6 Steps to Happiness with RA

By Lene Andersen, Health Guide Tuesday, July 31, 2012

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When you are in the midst of RA, with all that comes with it, can you still be happy? When you’re juggling pain, exhaustion, a dizzying amount of meds and doctor’s appointments and wondering what happened to your life, is there still room for joy? You bet! It might not always be ...

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wonderwoman

8/ 1/12 1:09am

That's great, now I feel inspired to write a new post.

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/ 1/12 10:05am

glad to hear it. Looking forward to reading what you come up with!

Cathy, Health Guide

8/ 1/12 7:43am

Great tips Lene. When I am in a flare, I definitely have to look for the beauty around me - my family, my border collie, nature, and even myself. I sometimes have to look hard and make it into an assignment for myself but once I get to a happy place and see the beauty still going on around me, the flare is so much easier to deal with.

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/ 1/12 10:06am

I try to do the same and it takes a lot of mental discipline. There's a reason they call it mindfulness practice - you have to practice every day in order to hone this skill.

wonderwoman

8/ 1/12 12:05pm

Yes, happiness really is a choice. I had a mum who was very disabled with rheumatoid in the last few years of her life, she died in her early sixties in a nursing home,but was always smiling and nice to be around, I model myself on her.

Try and keep mrs grumpy in the closet

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/ 1/12 12:55pm

every now and again, Ms. Grumpy needs to come out. As long as she doesn't rule the roost, she's got a place.

Your mom sounds like a wonderful woman.

wonderwoman

8/ 1/12 1:21pm

Both my mum and her mother spent a lot of years suffering chronic illness and both were consistently cheerful, in fact the main memory I have of my grandmother was of her singing constantly.

I do let mrs grumpy have some air time in controlled times with controlled people.

Ever since I learnt that out thoughts produced our emotions, I have tried to keep my thoughts mostly in the positive arena.

Not denying the problems but accepting what cant be changed, blah blah etc

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/ 1/12 6:59pm

blah, blah, etc. - snort!

I once read this beautiful analogy about how your situation is like a prism or crystal. How you cope with it is about looking through another facet.

wonderwoman

8/ 1/12 8:18pm

like that, how about this;

two men looked out from behind prison bars, one saw the mud and one saw the stars

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/ 1/12 8:47pm

I remember when you used that in a post. Really good.

V, Health Guide

8/ 1/12 5:47pm

You are so right about surrounging oneself with positive things and people, Lene. I'm still working on managing my expectations.

Thanks so much for this post. You made me think, and you made me smile.

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/ 1/12 6:58pm

I've had RA for over 40 years and I'm still working on managing ym expectations at times. The key is is that you keep working at it.

V, Health Guide

8/ 1/12 10:09pm

Amen to that, sister! The key is to never, never, never, never, never give up.

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/13/12 12:02pm

Never surrender!!

(and now I feel like Churchill...)

angie

8/ 2/12 1:14am

My most helpful way of being happy or better worded as leveled out emotionally, is to think of my blessings. Most of all the tiny ones. Those are the ones we take most for granted. Like being able to feed ourselves or prepare our own food even if it does come out of the microwave or a box. I lost a dear friend at 46 yrs old to a rare form of MS called Devics disease/syndrome. I learned that lesson from being her caregiver and friend. Little did I know my chance meeting and becoming dear friends was preparing me for my own future issues. I have a rose bush outside my dining room window taller than my deck. It's called a veterans honor. True to its name it has survived the worst, frost,animals,etc. just like our Veterans have. my dads a VV. Looking at the rose gives me strength and reminds me to be thankful for my life no mattter how gloomy it may seem. Lene, your post couldn't be any more true!!!! Thank you.

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/ 3/12 12:18pm

I do the same - practicing gratitude is the fastest way to joy. Thank you for sharing your stories about your friend and your beautiful rosebush. It put a smile on my face today and I'm grateful for that.

Chelle

8/12/12 9:30am

So many times people reach for external things to make them happy and tell themselves, "I'll be happy when I loose weight, find a partner, get rich, am cured" and so on. Why wait to be happy? I think happiness is a choice you can make for yourself. It's just as easy to put on a smile rather than a frown or crack a joke rather than complain. Sometimes it is hard to smile through the pain. I found myself grieving last week and I needed to cry so I did my crying then I pulled myself together. RA is isolating and it is even made worse when we push others away with a chronic bad attitude. Cheers to smiles rather than tears! Thanks for the article!

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/15/12 11:04am

long time ago, my parents told me I had two choices: I could cry or I could laugh. I chose laughing. Sometimes it's hard to find it, sometimes it's laughing very darkly, but it is (to me) the only way to knock the wonder with this disease.

Thanks for your comment!

Annette

8/14/12 2:09pm

Well maybe not, but you would not believe how topical the book I am now reading is. The main form of news and media has become blogs in this future, and the bloggers with heart are covering the US GOP race for the nomination in the presidential election, which is complicated by a virus that causes people to become zombies.

OK the zombie virus may not be so topical but the rest is great. Oh maybe you recommended it? Feed by Mira Grant.

Anyway it is absorbing in a good way.

There is a lot that makes me happy. I am just a little concerned that so much is virtual. I am happy that I can take pictures, resize them and share them. It was my plan for the month and turned out to be fairly easy.

See there's another thing that makes peoplpe happy - achieving goals

Annette

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

8/15/12 11:07am

I've read the whole series! It's an excellent ride that also makes you think.

Setting goals is good and I for one am thoroughly enjoying seeing your pictures!

At times I wonder about how much time I spend on my computer and Internet. Then I realize that they are godsends to people with mobility issues. The Internet allows me to have a very active social life that I wouldn't otherwise have. I have friends all over the world that it never met. It's just a different way of doing things. As long as you remember to see people are "in the flesh" ( but not in a zombie way) every now and again, you're good.

6 Steps to Happiness with RA

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