I absolutely cannot take anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!! shots..pills...pain..joint replacements!!! How do some of you stay positive? because I've had ENOUGH
12/19/09 1:08pm
Sometimes, you need to take what I call a swish in the self-pity pool and just feel sorry for yourself for a while. Write angst-ridden poetry, watch sad movies that help you have a good cry. And then you get back on the horse that threw you, because at the end of the day, there's a life to be lived.
A while back, I wrote a post inspired by a quote by Michael J. Fox about making choices that was helpful to me. I wrote another post about dealing with the unpredictability of the disease end the fight to not live in fear. Meditation can help and I highly recommend an audio program called Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn - mindfulness can be very helpful in getting perspective. there's a great line in that program that just rocked me: there is more right with you than there is wrong with you. Mind blowing, isn't it? But I think that's how you get positive, by remembering that you are more than your disease, that although it can take up a lot of room at times, life is there, too. That the disease is part of what you are, but it is not who you are. That although RA takes, it also gives - one of the biggest gifts of having RA is resilience. If you can live with this, you can do anything. It teaches you that although sometimes you have to stop what you're doing and deal with the RA for a while, you get back there eventually and keep working at it. RA teaches you stubbornness and perseverance and the ability to laugh even when things are really dark, because if there's a choice between laughing and crying, laughing, even sometimes through the tears, is a better way to live.
12/17/09 11:24am
my mom once asked me when i was having a bad RA day, "if you could trade places with someone else in this world, but you couldn't decide who, would you?" If you think about it a little, you would probably say no. This world is a tough and painful place, if it wasn't, it would be heaven not earth. We need to go on and try our best to stay positive and have a positive impact on the lives of others around us. That thought is what gets me through the pain, because pain or no pain I am alive and that's a miracle.
I am proud of you for making it this far. 
Try not to hate everyone, i know when the pain gets overwhelming, its your loved ones that get the worst scolding.
Your not alone, and i'll keep you in my prayers. 
12/17/09 11:24am
my mom once asked me when i was having a bad RA day, "if you could trade places with someone else in this world, but you couldn't decide who, would you?" If you think about it a little, you would probably say no. This world is a tough and painful place, if it wasn't, it would be heaven not earth. We need to go on and try our best to stay positive and have a positive impact on the lives of others around us. That thought is what gets me through the pain, because pain or no pain I am alive and that's a miracle.
I am proud of you for making it this far. Try not to hate everyone, i know when the pain gets overwhelming, its your loved ones that get the worst scolding. Your not alone, and i'll keep you in my prayers.
12/17/09 9:37pm
Me too, Ann. I really wish I could find a way out of this maze.
Reach out like you did when you feel like this. We feel that way sometimes too.
I feel alone tonight. My knees, hips, ankle, & elbow are killing me. And about 10 more joints just "hurt." No one asks me how I feel & my house can be an obstacle course because of my angelic 4 yr old. 
How do I stay postive? I am only positve 95% of the time. The rest, I let it out if it builds up - like right now. That's my trick anyway. Humor is another thing that really helps me. Read this funny if you like.
Good luck Ann. You don't have to be positive all the time. You should be honest & let it out. Then go from there.
Take care of yourself,
Kelly
4/16/11 4:01pm
Hello Ann , i really know what you mean,and i suffer from the same, and apart from being in paine all the time i am very very tired . i think its even wors. and ive had enought being tired all the time. the only thinks thats keep me going my 2 little ones, one is just over 2 and another one is 1.
4/16/11 7:02pm
for me i do beleive its with gods help here lately alot of things has hit me like a big mack truck theres times i just want to lay an cry but as i look back im thankfull for the times i have had even though there was some hard times i always think i could be worse than what i am so i suck it up an move on an try to fill my day with something good summer is coming soon an i love to be out doors so im planting alot of things i do beleive winter is worse with out the cold but the cold kills me i know its hard looking for something good out of this but you have to i well keep you on my prayers god bless you
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By Ann02— Last Modified: 04/16/11, First Published: 12/15/09
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