits practical because I use up less energy and can pull up documents about my health history on my computer…or ask my mom to run into the next room to check the dosage on my supplements, LOL! What do you guys think of them?)
I feel I’ve hit a dead end with my health and haven’t been seeing improvement (so I’ve been trying to focus on the little things I can do).
That’s why I recently saw my naturopathic oncologist to get a new perspective. I hadn’t seen him in awhile—I had thyroid cancer three years ago and have other chronic health conditions including dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, an autoimmune disease, and asthma.
