用RA制作:ra意味着你是有弹性的

When a flare gets you down, you have to get back up. Lene Andersen reminds you that you already know how to keep going.

byLene Andersen,MSW Patient Advocate

类风湿性关节炎(RA)可以阻止你的曲目,接管你生命中的每一部分。无论是第一个爆发或557日,当RA想要中心阶段时,你什么都没有做到:有一段时间,这个Egomaniacal病情规定了你一天的每一分钟,并影响你所做的每一个决定。尽管你的身体内发生了什么,你就不能坐在等待耀斑的一切。这不是救生员如何工作。条例草案仍然需要获得报酬,您的家人仍然需要您,您的雇主更喜欢您的工作。不知何故,你找到了一种方法来完成这一切(大多数时间),在内心深处挖掘并出现。当出于起床时的东西有一个简单的东西需要小便努力和砂砾,你如何延伸到胎儿位置并放弃?这就是ra与ra的一生都教导了我如何更具弹性。

Remember You Have Choices

有天(weeks, months) when it feels as if I have no option but to keep going and that lack of choice is almost as heavy as the weight of a bad RA flare. When you desperately need a break from the pain, from feeling sick all the time, from the efforts of every task and yet know that for the rest of your days this blasted disease will be your constant companion... well, taking that next step in your day can seem insurmountable.

On those days, I return to a beautiful quote by Michael J. Fox in an interview withEntertainment Weekly:“我没有选择是否有帕金森的:我有它。但除此之外,我有一千个选择,我不能让自己被那个不选择的重量沉没。“它让我想起了我确实有选择,并从ra被监禁的感觉中释放我。当我决定在床上的运动范围练习中开始新的一天,然后温暖淋浴,我做出了选择帮助我的身体感觉更好。我做出了故意寻找美丽而有趣的,在这样做的选择,我选择用积极的感情来留下我的生活。和上真的糟糕的日子,我做出了起床去洗手间而不是弄湿了我的床。是的,有些日子它是基本的。

Switching my focus helps me lean into all the choices I have and all the ways I can put my own spin on what can objectively be a crappy situation. By remaining conscious of the fact that I choose to say, get out of bed, take the next step, pay the bills, laugh with a friend, I ensure that although RA affects my life and state of mind, it is not in complete control of them.

记得RA是可变的

I have a three-week tolerance for feeling awful. If I have a flare or an injury, I’m able to breathe through it for about 20 days, after which I completely lose my composure and feel as if I am stuck in this terrible place forever. Sometimes, it helps to have a short temper tantrum before you come back to figuring out how to cope.

Over my five decades with RA, I have learned that injuries and flares may simmer down on their own in a few weeks and if they don’t, my doctor has a bag of tricks she’d be happy to use on recalcitrant symptoms. But that’s just one expression of a much deeper truth. An old Persian saying that has been repeated in many cultures, including Judaism, is “this too shall pass.” Nothing in this world is permanent. Things change. Seasons change, people change, and RA changes. I grew up in a time before treatment for autoimmune arthritis, which gave the inflammation free range to do its thing. But even without treatment, my disease wasn’t a permanent bonfire—at times it abated. I’ve learned that RA ebbs and flows, just like the tide. Sometimes, it washes over you and it feels as if you’re drowning. At other times, it simmers in the background, leaving you free to focus elsewhere. Now that we have effective treatment, your doctor can help you get there sooner.

Remember Your Strength

生活艰难。Ra可能是使其难以努力的事情之一,但这不是唯一的东西。财务问题,孩子问题,离婚,失去亲人,获得大学学位,通过大流行生活,学习如何烘烤良好的酵母面包或扮演小提琴......这一切都很努力。在你做的每一件艰难的事情中,还有另一教训如何应对困难。你学会坚持不懈,如何解决你的错误,如何悲伤,以及如何继续前进。每次你做的时候都强壮。

And so it is with RA. Every time you get through a flare, realize you need to switch medications, successfully reduce your pain or find a way to navigate the healthcare system more efficiently, you get better at living with this condition. In the weirdest twist of all, RA itself teaches you the resilience needed to keep going with RA.

调整和调整持续发生,但在此刻通常会被忽视。花一些时间来反思你如何在你的时间改变你的时间以及你的应对技巧改进是如何认识到你已经有弹性的第一步。尽可能多地庆祝尽可能大声地庆祝。

Meet Our Writer
Lene Andersen,MSW

Lene Andersen是一个作者,健康和残疾倡导者,以及生活在多伦多的摄影师。Lene(发音Lena)患有类风湿性关节炎,因为她四岁以来,使用她的经验帮助他人患有慢性疾病。她已经写了几本书,包括你的生命用类风湿性关节炎:用于管理治疗,副作用和疼痛的工具和7个方面:冥想痛苦,以及屡获殊荣的博客,坐姿。Lene在HealthCentral的健康倡导者颁发咨询委员会,并且是Facebook页面上的RahealthCentral的社会大使,Facebook.com/RahenceCentral。她也是HealthCentral的一个Live Bold, Live Nowheroes —watch her incredible journey of living with RA.