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A Playlist of Calm Songs
I have some ideas to share that will help you create a calm playlist when you need some quiet, relaxing music.
A few years ago, I started creating a calm playlist to listen to while I do my physical therapy stretches and when I’m trying to unwind at night.
Because of my POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), a form of Dysautonomia, my autonomic nervous system doesn’t function correctly, One of the symptoms I deal with is rapid heartbeat, which can make it especially hard to relax. Music isn’t a cure by any means, but its one of the tools in my toolbox (including medicine) that I can turn to.
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My Experience Fundraising for Medical Expenses
Today I want to share about an organization that can help chronic illness patients fundraise for medical expenses. Chronic illness is expensive, and I am so thankful to have recently found out about Help Hope Live, which can help with co-pays, prescriptions costs, insurance premiums, and more.
In this post, I’ll share about my experience fundraising with this organization, so you can see if it would be a good fit to help you or a loved one living with chronic health conditions or a serious injury.
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How to Find Financial Assistance for Chronic Illness Expenses
Did you know that patients with chronic illness can apply for grants to help with medical expenses? Me neither! I’m going to share about several organizations that provide medical grants and financial assistance.
I can’t believe I’ve been seriously ill for over six years and am just now hearing something like this exists! I thought medical grants were something only doctors or researchers could apply for.
These programs may be able to help with costs like copays, insurance premiums, prescription costs, and more.
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Flexibility is Key—Creating with Chronic Illness
Happy New Year friends! I’ve been thinking about the importance of flexibility with chronic illness, especially when it comes to taking care of my health and making time for my creative pursuits.
January seems like the perfect month to share some updates, as well as what I’ve found helpful on my health journey recently. I hope these reflections are helpful for you too!
I’m thrilled to be participating in A Chronic Voice’s link up again this month. This link up is a way for chronically ill bloggers to connect by writing posts based on the same prompts. I love the creative challenge offered by the prompts and seeing what others write!
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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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Practical Gift Ideas for Someone with Chronic Illness
I hope this list of practical gifts for chronic illness is a helpful guide, whether you’re looking for Christmas, birthday, or “just because” gift suggestions. I’m also sharing four tips for choosing practical gifts for chronic illness.
My health conditions include fibromyalgia, POTS (a form of dysautonomia), myalgic encephalomyelitis (aka chronic fatigue syndrome), and asthma. I know that it can be challenging to know what will be helpful for those of us dealing with limitations due to our health, especially those of us with a lot of allergies. I’m sharing some things I’ve found particularly helpful, things I’ve been gifted, and things on my wishlist. (You can read more about my health journey here.)
Before we dive into gift suggestions, here are helpful tips for gift giving to keep in mind when your recipient has chronic health conditions.
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Ups And Downs: Summer, Chronic Illness, and a New Normal
Hello friends, I’m so excited to be able to join A Chronic Voice’s link up this month. Summer is finally here, but unfortunately, that doesn’t mean a vacation from chronic illness. So I’m going to share what I’ve found helpful and how I’m coping with the new normal.
This link up is a way for chronic illness bloggers to connect by writing posts based on the same prompts. I found it so helpful last month to use the prompts as a jumping off point to not only write a blog post, but also to do some journaling for myself to process everything going on in the world and my own life.
This month, I’m using the prompts to share a little bit about what I’ve been up to lately creatively, what I’ve been struggling with healthwise, and how I’m continuing to adjust to the new normal.
The prompts for this month are Bothering, Demanding, Telecommunicating, Tolerating, and Nourishing.
