Tag: ankylosing spondylitis
The Effect of Pets on Mental and Chronic Illnesses
If you follow me on Instagram, I’m pretty sure you’ve already seen how much I love my cat. He’s actually not really my cat, it’s a long story, but he shares his time between two homes, and we both equally take care of him. In case you don’t know how much I love and care…
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…
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…
Energy & Fatigue: A Simple Night Out Can Leave Me in Bed for Days
So as previously mentioned, extreme fatigue is a massive symptom of chronic pain. At least, for me it is. It’s also one of the most frustrating symptoms that I deal with. A huge part of being a young person with a chronic illness, that I feel, is trying to be “normal”. Trying to live a…
How Having a Chronic Illness Can Affect Friendships
Let me start out by saying that making friends isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Now, throw in a chronic illness and you’ve got yourself a situation. But I’m not just talking about making friends in this post, I’m also talking about friendships in general. Now, something that’s pretty typical to ask when getting…
Ankylosing Spondylitis: My Journey
Welcome to Totally Chronic! My name is Steff, and I’m 22 years old. I’m starting this blog as both an outlet, and as a place for people with chronic illnesses (or not) to come together and relate. My goal in starting Totally Chronic is to just help one person feel better about their illness. Whenever…