coping Archives - The Health Sessions

How to Handle Fibromyalgia Pain at the Workplace – 5 Tips You Must Know

This article is written by Kunal Patel.

Fibromyalgia is a condition where pain and fatigue are constant companions. This can make it really difficult to work in the office. However, it is not impossible.

Making a few changes at the workplace can help in reducing fibromyalgia pain in hands and fingers, shoulders, neck, knees and back. Here are 5 adjustments you can make to help you cope with fibromyalgia during work hours.

How to Prepare for Pregnancy When You Have Pre-Existing Health Problems

This article is written by Fay Irungu. Before planning to become pregnant, women should take certain steps to help reduce any risk to you and your unborn baby. Ideally, you want to be in proper health before becoming pregnant. But when you have a chronic illness, how can you successfully prepare for pregnancy despite your pre-existing … Read more >

Pilates for Chronic Pain: What It Is, The Benefits and How to Do It Safely

This article is written by Sarah Williams.

Often termed as “Contrology”, Pilates is a wonderful exercise for anyone looking forward to getting killer abs and core strength. However, the usefulness is not limited to that only.

Beyond that, Pilates can significantly help ease chronic pain. The way this exercise is designed, it simply diminishes the pains of several kinds through physical movement. But that can never be enough information, right?

For a better understanding, it’s required to dig a little deeper than this. Aiding to the same, here’s what you need to know about Pilates and their usefulness as a remedy for chronic pain of different types.

How to Make the Most of Rest Days | The Health Sessions

47 Ways You Can Make the Most of Rest Days

Resting sounds so balanced and zen – until it’s something you have to do. When you live with chronic illness, the key to managing your precious energy is alternating activities with plenty of relaxation. Not to mention that thanks to the unpredictability of chronic illness, symptoms can flare up at any time, forcing you to stop and take a break.

At first, binge-watching your favorite series all day long feels fun. But when you’re stuck in bed a lot of the time, while you’d rather be doing something else, resting becomes dreadful, mind-numbingly boring and lonely.

So when you’re having another undesired rest day, is there anything you can do to make the most of your situation? In general, there are 3 strategies you can apply:

Focus on deep restoration and replenishing. By doing simple things that support your health, you may reduce your symptoms – or even the number of future rest days.
Have a better time. Who doesn’t want to feel more comforted and entertained when you’re sick?
Living your best life while being housebound. Of course this is not what you signed up for. But your illness doesn’t have to stop you from doing tiny things that are meaningful to you.

Obviously, what works for you depends a lot on your personal situation. Do you need to rest after doing something fun, or because you’re exhausted from folding laundry? Are you feeling really sick too? Do you live alone or do you have partners, kids or pets that require your attention?

Not all tips will work for everyone, but here’s a list of 47 ideas of how you can make the most of rest days.

13 Loneliness Quotes That’ll Make You Feel Less Alone

It’s one of the saddest feelings in the world: loneliness. Like Freddy Mercury sang: “Sometimes I feel I’m gonna break down and cry. Nowhere to go, nothing to do with my time. I get lonely, so lonely, living on my own.”

Although being by yourself can make you feel lonely, loneliness isn’t the same as having no people around you. Sometimes it can be great to have time to yourself, while other times you may feel lost in a sea of people. That’s because are different kinds of loneliness:

Social isolation, when you’re physically alone and don’t have any company. This kind of loneliness is common in the elderly, people who are housebound or when someone’s just moved to a new city where you don’t know anyone.
Emotional loneliness is the feeling like no-one understand you or what you’re going through. You feel different than everyone else due to your chronic illness, sexual orientation or world views. What’s more, it may feel like you have no one to talk to, because none of your friends and family truly listen or support you.
A lack of belonging – the sense that you have no close relationships or aren’t part of any groups. Maybe you feel left out or even purposely excluded. Social media can also reinforce the idea that everyone is having a great time together – except you.

To make matters even worse, feeling lonely has a negative effect on your physical health too. Studies show that loneliness puts you at a higher risk of becoming ill and even a shorter lifespan.

But loneliness isn’t all bad. Although the feeling definitely hurts, and you shouldn’t be lonely every day, occasional loneliness also has its upsides. Being lone gives you time to think, reflect and remind yourself what’s most important to you. It can stir your creative side – who hasn’t heard of a lonely, tormented artist who created their masterpiece during their darkest times?

Have a look at these 13 loneliness quotes below to make you feel less alone.