Most people have regrets over choices made(or not made), and many people wish their lives were in some way different. Mindful self-compassion is the practice of being self-aware in the moment and practicing kindness and empathy to yourself while you are there. What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is the ability to live in the moment –…
We are in the midst of wedding season. Weddings are generally beautiful affairs where two people commit to one another, announce their love to the world, and celebrate their relationship with family and friends. I attended two weddings this year, one for my cousin in Ohio, and another where a long-time friend of Al’s got…
Nearly 20% of the global population has a sleep disorder. Sleep disorders can be debilitating, and sleep disorders make other conditions worse. With our daily patterns and routines disrupted, the only thing that would be surprising would be if our sleep cycles weren’t affected by our disabilities! Why is sleep so important? When you are asleep, your…
One of the big differences between ’being sick’ and dealing with a chronic condition is how your relationships and activities are affected. If you’re sick, staying home and resting up IS a great idea. Sure, you may miss one or two activities you were looking forward to, but you’ll feel better and get back into…
I tried to stay focused on my game. Really, I did. But every couple of minutes, I would scan the room and double-check what number they were helping now. I knew the time would pass more quickly if I could lose track, but there were a lot of sounds by a lot of people. The…
The short answer is: probably if you are “disabled enough”. Supplemental Security Income(SSI) is a needs-based program specifically designed to help people who do not have a work history to apply for SSDI. Generally, these are people who have been affected by their condition since birth or childhood, or who have spent long periods of…
Most people spend much of their lives living within societal structure. By this, I mean that most people went to school as children, had scheduled work hours as an adult, and otherwise had discrete blocks of time set aside for specific activities. One of the social problems with a disabling condition is that those of…
I was fortunate enough to never need to ask that question. When I applied, I was physically unable to work due to symptoms and had lost two jobs in the previous three months. My parents helped me through the wait financially, and I focused on my treatments and healing process. I did not even think…
There are times when doctors, very simply, are wrong. There are also times when they do not know the answer. Mistakes can and will happen, and your goal as a patient is to make sure you are properly diagnosed by your doctor. Making sure you aren’t misdiagnosed! If your doctor does not know what your…
Filing for disability put me in a depressive funk that left me exhausted, and the process of filing the paperwork literally took me weeks because I couldn’t work on it for more than ten to fifteen minutes at a time before I was physically unable to continue. Filing for disability, in itself, was an emotional…