Having lupus is hard enough, but when a full-time job is added in, it’s almost unbearable. Sleep is always an issue. It seems like we never get enough. And then taking a shower uses up what little energy we have left. We’re exhausted by the time we…
We have spent all of our lives in a place that we take for granted, a place that we think we completely control — our bodies. Then we start feeling things that are unexplained, and a diagnosis comes to let us know that we only thought we were…
When a long-term relationship ends, I usually take a year or two to understand the new me because, let’s face it, we change. My last serious relationship ended in 2010. After a while, I got caught up in all the wonderful things that were happening in my…
I’ve noticed that lupus makes me super-sensitive to the things people say when I express how I feel. I sometimes feel caught in the middle, in the matrix. There are days when no matter what you say, no matter how hard you smile, people know something is wrong. You’re…
There are days when you have great energy and minimal pain, and then a flare pops up and changes everything. Your body lets you know about parts you didn’t know existed, and the only reason you found them is because they now hurt like mad. Recently, my body…
My Prada high heels were the best thing in my closet. They had that sweet Italian leather scent that only a woman would know. Purchased at a second-hand store, they were a soft light-brown suede wedge that made my calves look runway ready. Even my five-foot-one fairy frame seemed tall and…
When I was first diagnosed with lupus it felt as if my life was dropped on its head. Goodbye to my 17-year career of selling real estate and basking in the Florida sun. Goodbye six-figure income. Goodbye weekly exercise classes, and finally goodbye USA. What was my “normal”…
A recent study published in the journal Health and Quality of Life Outcomes revealed that the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) is a suitable tool to assess resilience in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The BRCS is a self-reported measurement test considered a reliable indicator of resilience — the ability to cope…