10 Commandments of Chronic Illness

I hate cute little tips for chronic illness

orange mushroom It bugs me when I’m frequently asked in interviews what quick tips I’d give to those who are newly diagnosed with an illness like RA. I feel like saying, “Sorry, there aren’t any tips that would make it easy to live with RA because RA is hard.” On the other hand there are some things it would help if we knew.

10 Commandments of chronic illness

Thou shalt spend time with those who feel your pain.
Thou shalt not apologize for resting or accept blame for being sick.
Thou shalt begin to educate thyself about thy diagnosis.
Thou shalt accept thy limitations.
Thou shalt treat thy pain.
Thou shalt read thy medical records.
Thou shalt find a doctor who listens to you.
Thou shalt not skip regular blood tests.
Thou shalt ask for accommodations.
Thou shalt not enter into contests about whose illness is worse.

Brother's helping hand

There, 10 very important tips that aren’t very cute. They might be a bit too harsh for Woman’s Day, but they’re practical and authentic. And short.

Cute or not, I’ll bet you have a tip to add! Feel free to use the comment form below.

Note: If you or someone you know is recently diagnosed with RA, and needs more thorough information, there is the Newly Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis Mall Map with a lot more resources.

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Recommended reading:

Kelly O'Neill

Kelly O'Neill (formerly Kelly Young) has worked about 12 years as an advocate helping patients to be better informed and have a greater voice in their healthcare. She is the author of the best-selling book Rheumatoid Arthritis Unmasked: 10 Dangers of Rheumatoid Disease. Kelly received national acknowledgement with the 2011 WebMD Health Hero award. She is the president of the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation. Through her writing and speaking, she builds a more accurate awareness of rheumatoid disease (RD) aka rheumatoid arthritis (RA) geared toward the public and medical community; creates ways to empower patients to advocate for improved diagnosis and treatment; and brings recognition and visibility to the RA patient journey. In addition to RA Warrior, she writes periodically for newsletters, magazines, and websites. There are over 60,000 connections of her highly interactive Facebook page. You can also connect with Kelly on Twitter or YouTube, or LinkedIn. She created the hashtag: #rheum. Kelly is a mother of five, longtime home-schooler, NASA enthusiast, and NFL fan. She has lived over fourteen years with unrelenting RD. See also https:/rawarrior.com/kelly-young-press/

76 thoughts on “10 Commandments of Chronic Illness”

Victoria Davis
November 28, 2015 at 4:16 pm
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Thou shalt hug thyself at least every morning and every night. Self love.
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- Kelly YoungPost author
  November 28, 2015 at 4:45 pm
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  That’s a good one!
  Reply