When Feeling Better Doesn’t Feel Good
After a flare up, there’s a moment when it’s clear things are turning around. I sense my energy coming back and think “yes! I’ve made it through!” I picture the days coming just around the corner, picking up where I left off on work, relationships, and hobbies, all with energy to spare. Happy. And, sometimes, […]
Looking Towards the New Year With Hope and Self Love
The new year is always a great opportunity to take stock. What made this year special? Challenging? Hopeful? What has emerged as important priorities for the coming year? Where do you hope to be, a year from now? While we are all eager to see what comes with a new year, there have also been […]
Making the Invisible Visible
The best part of working at a small patient-owned business is getting to create the products that we wish we’d had ourselves! When COVID-19 first hit, I found myself wishing I had a way to tell everyone around me, even strangers on the street, the truth that they could not see: that I am more […]
Holiday Recipes
As I sit on my couch, watching a flurry snowflakes drift lazily by, I can’t help but feel excited for the upcoming holidays. Sure, this year it’s going to look different. Instead of time together by the wood stove, my family will be gathering by video chat. The different format, however, does not mean that […]
Holiday Wishlist
Somehow it’s gift giving season, and I’m already behind schedule! As I look through my list of loved ones, I can’t help but squirm a bit. What am I supposed to get people this year? Buying gifts for friends with medical conditions can add another layer of complication. As a patient myself, I often explicitly […]
3 Ways to Know When Someone Needs Your Support
How do you recognize when someone needs support? Ideally, they would feel comfortable coming to you and asking directly for what they need. This can be easier said than done, however, which is why we created this guide to help all of us get a little better at communicating when we need something. If someone you care […]
5 Ways to Support Someone You Love
This holiday season, we all need a little extra love and care. The type of support needed, however, will differ from person to person. For those of us with chronic illness (or simply too much on our plate), we may need someone to help with meal prep or safely buying ingredients and holiday decorations. For […]
How to Safely Celebrate the Holidays
With the uncertainty and isolation of living in a pandemic, celebrating with loved ones may feel more important than ever for the upcoming holidays. We crave connection, comfort, and tradition, a sense of returning to normalcy. The reality is, however, that family gatherings are one of the leading causes of COVID-19 outbreaks. How we fulfill […]
Giving the Community a Voice
If you could let the world know anything about your chronic illness, what would it be? Living with chronic illness often involves keeping quiet — hiding our pain to save our loved ones discomfort; not sharing our experiences for fear of shame or stigma; holding our tongue when those who clearly know little about our […]
3 Tips for Seeking Support
Asking for help can feel very challenging. We live in a society that values independence, pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. While this persistence and self-reliance can be a wonderful trait, it is not always enough. We all benefit when we pool our resources. For patients and caregivers who face the added challenge of […]
Comfort Food: 4 tips from our Friends in the Fight
Once, at an equity training for work, we did an icebreaker. As a way to mingle with people from other companies, we were asked to find someone and share what foods we eat when we don’t feel well. I laughed internally, anticipating what my partner would think of my choice of chicken and mangoes. I […]
Our Four Favorite Fall Activities for Kids
Amidst chaos and foiled routines, it can be so healing to stay grounded in the here and now. One way to do this is to focus on the seasons! Living in rural Vermont, it is vividly easy to let the beauty of fall encompass me, but even in states that don’t have entire industries catering […]