Pain Mgmt & Illnesses Archives - Rest Ministries - Chronic Illness and Pain Support

Why You Should Come to the CNN Health ‘Chat’ on Illness

September 18, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

CNN Health features a chat based on interest from Invisible Illness Awareness Week, with founder Lisa Copen, hosting. Thank you for all your help with Invisible Illness Awareness Week. I have some follow up emails set to come out in future days, but this one took priority about the opportunity over at CNN Health. When we live with invisible illnesses we often say no one understands. They don't understand the pain, the fatigue, the strength it takes to push through it all. They don't get our fear of infections, the stress of the bills, none of it. And we wish the media would do more to cover invisible illness than just show celebrities who seem to be "back to their old life" once they have taken certain medications. Well, CNN … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Announcements, Events, Founder's Blog, Health News, Invisible Illnesses, What's New?

Where is Hope? Those With Invisible Illness Share God’s Reminders

August 31, 2012 By admin 2 Comments

Where is hope? How do we find hope? Each day God sends us reminders that He has it all under control. How can you share your hope with people around the world today? Good morning! Yesterday I gave you an update on what Invisible Illness Week is all about. I thought I would share a few highlights over the next few days. I know you may be thinking, "I don't need anything else on my plate right now." I understand. Really. And if you are "into" social media like Facebook and Twitter you know the power of using these tools to spread the word. But if you are rolling your eyes right now and saying, "Oh, no, not another Facebook thing-a-ma-jig I have to learn . . . " don't worry! Stay with me! I have been putting Invisible Illness … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Announcements, Articles, Events, Invisible Illnesses, What's New? Tagged With: where is hope

Why You Should Care About Invisible Illness Awareness Week

August 29, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Invisible Illness Awareness Week is a great opportunity to learn new skills from authors and experts (many of them Christian professionals), as well as share your hope! Hi there, friends! Well, my son is back to school and I am in crunch-mode for Invisible Illness Awareness Week! What is II Week? Ten years ago I saw many people here at Rest Ministries who were on a great walk with God. They even had some idea how God may be able to use their illness for His glory. But there was a little problem. . . A lot of people still felt incredibly bitter, angry even, that no one understood what they were experiencing on a daily basis. And, oh my! The frustration they had about having an invisible illness really rocked their world. It seeped … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Announcements, Articles, Events, Invisible Illnesses, What's New? Tagged With: awareness week

Endure The Pain with an Eye on the Gold

August 6, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Why do Olympic athletes choose to endure the pain of their sports? Vicki looks at how they can inspire us. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25). The summer Olympic trials caused me to wonder: Why would the athletes willingly inflict pain on their own bodies during grueling training? What motivates them to endure the pain? Imagine them reading the following sign when they were young: Wanted—People Who Are Willing To: • Subject their body to strenuous exercises … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Attitude, Devotionals, Exercise, What's New? Tagged With: endure the pain, Olympic

Mobility Devices When Shopping With Your Spouse

August 2, 2012 By admin 5 Comments

Mobility isn't just a way to get around, it may also be finding someone who knows how to push you, as Michele explains with her husband as the helper. "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22) The other day my husband surprised me with a special shopping trip to my favorite store--Dollar Tree. Yes, you read correctly, a dollar store. Not just any dollar store but one that truly measures up to its name--nothing in the store is over a dollar. It did not take long before there was a damper on our special outing. As we approached the store’s door, we were immediately reminded as to why we stopped coming to this store. The sign next to the entrance of the store shows wheelchair … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advocacy, Coping Skills, Devotionals, Marriage, Person w/ lll Spouse, What's New? Tagged With: husband pushing wheelchair, mobility

Responding With Grace To Those Who Offer New Cures

July 19, 2012 By admin 6 Comments

When someone with good intentions presents the latest new cures for your illness, how do you respond with grace and not resentment? Michele shares. “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:20-21) Almost daily I receive messages from someone who suggests I try something that has helped them. Knowing they are well meaning, I appreciate all the suggestions; although I feel that they do not understand my chronic illnesses; for what may help one, does not mean it will help me too. Even when I’ve tried the latest “fad” or treatment, months later my body becomes immune to the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alternative Treatments, Devotionals, Explaining Illness, Friend Has Illness, Healing, Hurt Feelings, Invisible Illnesses, What's New? Tagged With: new cures

Awareness Week Preparations Begin For Those with Invisible Illnesses

July 17, 2012 By admin 4 Comments

We have started our summer preparations for Invisible Illness Awareness Week! Hi, Friends! I am excited to be kicking off our summer prep for National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week! Did you know Rest Ministries is behind this awareness week? Rest Ministries began National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week (NICIAW "for short" -- I know it's a mouth full!) in 2002 and so we are celebrating 10 years this year! When we first began the awareness week, we had a chatroom for our virtual conference and the term "invisible illness" was rarely even seen online. Through the years, the support of many of you have made this awareness week one of the coolest events online, as thousands join in for the virtual conference (where … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advocacy, Announcements, Attitude, Coping Skills, Events, Explaining Illness, HopeKeepers Resources, Illnesses, Invisible Illnesses, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: awareness week, invisible illness awareness week

“You Are Too Young to Be That Sick!”

June 14, 2012 By admin 16 Comments

"You are too young to be that ill! Oh, you are too young to be dealing with that kind of pain." Why do simple, even well-intentioned words hurt so much? By Lisa Copen At the age of twenty-four, a thousand miles away from my family and living in a new city, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Over a period of four weeks and about eight doctor’s visits, I finally found a physician of internal medicine who listened to me explain my symptoms; in less than two days I had a diagnosis. Despite the terms “chronic” and “forever” I felt relieved to know the label that described my chronic pain. Few of my friends, however, shared my enthusiasm for a diagnosis. The managers at my office were more concerned about the fact that I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Coping Skills, Depression, Explaining Illness, Friend Has Illness, Friendships, Invisible Illnesses, Need to Know, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Arthritis, Chronic, Conditions and Diseases, Fibromyalgia, Health, hidden disabilities, Illness, invisible disabilities, invisible illness, Life Disrupted: Getting Real About Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties, lisa copen, Pain, Rest Ministries, Rheumatoid arthritis, San Diego, you are too young, you dont look sick, you look fine

Community Outreach Illness Scenarios Teaching Tool

May 11, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Community outreach is more than just vacation bible school and Christmas programs. Read through these illness scenarios to see how your church can improve their community outreach and pastoral support for people in the church. By Lisa Copen Community outreach seems to be a common goal of many churches, but it often gets stuck on Christmas programs or vacation bible school. But community outreach, as well as support within our church body, is vital to the lives of so many people. Have you seen the T.V. show, "What Would You Do? With John Quinones"? In it, they have actors set up a situation and then wait to see if anyone gets involved. Do people stand up for the "underdog"? Will adults buy teens beer? Will people stop a drunk parent … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advocacy, Articles, Articles - Read, Caregiver, Church Leader, HopeKeepers Resources, Need to Know, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: bible study, Church Leadership, community outreach, Illness, John Quinones, pastoral care, teaching tool, what would you do, What Would Your Church Do? Illness Scenarios Teaching Tool

Bring a Meal and Make is Special With Free Printable Labels

May 7, 2012 By admin 21 Comments

When one is chronically ill, and a friend wishes to help her, the first thing that comes to mind is to bring a meal. In fact, since the most popular gift to bring is a meal, I wrote the book, Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend to get people to think beyond food. Sometimes all we can think of is to bring a meal! Why is that? Well, a meal is a gift of comfort. And even though we --who are chronically ill--may be physically able to cook, it takes a burden off of us so that we can use the energy we would have spent cooking doing something else. I have discovered that many people who cook for the chronically ill and offer to bring a meal to them, are actually ill themselves. Though it is easy to understand new … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Beyond Casseroles, Caregiver, Cooking, Free Printables, Friend Has Illness, Invisible Illnesses, Ministry - Personal, Need to Know, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic, Chronic Illness, Conditions and Diseases, deacons, free labels for meals, Health, meal delivery, meals for family, meals for recovery, organize meals, organize meals for sick friend, printables, Rest Ministries, take a meal

Am I a Hypochondriac If…

February 23, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

By Lisa Copen We laugh as people say, "I think I may be a hypochondriac!" but is it really a funny matter? Not so much. Am I a hypochondriac if... I get up at 2:30 AM to google a symptom I am experiencing and I start imagining all the things it could be? It is unlikely. In today's age of having immediate information at our fingertips, it is much easier to just get out of bed and start searching than to wait until morning when the doctor's office is open and then we must decide to call him or not. In the days of our parents raising their children, rather than looking for search engine results in the middle of the night, they sat at the kitchen table with the Dr. Spock book attempting to figure out the cause of certain symptoms and if … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Explaining Illness, Fear, Mental Illness, Person w/ Illness, What's New?, Worry Tagged With: am i a hypochondriac, Chronic (medicine), Conditions and Diseases, Cyberchondria, Disease, Health, Hypochondriasis, Magnetic resonance imaging, Rest Ministries, worry

Q/A: How Do I Get A Doctor Who Will Listen?

February 6, 2012 By admin 3 Comments

Looking for a doctor who will listen, accept the challenges of your illness and stick with you? You are not alone in your search for a doctor who will fight for you. Have you had the experience of one doctor passing you off to another, and that one to another, and no one really wanting to "own" you as a patient? For a while I have felt I was the ball in a game of ping pong between my general practitioner and a specialist, each telling me to see the other. Currently, as new issues develop, I have become a "hot potato." My question is, what do you do to get doctors to listen and stop passing the buck? I am looking for suggestions beyond basics of talking to doctors. One thing I am finding helpful lately is to pray earnestly and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advocacy, Articles, Doctor, Help! Q/A, Medical Professional, What's New? Tagged With: communicate with doctor, doctor relationship, how to get your doctor to listen, list for doctor, patient tips, tips for doctors, when is it time to find a new doctor