8 Reasons To Be Grateful For Chronic Illness

Who knew I would be grateful for having a chronic illness?  Actually I wish I never got sick in the first place, but given that I am, I'm glad it has changed my life in some good ways.  I've been reading responses in the forums to my recent post on gratitude.

Guest Post: Sophie's Story With IBS

I’ve suffered from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for 20 years. One night when I was 12 I experienced a bout of food poisoning that was so severe I never really recovered. Whatever happened to my bowel that day transformed a perfectly normal digestive system into an instrument of torture.

Book Giveaway: How Can You NOT Laugh At A Time Like This?

Announcing the first ever HealingWell Blog book giveaway!  I'm very happy to give away Carla Ulbrich's new book How Can You NOT Laugh at a Time Like This?  Reclaim Your Health with Humor, Creativity, and Grit. Carla writes from the heart with refreshing wit and sometimes brutal honesty about her own struggles and challenges with chronic illness.  Some my favorite essays include "How Not to Be Completely Exhausted", "Disease Envy", and "Top Ten Annoying Things to Say to Someone Who's Just Been Diagnosed".

3 "Healthy" Lessons I Learned At BlogWorld

Last weekend I travelled to Los Angeles to attend the BlogWorld 2011 conference.  It's kind of a Mecca-like gathering of bloggers and social media geeks.  I went for two reasons.  First, I wanted to learn how to blog better.  I figured there were some things I could learn from veterans about what I'm doing right or wrong.  Second, I wanted to meet fellow patient bloggers.  These are the folks that blog about chronic illness and share with the world their trials and triumphs.  Many of them inspire me everyday.