Comments on: How Taking The Opposite Approach Has Helped, In More Ways Than One

By: Lene

Lene — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:44:15 +0000

this reminds me of reading/listening to Mindfulness for Beginners. It has this wonderful quote that they use in their programs for people with chronic or serious illnesses: “there is more right with you then there is wrong with you.” When I first heard it, the world stopped for a moment while I absorbed the concept. It’s a good one to remember

By: Deb aka abcsofra

Deb aka abcsofra — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 14:35:27 +0000

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I just noticed that you made the $2K goal for your non for profit! Wooohoooo!

By: Carla

Carla — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:35:12 +0000

I love all the wisdom and insights you’ve shared with us during your journey and I truly enjoy all the RA profiles. I’ve thought about doing one myself and always stop cold at the question of how having RA has improved my life. Maybe it’s just that I haven’t taken the time to slow down and learn the lessons but RA bringing me benefits? I don’t think so. This is not to detract from anything you’ve said or the hope that your perspective can bring to others, it’s just a different point of view, and I continue to value and respect yours.

By: Aggie

Aggie — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:18:34 +0000

Once, many years before I had RA, I pulled the muscle away from the bones in both my elbows. I was told it could take over a year for this to heal, and many days the pain was unbearable. I couldn’t work, couldn’t sleep. I was recently divorced, a single parent with a 6 year old, and I could barely pick up my food to eat and once leaned over like a dog to just eat it off my plate, in tears of course. I fought it for a long time, and then one day, I gave up fighting and just thought…well, this is how it is. And all of a sudden it was like a weight was physically lifted off my shoulders. I didn’t have to fight the pain anymore. I could just “be.” And with the help of hypnosis from a gifted therapist, I could be free of the constant pain, even if only for 30 minutes at a time. It took years before the tendons/muscles completely healed, and from time to time when I overdo, my elbows let me know it. Sometimes when the medication the dr prescribes for RA just isn’t doing all I hoped it would and I’m having a particularly bad time, I try to remember that it’s okay to not fight the pain. I can just “be.” And as they say, this too shall pass. And it does, often in its own sweet time. But I have survived another rough time and I’m all the better for it. God bless us…EVERYONE!

By: Pamela J Walton

Pamela J Walton — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:15:03 +0000

I so agree with you. It is in my nature to be a positive person. Before I was diagnosed and the pain was at its worse, the non positive feelings I was having were foreign to me. But even then, I continued to do as much as I physically could because stopping was never an option for me. Once I was diagnosed and I adjusted to this news, I just incorporated it into my already full life, but who I am has always remained. I deal with the pain as I deal with any difficulty in my life, head on. (sometimes I may whine to God a little, but He is God, and I am sure is use to people whining, Lol) I think staying positive, embracing even the difficulties in our lives, does reduce the stress and the pain. I hate this disease, do not get me wrong, but like you I do love my life. And when I am not whining to God, I am thanking him for giving me my life and beautiful family. I also thank him for you because you are a gift to so many. Your journey through RA is truly an inspiration