Author: Steff Di Pardo

  • Pet Peeves About Having a Chronic Illness

    A while back on my Instagram page, I started a discussion on what people’s biggest pet peeves were with having a chronic illness. Just by doing so, I found that we all go through such similar situations, and just by asking a simple question, I was able to realize just how alike we really are.…

  • What It’s Really Like to Live with Social Anxiety

    For those of you who know me in real life, your first impression of me was probably that I’m “quiet” or “shy”. In the least rude way possible, I hate both of those words. I’ve heard those words describe me for the last 23 years of my life. Now to be fair, before I ever…

  • A Thank You

    Hi Everyone! I just wanted to make a little post saying thank you to you all for visiting my blog and for the supportive feedback and comments! I want to welcome you all to Totally Chronic, my blog about living with AS and my day to day life! I also want to say a HUGE…

  • I’ve Been in a Lull

    I’d like to say that I’ve taken a break from writing lately because I was on vacation, or that I’ve just been too busy to find the time to write, but the truth is that I’ve just been in a lull for the past month. Every time I try to sit down and write, nothing…

  • Dating With a Chronic Illness

    Let me start out by saying that before I had AS, dating was already a struggle for me. It only got harder once I was diagnosed with it. In the age of Tinder, Bumble, OkCupid etc., no one really takes the time to try and understand each other, or really care about the person’s feelings…

  • What It’s Like To Live With a Chronic Illness and Depression

    You might think that living with a chronic illness is hard. When you add depression that makes it much harder to deal with. An estimated one-third of people with chronic illness also experience depression. In my case, I became depressed years before I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, but that doesn’t make it any easier…

  • Accepting Your Chronic Illness

    First off I want to say sorry for being absent for a little while! The holidays got busy, and then I went on a vacation, and I’m still trying to get back into my routine at home. So I’ll be trying to keep to my schedule again! I find that one of the most important…

  • 23 Thing I Learned Before I Turned 23

    With my birthday coming up in less than a week, I got this idea from a friend to write out a list of 23 things I learned before turning 23. As it turns out, 23 things is a lot of things to think about. But I managed to work it out, and I think it’s…

  • 2019 Goals and Aspirations

    Okay, so I’m not usually one to set goals for myself, like, ever. I worked on goal setting a little bit in my group therapy back in the summer, and I’ve always hated the idea of setting a goal and working towards it. I’m not sure why, but it’s just not my thing. That being…

  • 2018: The Year I Became Me

    This year was huge for me. I was finally diagnosed. I finally got help for my mental health. I started biologics. I found yoga. I learned what self-care truly was. I started my blog. I don’t even feel like the same human being that I was at this time last year, and although it’s been…