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Category Archives: Washington

My longest post EVER?

2013/01/25 Advocacy, Challenge and Opportunity, Chronic Illness, Coping, Education and Skill Building, Health, Healthy Living, Lifestyle, MLWT, Oregon, Resources, Self-Care, Strategies, Stress Mgmt, Targets, Washington No comments
Windows seem to frequently represent possibility or potential. At least, they do for me. I had a window open up for me a few days ago and the view was unsettling. During a recent conversation w......

Health on the Oregon Horizon

2012/11/14 Advocacy, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Arthritis Information, Autoimmune Diseases & Syndromes, Challenge and Opportunity, Chronic fatigue, Chronic Illness, Coping, Fibromyalgia, Health, Holistic, Lifestyle, Lupus, Lyme Disease, Medical Support, Oregon, Pain management, Resources, Scleroderma, Self-Care, Social Support, Treatment Approaches and Perspectives, Washington No comments
I’ve had a few conversations lately that led me to thinking more seriously about the reluctance, avoidance, denial and other self-imposed walls we put up when trying to figure out our health nee......

September is Pain Awareness Month

2012/09/17 Challenge and Opportunity, Chronic Illness, Community, Coping, Events, Oregon, Pain management, Self-Care, Treatment Approaches and Perspectives, Washington No comments
For those of us living with chronic conditions, there is one symptom that is especially difficult to learn how to cope, manage and live with every day. Pain is not just a situation that affects ......

The Cycle of Support

2012/08/31 Community, Coping, Lupus, Men's support, MLWT, Relationship-focused, Self-Care, Stress Mgmt, Support Groups, Washington No comments
This month, I had the pleasure of stopping in and spending some Discovery time with the Tacoma Lupus Group.  I was heading up to Seattle for SeaFair and it was a nice break from driving. It’s a......

What the Lupus Research Institute’s $1 million initiative in the 2013 Senate Committee Bill Means

2012/07/16 Advocacy, Guest Blogger, Lupus, Oregon, Washington No comments
Good news for lupus sufferers and lupus researchers dedicated to finding effective treatments for the rare and difficult to detect disease.  A US Senate Appropriations Committee committed $1 mil......

Is it plugged in?

2012/02/18 Autoimmune Diseases & Syndromes, Chronic Illness, Community, Fibromyalgia, Health, Lifestyle, Local Resources, Lupus, Oregon, Pain management, Treatment Approaches and Perspectives, Washington One comment
Okay, I had a conversation today with my mom that triggered an immediate need to post something.  Nothing like a rant about my mother to get me motivated to write. First, some background~ My mom......

How do I see my Illness?

2011/12/21 Ankylosing Spondylitis, Arthritis Information, Autoimmune Diseases & Syndromes, Chronic Illness, Creativity, Fibromyalgia, Health, Holidays & Socials, Internet, Lupus, MLWT, Oregon, Pain management, Personal Stories, Scleroderma, Self-Care, Social Support, Stress Mgmt, Vancouver No comments
I missed the deadline for the PFAM this month, but Leslie has graciously allowed us to submit late and here is mine. I offer both in-person and online Discovery Sessions that focus on wellness –......

Newest MLWT Guest Writer, Eric Suarez, CPT offers support for our fibro community

2011/10/25 Chronic Illness, Fibromyalgia, Guest Blogger, Lifestyle, MLWT, Oregon, Pain management, Resources, Self-Care, Sports & Fitness, Washington No comments
I would like to introduce a new MLWT Guest writer, Eric Suarez, who is a fitness trainer and author of a new book focusing on living healthy with fibromyalgia.  As I have been working on buildin......

And the band played on…with you being your own best conductor

2011/10/07 Behaviors and Patterns, Chronic Illness, Lupus, Oregon, Self-Care, Stress Mgmt, Washington One comment
As you already know, I co-lead Oregon Living Well With Chronic Conditions workshops here in the Portland area (although, they are statewide both in Oregon and Washington under the same name – fo......

New Directions for MLWT

2011/09/20 Chronic Illness, MLWT, Oregon, Social Support, Washington No comments
When this MLWT network began, my role was to act as a collector of stories.   Building on the research I conducted on lupus peer-led support groups here in Oregon, I continued to interview,......