by Andrew Palmer

Created on: November 22, 2008

Arthritis is a tough disease to live with and you have to do just that. Live with it. Arthritis does not kill, it takes over your body and its ability to perform everyday tasks. If you're old, you've already got enough to deal with, let alone the other aches and pains just from the daily grind. If young and afflicted, things can often be extremely troubling and confusing. It can even create embarrassing situations when you don't know how or don't feel like explaining your condition and sometimes you just don't want anyone to know what's going on. You don't want to sit around complaining all day. You want to live your life! This can prove to be difficult when even relaxing seems like a chore in itself. Sometimes it feels like there is nowhere to turn, but there is.

The first place you can turn is within yourself. Also, don't be afraid to reach out to friends and family members. Sometimes though, they don't always understand and most with this disease don't like feeling the need to rely on others. You are your strongest support system. The mind is a powerful and beautiful thing that we must use to our advantage every chance we get. Don't let yourself shut down when pain is creeping in and out. Don't let yourself become weak minded, saying things like... "Why me?" ... "This isn't fair!" ... "I just want to give up!" ... "I just want to die!" STOP! These kinds of mindsets can contribute to pain and discomfort. Plus, you aren't really doing anything at all to fix the real problem anyway. Have you every noticed that when you get stressed or mad that sometimes your body reacts? You get hot or feel itchy, or even feel physical pain. There is a distinct connection between body and mind. You need to stay as happy as possible, within reason, of course. You need to realize that there's always someone else out there that has it worse off than you. The next time you feel like you really just need a break from everything and everyone, take a seat anywhere you are comfortable. Close your eyes. Imagine somewhere beautiful. A field of purple flowers. The Beach, wherever. Find a place that is ideal to you and stay there as long as you wish. Feel everything about it. Breath slowly and deeply in and out. Focus on your breathing. Imagine colors swirling around your body, easing and relaxing you. Healing you. This all might feel silly or sound ridiculous. We need to not attach ourselves to contemporary ideas so much. The human mind has equal abilities of destruction and healing. We

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