Last night I had another great Fibromyalgia support group meeting. The structure of the meeting was new for the group; each of us brought books we have read that have had a positive impact on our lives in one way or another. Members brought books on topics from self-help and memoir writing to Lake Wobegon. A very clever member shared a book that has had the greatest impact on helping her with the dreaded fibro fog - a notebook! Seriously, everyone of us should have one close by at all times, and what ever you do, don't lose it like I did mine. Devastating! As each meeting does, last … [Read more...]
It’s Day 30 of My 30-in-30 Writing Assignment!
I did it! I made it through my self-imposed 30-in-30 writing assignment. Wow, what a roller coaster it has been. I really learned a lot about what I am capable of and a little about over-doing it. Before sitting down today to write this post I looked back over the previous 29 and was actually impressed with the quality of what I put out there, even on the days when the last thing I wanted to do was to sit at my computer and write. I thought I would do a little recap of the posts and my health and frame of mind the day I wrote them. My Favorite Posts from the Last 30 Days I Do Not Want to … [Read more...]
Online Resources for Fibromyalgia Support and Information
Part 3 of my series on Fibromyalgia Support and Information. In my previous posts I listed the main social networking sites (part 1) and group forums (part 2) available if you are looking to join an online community for support, encouragement, camaraderie, or just to have a place to vent. My inspiration for putting these posts together is to help alleviate the potential for isolation if you are living with Fibromyalgia or most any chronic illness. For this post I am going to focus on general resources available, like blogs and websites. Again, this is just a partial list of what is out … [Read more...]
Practice May Not Make Perfect, But it Can Make a Habit
Yesterday marked the halfway point of my 30 in 30 writing assignment. I began it as a way to bring more structure and discipline to my day and as a way to reconnect with my blog after neglecting it for much of the month of April. So far my assignment has reinforced my desire to write and my love of my blog, and I am right on track with what I was hoping to achieve. But I have recently become aware of a benefit of my assignment that I had not consciously intended. Friday I attended an introduction to meditation class at The Chopra Center. The instructor guided us through the history and … [Read more...]
Conversation on Isolation
I made the statement in one of my recent posts that "Fibromyalgia and chronic illness can be very isolating if you let it." I wrote it in reference to a conversation I was having with members of my support group, trying to come up with ideas to encourage inactive members to attend. I wasn't expecting it to hit a nerve with anyone, but it did, and I think it led to a very interesting communication between us. I want to share it with you to continue the conversation and also to applaud the commenter, Kathy, for speaking out and holding me accountable for my word choice. Kathy Okay, I’m … [Read more...]