#Longread: The Emotions of Thinking and Talking About Illness

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Arthritis Ashley • 1 Comment

I’ve written and posted before about hiding our pain to spare the feelings of others, and many similar topics of conversation. I have also written about the emotions of guilt, resentment, and burden that can accompany a lifelong illness or disability. I decided to revisit the topic and reframe it in a couple of new ways. The first … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis / Arthritis Foundation / Awareness / Juvenile Arthritis / Types of Arthritis / Uncategorized / Wellness

The Difficulty of Explaining RA Pain: Can it Be Done? ~ by Ashley Boynes-Shuck

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Arthritis Ashley • 4 Comments

Lately, I’ve been coming across some blog posts that try to describe a rheumatoid arthritis flare. It is a great notion – but is it even possible to do? I’ve tried taking photos of bad flares, and, in that case, pictures are NOT worth a thousand words, because there’s just no way to “show” that … Continue reading →

Advocacy / Arthritis / Arthritis Foundation / Awareness / Juvenile Arthritis / Uncategorized / Wellness

Talking About Pain: Can It Affect The Way We Feel? – by Ashley Boynes

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Arthritis Ashley • 3 Comments

Last week, I challenged Facebook friends to describe their chronic illness in 3 words. Many of these people had Rheumatoid Arthritis and similar conditions, and many of them used words such as “frustrating, isolating, ugly, lonely, indescribable, difficult, invisible, painful, hurting, tiring, depressing, agonizing, expensive, challenging, life-changing, annoying, misunderstood, tearful, excruciating, exhausting, consuming, limiting” and … Continue reading →