Help for the Newly Diagnosed
Rheumatoid Arthritis and Other Chronic Pain Conditions

How to Keep a Symptoms Log
Staying ahead of our chronic pain symptoms requires that we be engaged in our symptoms every day. Knowing when pain levels spike or when fatigue

My First Guest Post is UP!
My first guest post is live! What a fun experience to write a guest post for my new friend, Emily Adams on her travel site, The Planking Traveler.

Why Is It Taking So Long?
New to the chronic illness journey and waiting forEVER for that first visit? Here are some tips for waiting well in the meantime.

The Undercurrent of Chronic ILLness
Often overlooked, the admin side of sick leaves us tired, frustrated, and even a bit defeated. Here are some things to avoid on the admin side of chronic illness.

5 Special Skills Every Chrony Must Develop
A chronic journey sort of forces our hand to learn new skills and new ways of doing things. Here’s a slightly different take on 5 skills every Chrony must develop.

April is Sjogren’s Awareness Month
There are numerous awareness months and for April, the emphasis is on Sjogren’s Syndrome. After 8 years of living with rheumatoid disease and a few

Waiting Well: 5 Secrets to Enduring a Long Diagnosis Process
As difficult as daily life with chronic illness and autoimmunes can be, perhaps the most difficult part of the journey is figuring out what the

No Trial, No Trust
My Fellow CDPs, there is often no other plea more gut-wrenching, more real during seasons of suffering than, “Please Lord, please… if You would, please

The First Rheumatology Visit – What to Expect
The First Rheumatology Visit – What to Expect If you’re like most RA and auto-immune patients, you’ve been waiting a while to get in to

The Real Face of RA and Sjogrens
The Real Face of RA and Sjogren’s Well, friends… I said from the beginning of this blogging journey that I would keep things real.

RA Fatigue: Tips to Slay the Beast
RA Fatigue: Tips to Slay the Beast It’s overwhelming. It will crush you. It’s hard to explain. Some days you cannot win over this monster.

My Invisible Monday
Oh my, 15 of the last 36 hours in a car. Surely I will die from this and the 2nd coming will be today and

Seize the Opportunity
Well, here we go… activity hangover day. <bleh> Can I get an “Amen” ?? Some of you have read about the insurance woes and that

Loneliness, the Unexpected Companion of Chronic
Loneliness. This one slipped up on me. I didn’t see it coming. The sting of being on rest, taking it easy and officially out

The 5 Worst Things People Say to Me about RA
The 5 Worst Things People Say to Me about RA You guys have been there. Hearing the same comments over and over. Some you like,

5 Schedule Tips for RA and other chronics
5 Schedule Tips for RA and other chronics Once chronic descends upon your life, the word “pace” has a very different meaning. We used to

Why do this?
If you’re reading this, it means you’ve found your way to the new ChronicPraise community and decided to check it out. Thank you! Maybe

The Chronic Journey… another step
The Chronic Journey… another step They told me blogging and writing and staying on top of it would be hard. Months like the past one

Exercise and RA: Move it, Move it
Exercise and Rheumatoid – move it, move it! Okay, Rheumies and AI’s… We know that exercise is good for us! Thirty minutes on the heat

Chronic Pitfall: Me-first-ness
Chronic will trick us to a place of self-first-ness. We get baited to go there all the time. I just hate it. It’s hard to

A start to 2017: “Find your happy. Then go there. Often.”
Find your happy place. Then go there – often.

Newly Diagnosed? 5 Must-Do’s for rheumatoid and other chronics
Newly diagnosed? Wondering what to do? Here are 5 must-do’s for those starting the journey. Know your disease Once the shock of first hearing

6 Trusted Healthcare Sites for Chronic Illness
One of the things that embattles all CDPs is the temptation to spend hours all over the internet reading every single story that populates page

Let’s Get Started! 3 Things I Learned Early On
“It keeps me alive – at least 37% of the time. Let me state that again… over one-third of my waking hours, I’m kept alive