Category: Personal Stories
“Renegades”: The PBS Show About Historical Figures With Disabilities You Need to See
I interviewed the host & crew of PBS’s Renegades, about lesser-known historical figures with disabilities. Finally, a show that doesn’t just tokenize disability but centers it, celebrates it, & demands that we recognize it as integral to our history!
Beyond the Pain Scale: A Patient’s Guide to How Nurses Can Improve Pain Management & Combat Stigma
Last weekend (October 2024) I had the incredible opportunity to speak at the 2024 American Society of Pain Medicine Nursing conference about the importance of communication between patients and their medical providers. I’m no medical pro, but as a chronic pain patient for over two decades, I’ve experienced firsthand the transformative power of compassionate, patient-centered…
Navigating Relationships with Chronic Pain with Unity & Partnership
Despite whatever conditions are in play, there are ways to find and build a healthy romantic partnership where you thrive as a team. Here’s how! Building a healthy relationship despite chronic pain is a complex dance, one that requires grace, patience, and of course love. Whether it’s you or your partner who’s in this continuous…
Quotes About Self Care (& Self Care Quotes About Invisible Illness)
Quotes about self-care, especially self-care quotes about invisible illness, are hard to come by. Well, good ones at least– you can find sappy schlock everywhere. But there are also gems, little bits of wisdom that remind me to take time for myself, helping me through the chronic pain of my invisible illnesses. Click one in…
New Generations, Old Genes: A Guide to Family Planning with Genetic Disorders
Before starting a family, make sure you understand your genetic situation and how it can affect pregnancy and your prospective child. Family planning can be an exciting and emotional time for any couple. However, if you have a genetic disorder, finding your soulmate isn’t enough: there are other questions to consider. From talking to your…
Best Inspiring Quotes About Invisible Illness
Quotes about invisible illness, chronic pain, and disability pride to inspire us all Quotes about invisible illness are too often filled with sappy, inspirational cliches. But that doesn’t change the need that people with chronic pain and invisible disabilities have for guidance, understanding and truth. In the two decades that I’ve been in pain, I’ve…
Chronic pain & trouble sleeping: sleep routines may cure your insomnia
A sleep routine (aka “sleep hygiene): if you have chronic pain, anxiety, ADHD and insomnia (or any combo thereof), like I do, this simple process might just be the “cure” for insomnia you’ve been seeking. “Sleep hygiene” is the process of creating an environment that can help you fall asleep and stay asleep. Here are…
How To: Dating With Chronic Pain or Dating With Invisible Disabilities
Dating with chronic pain is tough, especially if there’s nothing visible about your condition. Finding someone using dating dating apps like Hinge or Tinder is hard to begin with, but dating with a disability, especially invisible illnesses, adds a whole other level of difficulty. In some ways using those apps would be easier if I…
Top 15 Chronic Pain Gifts To Help Patients Around the House
These are the top 15 around-the-house gifts for chronic pain patients that they’ll appreciate long after the holidays have passed.
Top Qs about Invisible Illnesses & Disability Pride Month
Invisible illnesses are tough: you never quite know where you belong. Since July is Disability Pride Month, here are answers to the top questions people with invisible illnesses ask about disability.
Why I Didn’t Write About Medical Cannabis On 4/20
Happy 4/21! I didn’t write about medical cannabis yesterday, even though I wanted to. Why? Texas, mostly.
6 Qs People W/Disabilities Should Ask Before Getting a Dog
For people with disabilities, getting a dog can be a life-changing experience. In addition to company and love, caring for a dog can get you out of your own head and off the couch at times when you wouldn’t or couldn’t otherwise. It’s a great way to meet new people and a great excuse to…
Murderball: Massacring Misconceptions
Wanna watch Murderball? Stream it legally on Philo or Fubo.tv. Or use your library card on Kanopy. Youtube also has multiple full copies of it up.March 2024 update: Looks like Prime’s got it now too! Or you can just buy the dang DVD. Here’s a TL;DR up front: If you’ve never seen Murderball, go watch…
Gift Guide For Chronic Pain, Part 1 — UPDATED!
This story was most recently updated on 11/1/2024. Christmas is coming, and that’s got me thinking about all the little gadgets I continually recommend to my friends. Some of this stuff took me 20 years to learn about (Theracane, where were you all my life?!) and some are old standbys that can help a surprising…
Pain Scales (1-10): How To Explain Your Pain
1-10 Pain scales have real limitations: keep the bigger picture in mind when using a 1-10 scale to measure your pain.
How Selma Blair’s Canes Support Me Too
When i saw a picture of Selma Blair on the red carpet wearing this absolutely stunning gown and a cane, it blew me away. The cane didn’t distract from the outfit: the cane fucking MADE the outfit. She rocked it head to toe– and as somebody who really struggles with staying sexy and staying myself…
So Much More Than a Headache: What’s Your Migraine Routine?
I have been coping with chronic migraine disease since my teens. Although I get sinus headaches and tension headaches, a migraine is an entirely different animal. If you’ve never had one, it can be hard to explain what they feel like (and they’re different for everyone, of course). What causes my migraines? Stress, allergies, changes…
Chronic Pain, Weight, & The Challenge of Getting Through The Damn Day
Stuff like anger, stuff like weight gain, stuff like frustration, stuff like anxiety– it’s all tied in together. And none of it lends itself to a 1-10 pain scale.
Complementary Medicine That Works: Biofeedback –Migraine Update!
Biofeedback for migraines and chronic pain is one of the only complementary medicines that really helped me This post has been updated twice, in 2022 and in February 2025. Biofeedback for my migraines and chronic pain in general was one of the only alternative / complementary treatments I’ve tried over the last 20 years that…
Complementary Medicine: What Works and What Doesn’t
Over the last 20 years, I’ve tried (and retried) many more options. Some of them helped; most of them didn’t. The majority of complementary treatments I’ve tried have been an expensive way of pissing money away. But there ARE things that can really, truly help. Everyone is different, and everyone’s pain is different. But here’s…