Living Well

Living Well

How Movement Became My Medicine

I was only 4 years old when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Slowly but surely I started to understand the consequences of missing playtime and not moving my body.

Living Well

A Public Health Crisis: Preventing Loneliness in Chronic Illness

Loneliness is more prevalent than ever in the U.S. — and people with chronic illness are likely familiar with it. Here's how to stay socially connected even when symptoms or flare-ups get in your way.

Living Well

I Tried a Nordic Spa Water Circuit for PsA

Hydrotherapy may provide benefits for people with PsA, including helping to relax muscles and reduce stress.

Living Well

How to Balance Chronic Pain with a Healthy Exercise Routine

While exercise may be beneficial for those with chronic pain, finding the right balance can be a challenge.

Living Well

How ASMR Can Benefit People with Chronic Illness

If you live with a chronic illness, ASMR may help you feel relaxed, comforted, or even relieved from chronic pain. But triggers aren't the same for everyone.

Living Well

Should You Disclose Your Diagnosis at Work?

The decision of whether or not to share your chronic condition diagnosis with an employer or potential employer is personal. Here's my story and some things to consider as you make the choice.

Living Well

Consistency Is Overrated

Consistency helps us feel safe and reduces anxiety. But it also can create unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to redefine consistency (and success) so you’re OK with the ebbs and flows of life.

Living Well

Gardening Is My Mindfulness Practice of Choice — Here’s Why

Watching my plants grow and bloom, as well as the benefits of grounding, are just some of the ways gardening teaches me to be more mindful for my chronic illness.

Living Well

The Mindflight Journal: A Journal for Chronic Illness

Meet Nicole and Aisley, the mom and daughter partnership behind the Mindflight Journal. Building from their own experiences, they've designed a journal for those living with chronic illnesses. Trust me, it's a game-changer.

Living Well

The Importance of Being a Hustle Culture Dropout When You’re Chronically Ill

The constant pressure to go-go-go took a toll on both my physical and mental health. Then I realized I could opt out.

Living Well

How the Spoon Theory Helps Me Explain My Health

It can be hard to explain the way that a chronic condition impacts your daily energy. The spoon theory is a clever way to help get the point across.

Living Well

How I Approach the New Year with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Resolutions aren't the be-all and end-all. I like to think of them as methods to continually develop my relationship with rheumatoid arthritis. Here are some ideas for the year ahead.

Living Well

Realistic Approaches to Setting Resolutions When You Live with a Chronic Condition

Living with a chronic condition often means working within your body’s parameters, which can mean editing your expectations. Always give yourself grace and remember that your New Year’s resolutions — if you choose to set them — don’t have to “match” anyone else’s. They only have to feel helpful to you.

Living Well

Planning an Event? Here Are 6 Reasons It Really Needs to Be Accessible

Not only is it the law, but planning an ADA-compliant event shows you care about people living with disabilities.

Living Well

How I Adapt My Holiday Traditions While Living with RA

Simple switches, like premade meals and gift-wrapping hacks, can allow you to celebrate the holidays to the fullest while living with RA.

Living Well

Learning the Paradoxical Power of Acceptance while Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Accepting my situation felt like giving up. But I’ve learned how to use acceptance therapy to live with more joy and optimism despite my pain.

Living Well

9 Ways I Prioritize My Health During the Holidays

The holidays bring back memories of my RA diagnosis. Here’s how I choose to honor my physical and emotional health at this time of year.

Living Well

7 Tips to Manage or Avoid an Arthritic Flare During the Holidays

Writer Alexis Rochester explains her RA management tips during the busy holiday season.

Living Well

7 Ways to Save Your Spoons for Holiday Celebrations

Celebrating can be exhausting. But these tips will make sure you have energy for the holiday season when you live with RA.

Living Well

How to Set and Achieve Your Goals with Chronic Illness

Managing your chronic illness on top of life's everyday tasks can be overwhelming. These tips can help you find the motivation and inspiration you need to reach your goals.

Living Well

How I Navigate Professional Life While Living with a Chronic Illness

When I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), I was terrified that my career was over. These tips helped me adapt my work life so that I could excel.

Living Well

When You Don’t Live with a Chronic Condition, You Don’t See the Full Picture

Some of the most difficult parts of living with chronic illness are the aspects that others don't see.

Living Well

How Religion Helps Relieve My Pain from Arthritis

How religious practices, including meditation, prayer and ritual, help manage pain from arthritis.

Living Well

Fashion and Style Help Me Express My Identity When Living with RA

Fashion and style are important forms of expression, especially when your identity can feel consumed by arthritis.

Living Well

Mindset Matters: Who Am I with Chronic Illness? Acceptance and Letting Go

Mindset Matters is a space to learn about the mental and emotional aspects of living with chronic illness. Nat Kelley, a certified life and mindset coach, shares how coming to terms with her ulcerative colitis diagnosis was hard, but it allowed her to build a more compassionate relationship with herself.

Living Well

Ask the Dietitian: What Anti-Inflammatory Dessert Options Can I Try This Summer?

Laura Krebs-Holm, a dietitian living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, shares six of her favorite fruit-forward summer dessert options.

Living Well

Staying Active When You Live with Chronic Pain

Research shows that exercise helps people better manage, and even reduce, chronic pain.

Living Well

10 Ways to Get Involved This Arthritis Awareness Month

It's completely up to you how to celebrate, honor, or participate in this Arthritis Awareness Month in a way that feels best for you.

Living Well

5 Tips for Pain Relieving Spa Treatments with Rheumatoid Arthritis

It may sound obvious, but it's important to remember that the old adage "no pain, no gain" is not necessary for pain relief.

Living Well

5 Tips for Safe Backcountry Adventures When You’re Living with a Chronic Condition

Wherever you're starting out on your outdoor recreation journey, these five tips from experienced, outdoorsy chronic illness warriors will help you find your way.

Living Well

How My Relationship with Alcohol has Changed Since My PsA Diagnosis

What is interesting to me is that the one lifestyle change that has made the most impact on my life with PsA is one that no one ever suggested: cutting out alcohol. 

Living Well

What I Eat in a Day as a Dietitian Living with Arthritis

While navigating psoriatic arthritis (PsA), I have found that the foods I turn to for fueling my body can have a significant impact on how I feel throughout the day.

Living Well

How Modeling Empathy to My Toddler Helps Me Navigate Chronic Pain

Learning to practice self-compassion when pain or emotional triggers arise can be a beautiful teaching moment for children.

Living Well

My 5 Favorite Anti-Inflammatory Breakfasts as a Dietitian Living with PsA

Dietitian Laura Krebs-Holm shares 5 of her favorite quick and easy breakfasts for people who live with PsA.

Living Well

6 Tips for Setting Nutrition Goals When You Live with a Chronic Condition

6 Tips for Setting Nutrition Goals When You Live with a Chronic Condition

Living Well

How to Set Goals and Achieve Them with Rheumatoid Arthritis

How to Set Goals and Achieve Them with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Living Well

How Chronic Illness Helped Me Cultivate Better Reading Habits

Through bibliotherapy I've learned that books can offer greater insight and healing than I ever imagined, as long as I pay attention.

Living Well

My Beauty Regimen Is a Part of My RA Self-Care

Inspired by her favorite shade of yellow nail polish, Shuntel shares the importance of incorporating self-care into her rheumatoid arthritis management plan.

Living Well

Your Holiday Gift Guide for Spoonies, by Spoonies

These gift ideas, from seven small businesses run by people living with chronic conditions, will help make this holiday season even more festive.

Living Well

A Dietitian’s Guide to Eating Well During the Holidays When You Have Psoriatic Arthritis

It can be hard to enjoy festive meals when you're worried about PsA. But it only takes small adjustments to make holiday go-tos more PsA-friendly.

Living Well

7 Ways to Manage Arthritis in Cold Weather

Over the years, I’ve found strategies to help prevent rheumatoid arthritis flare-ups and reduce symptoms during the winter months.

Living Well

What I Eat During a Flare as a Dietitian with Psoriatic Arthritis

When you are in pain and fatigued, finding foods that are both nourishing and easy to prepare is particularly essential.

Living Well

Hair, Skin, and Nail Hacks for RA Pain

Simple tips and tricks for modifying your grooming routine when you're managing hand pain due to rheumatoid arthritis.

Living Well

Reclaim the Kitchen: Pain-Reducing Arthritis Life Hacks

When you live with hand pain from arthritis, the kitchen can change from a place of joy to a source of stress. Here are some hacks to reclaim the kitchen.

Living Well

How to Be Your Own Best Advocate When You’re Living with a Chronic Illness

Good self-advocacy in medical settings requires a complicated balance of confidence and humility.

Living Well

Why I Choose Positivity in the Face of Chronic Illness

My mantra, 'living a positive life while chronically ill,' feels more necessary now than it ever has.

Living Well

How Living with Chronic Illness Has Helped Improve My Relationship with My Body

Whether you live with a chronic illness or not, living in a body is a complex experience.

Living Well

How I Created Joy Through Chronic Pain and a Pandemic

This past year taught me that there is a resilience inside me that circumstances, including chronic migraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, cannot touch.

Living Well

The Benefits of Gratitude When You’re Living with a Chronic Illness

Shifting to an attitude of gratitude can be the difference between surviving and truly thriving.

Living Well

The Value of Pursuing Hobbies When You’re Living with a Chronic Illness

Finding activities that you’re passionate about and can enjoy despite your condition can lead to a richer life.

Living Well

9 Ways to Make Long-Haul Quarantine More Sustainable

These tips may help add some ease to your quarantined days.

Living Well

How I Created Flexible, Remote Work While Living with a Chronic Illness

I was productive, I had purpose, and I was bringing in an income, all while taking good care of myself.

Living Well

How Swimming Helped Me Feel Like Myself Again After an RA Diagnosis

When I thought rheumatoid arthritis had taken my ability to exercise, the pool gave me hope.