Reaction to illness depends on how severe the illness is, how long it lasts, and a variety of other things. Usually, if a good friend is diagnosed with an illness like cancer or has an unexpected surgery, friends come up with plans like helping with meals, transporting kids, and so on. Even the shorter-term illnesses, like pneumonia, are taken care of by people sending chicken soup or bringing you a book to read.
But what happens when someone has a chronic illness, like fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome? When they’re not always in-your-face ill, but they have times when they feel …read more

I’ve written quite a bit on fibromyalgia and I had featured someone with it in a Company’s Calling piece (Company’s calling – a journey with fibromyalgia ) when I wrote Help My Hurt for this network. I never knew there was a National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day – and I bet many of you didn’t either.

Fibromyalgia is one of those hidden diseases that is still very much a disease that’s fighting to be recognized (Fibromyalgia debate continues ), which adds to the difficulties faced by those who live with it. They know it’s real – they have to live …read more

By Guest Blogger Patti G.
I don’t look like there’s anything wrong with me. If you saw me you wouldn’t know that I’m in pain. Everyday activities are challenging and I never know how my body will feel from one day to the next. Simple things, like laundry and dishes, become impossible some days, barely tolerable others.
I live with Fibromyalgia.
I hurt my back in a fall eleven years ago. For many years I dealt with trying to learn how to live with the chronic pain from it. I tried everything; medication, injections, physical therapy. Nothing helped; my doctors finally told me …read more

Today kicks off National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. It runs September 10th through the 16th. What is an invisible chronic illness? If you have an illness and it can’t be seen from the outside, you have it. That would include diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, migraines, chronic back pain, eating disorders, multiple sclerosis and mental illness, just to name a few.
Actually over 95% of chronic illness is invisible. Laura from CFS Squared sent me a link to a great website that is officially hosting an area to come together and “feel …read more