“#ChronicIllness is unpredictable. One day you’ll be thinking, “I can handle it” then bam. The next…find yourself bed-bound as the weeks fly by, wondering if it will ever let up… Now… I give myself compassion—I am doing my absolute best—and that is OK.”

When I Can't Control How Chronic Illness Is Affecting My Body

When this writer can't control how her illness is affecting her body, this is how she chooses to survive life with chronic illness.

buff.ly

“As my body rages against itself, my brain becomes confused, tired and easily distracted… It’s hard to think of anything but pain and ways to relieve it.” The Levels of #Fibromyalgia #BrainFog #chronicillness #chronicpain

The Levels of Fibromyalgia Brain Fog

Living with fibromyalgia, this writer has discovered the levels of brain fog she's most likely to experience.

buff.ly

“Sometimes symptoms of a #chronicillness such as #fatigue, nausea or #vertigo can be so severe that they quite literally are debilitating. But you can't see these things… It's invisible to you unless you are the one feeling it.” #invisibleillness #spoonie

My Chronic Illness Might Be Invisible But It Is Real

There are a lot of chronic illnesses, more than I could name. Which is quite unfortunate, but life would just ...

buff.ly

“People don’t understand the amount of energy that goes into preparing to leave the house… You have to calculate your every move to ensure you don’t overdo it. Even still, you could have an awful flare-up.” #NERVEmber #chronicpain #invisibleillness

18 Hidden Parts of Chronic Illness You Don't Usually See

The Mighty community shares the hidden aspects of their lives with chronic illness other people don't usually see.

buff.ly

“To live with #ChronicIllness is to live with a heightened sense of uncertainty. We do not know when our symptoms will flare, if and when our illness will worsen… Even from day to day, we do not know how we will feel.” #NERVEmber #ChronicPain

Chronic Illness and Uncertainty

Why uncertainty is so challenging and strategic ways to address it.

buff.ly

“I do not hide my illness, but I do hide how it has made me feel emotionally. I’ve cried a lot of tears behind closed doors. I keep the information I share basic because I do not want to be seen as an attention-seeker.” #NERVEmber #chronicillness

30 Ways People Hide Their Chronic Illness

The Mighty community shares ways in which they hide the symptoms of their chronic illnesses.

buff.ly

“What I need you to know when I don’t reply is that I still love you. I still care even when I’m absent. I think of you often and wish I had the energy left at the end of the day to pick up the phone.” When I Don’t Reply #CRPSAwarenessMonth #chronicillness

What I Need You to Know When I Don't Reply | Chronic Illness Truths

None of us can pour from an empty cup, and yet so often we keep trying to pour long after we are empty. ...

buff.ly

“Life as a #chronicallyill person can make you do things like push your limitations…because you desperately want to make the most out of those rare times when you aren’t lying in bed all day… [even if] it means needing two days to recover.” #NERVEmber

33 Unfortunate Realities of Life With Chronic Pain and Illness

The unfortunate but true realities of living with chronic illness.

buff.ly

“I’m astonished by the fact I look at my feet and there are no flames… Not only does touch hurt but so do other things… vibrations from music hurt… Mix that with the amplified effect even light touch has—it’s very hard.” #CRPSAwarenessMonth #NERVEmber

What I Wish I Had Known About Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Flare-Ups

Here are four things this writer wishes she had been told about chronic regional pain syndrome flare-ups after being diagnosed.

buff.ly

“I have two major triggers for #flares. One is activity. If I do too much…I can count on a flare hitting within 48 hours. My second trigger…#stress. When I’m #stressed, flares hit much quicker and equally as hard as activity-related flares do.” @AChVoice

A Roundup of Biggest Pain Flare Triggers (from 40 People with Chronic Illness)

Check out this 3-part series all about pain flares. This is part 1, where people with chronic pain share more about their pain flare triggers.

buff.ly

“It’s really tough when other people don’t understand what you’re going through. It’s especially hard when it comes to loved ones… you’ve tried to explain… but they just don’t quite get it. This can feel really isolating and frustrating.” #ChronicIllness

The 6 Hardest Things About Living With Fibromyalgia (and How I Cope With Them)

A woman with fibromyalgia explains what she finds most challenging about living with this chronic pain condition, al...

buff.ly

“#ChronicPain can be so invasive that it splinters lives and causes cracks in our #MentalHealth… The stark contrast between how our lives used to be or could have been, compared to what they are now…can be incredibly hard to accept.” @InvisiblyMeBlog

Chronic Pain & Mental Health : 5 Detrimental Effects

Chronic pain & mental health are intricately interwoven. Here are just 5 ways life with pain can detrimentally affect our mental wellbeing.

buff.ly

“I try very hard to hide the pain… I don’t want to make anyone else miserable… so they don’t see the tears… the medications… They don’t see the days in bed it takes to recover from a few hours of pretending to be ‘normal’.” #NERVEmber #ChronicPain

Today I'm Facing What My Illness Took From Me

A woman faces how her life has changed since chronic illness took over her life.

buff.ly

“Having multiple illnesses is a full-time job—you never get a break or vacation. You can spend every waking minute managing #chronicillness(es), staying on top of them…but in the end it catches up with you because it’s so exhausting… It never stops.”

The 21 Worst Parts of Having Multiple Chronic Illnesses

The Mighty's chronic illness community shares 21 of the most frustrating aspects of living with multiple health conditions.

buff.ly

“When poorly treated or left untreated #ChronicPain has profound negative and deleterious effects on the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. Pain puts the cardiovascular system into overdrive, which raises blood pressure and pulse rates.” #opioidhysteria

The Strange Denial of Complications Caused by Poorly Treated Pain — Pain News Network

By Drs. Forest Tennant and Scott Guess There has been no shortage of controversy, scandal and fraud regarding the ...

buff.ly

“Please don’t punish us for something we have zero control over. And learn to listen to us, and hear what may be underneath our “it’s OK.” That means more than anything.” To People Who Think #ChronicPain 'Can't Be That Bad' #InvisibleIllness #NERVEmber

To the Person Who Thinks Chronic Pain 'Can't Be That Bad'

A letter to people who don't understand chronic pain and think it's "not that bad."

buff.ly

“Not only do we experience pain and #fatigue more often than most, but we’re frequently running on just a few hours’ sleep as a result of the beast we call #painsomnia.” Inside the Mind of Someone Kept Up at Night by #ChronicPain #NERVEmber #FreezingFire

Inside the Mind of Someone Kept Up at Night by Chronic Pain

A woman describes what it’s like to be kept up at night by chronic pain.

j.mp