Welcome to Krissy's Thoughts & More
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How to Be a Better Friend to someone with a Chronic Illness
I KNOW that getting multiple declined invites may have you thinking we aren’t interested, but nothing is further from the truth. We are sick about having to miss yet another gathering and are most likely having a pity party of our own. We don’t want to let you down and most of all, we do enjoy hanging out and having fun every now and then, it’s just that it it’s very painful to do so. Please don’t be upset if I have to cancel AGAIN.
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My Solo Trip to Thailand
Well Warriors.... I did it. I went to a different country... a whole other continent by myself. I still can’t even believe the “solo-cation” actually happened.
Weeks before departure time, my entire family was nervous for me; I wasn’t the least bit bothered until the day it was time for me to board. I had tears in my eyes as I was leaving my mom and headed through airport security.
When I arrived in Bangkok and checked into my hotel, I found...
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Guest Blog: Navigating Marriage with a Chronic Illness
Rock climbing, walking around downtown Pasadena, and exploring the Santa Monica pier…that is how my now-husband and I spent our very first date. At the time, I wouldn’t have imagined that my life would look much differently only a couple years later.
When I met the man I would eventually marry...
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16 Gift Ideas For Your Friend with a Chronic Illness
As the Holidays are slowly approaching, you may have wondered what to get for that special person in your life who has been dealing with a lot or maybe you want to send this list to your friends and family and give them a little hint before the Holidays arrive. Here are 16 things you can get for your friend with a chronic illness. -
The Spoon Theory
At that moment, the spoon theory was born. Christine quickly grabbed every spoon on the table; hell she grabbed spoons off of the other tables. She looked at her friend in the eyes and said “Here you go, you have Fibro (or Lupus or any other chronic pain condition)”. Christine explained that the difference in being sick and being healthy is having to make choices or to consciously think about things when the rest of the world doesn’t have to. The healthy have the luxury of a life without choices, a gift most people take for granted.
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Guest Blog: The Elephant in the Room
Just like a headache – no one can see it but that doesn’t mean you aren’t having one. Also no one (except for sometimes you or a doctor) can say for sure why you are getting a headache – it could be dehydration, it could be the heat, it could be a cold, it could be a migraine, it could be sinus, it could be a stress headache, it could be lack of sleep etc., you get the drift. -
Seek Discomfort
After being inspired by “Yes Theory”, a movement that encourages people to say “yes” to doing things that take them out of their comfort zone in order to grow as individuals, I decided to book a solo international trip to Thailand. Sounds crazy, right? That’s what everybody in my family is thinking... well everyone except my mom. She already knows I’m crazy lol. -
Guest Blog: Chronic Illness: The Rollercoaster You can’t Get Off
Life has been pretty tough to say the least- Rough with definitive moments of wanting to give up- Not just for me but for my family too! If anything, my heart breaks many a day for them because they too have had to accept a 'new normal'. A life with a spouse who cannot hold down a job, not always available for support, and the list goes on and on! A mom who frequently spends days in a dark, quiet, room because the lights are too bright, the noise is deafening and being unable to talk because you just don't have enough energy. I mean who wants a spouse and mom like that! How does one move on from this! -
Depression: Things You Should Know
Depression is like a cloud that only seems to hover over you and no one else and it can turn dark so quickly that you may not always be prepared for it. Sometimes you’ll have an umbrella and you can stay dry for the most part, but you are still very aware that it’s pouring raining. Other times, you won’t have an umbrella, a hoody or shelter nearby. That’s when the dark cloud turns from rain to hail. It knows that you don’t have any protection and that’s when it’ll try to hit you the hardest. -
Guest Blog: Chronic Illness & Masculinity: Men In Pain
My entire life some days feels like it has been turned upside down. I was the strongest man that I could be, superman to my two young boys, and a big bearded outdoorsman who could fight off bears and make fire with his bare hands; at least that is how good I felt. One of the hardest things that I have had to deal with is being a male, a nontraditional fibromyalgia suffer, and trying to deal with chronic pain with the negative stigma that tells us that men are supposed to be strong and never admit when they are weak. I am here to tell you.... -
Dating with a Chronic Illness
Dating is weird in general, the whole getting to know a stranger thing. Dating with a chronic illness... now that’s just a whole different ballgame. Dating never seemed easy; dating while having a chronic illness is especially challenging.
There are so many different factors that can make dating with a chronic illness difficult and sometimes even scary. When do I tell them? How do I tell them? How much do I tell? How will they respond? Will they “get it”? Will it change the way they see me?
What I have learned is: -
Guest Blog: Mental Health & Chronic Pain: Helpful Tips for A Healthy Mind
Life is hard. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It throws you curve balls and they sometimes come out of left field. For some of you reading this, one of those curve balls is a diagnosis of a chronic illness.
As a mental health counselor and a fellow fibro warrior myself, I can speak to the brutality of this disease and the ways it can impede on our happiness and negatively impact our mental health...
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