Understanding invisible disabilities needs to begin with empathy.
But, sadly, empathy seems to be disappearing in our country.
Invisible Disabilities Week takes place from the 19th to the 25th of October this year. It’s a reminder that what people need is empathy, not ignorance; support, not suspicion; compassion; not cruelty.
Chronic pain and many chronic health conditions are often invisible. People may look well, but they could be feeling awful or experiencing intense pain. When they hear the words “You don’t look sick,” it can be upsetting, especially when the phrase is used in a derogatory or judgmental way. Of…
I’ve written before about the effect of stress on pain. If I’m under stress for any reason and can’t control it, my pain normally gets worse but it’s not just my usuals pain. I often get tension headaches. Medication doesn’t tend to help me when I have those type of headaches, but I sometimes find that applying a heat pad to the back of my neck can help. Therefore I was excited when a company called Huggaroo got in touch and offered to send me a head, neck and shoulder wrap so I could write a review about it.
We all breathe. Obviously, we have to. But did you know that breathing slightly differently might actually help when you’re in pain? When you live with chronic pain, there is normally no quick fix available. There are no magic cures. However, pain management techniques can help people to cope with their pain. One of my most used pain management tools is a breathing exercise called diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly or abdominal breathing.
When you live with chronic pain or illness, you really do need to plan ahead if you want to have a stress-free Christmas. Actually, doesn’t everyone want a stress-free Christmas?
There’s so much to think about, isn’t there? Money, gifts, food, where to go, where not to go, who to invite, who not to invite… It’s one stress after another. And we all know that stress doesn’t mix well with any chronic health condition.
When we know we might be physically injured, we try to protect our bodies from the impact of the trauma by tensing our muscles. We do the same in a stressful situation. But instead of protecting us, the tense muscles can cause more problems. If we live with chronic pain…
Most people understand pain. Whether it’s from an occasional headache, a broken leg, or a stubbed toe, most people understand what pain feels like. But chronic pain? Not everyone will understand what that is like. When Does Pain Become Chronic? Chronic pain is defined by NHS Inform as pain that…
If you read my distractions post, you’ll know I’m keen on A – Zs, so I decided to make an A – Z to describe what life is like with chronic pain. Counteracting Negatives with Positives Partway through writing this, I realised that the A – Z was quite negative…
