The Virtual Conference is Coming! Help Us Spread The Word!

I am so excited about how the virtual conference planning is taking shape. In case you haven’t heard, it will be a video conference and once we have the schedule complete you can see what time each person will have the video released. Then, there will be room below each individual conference video for comments and our speaker will be checking in to answer questions and more.

We would (obviously!) love to spread the word so people know about this conference that is coming up. We have press releases going out, all kinds of contacts, etc. but really–it is people like you who share about it with your friends–that make all the difference.

And that is why we have this handy-dandy -graphic image to share on Facebook or whatever other social network you may participate in. You know the drill. . . and I truly appreciate it!

See our virtual conference page for all the details!

PS: You don’t need to register, but if you are coming, and you are on Facebook, be sure to RSVP!

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How to Help a Friend Who Has An Invisible Illness

How do you help a friend who is chronically ill? So frequently we hear what NOT to say. . . but here are some things that most people would like to hear. Sometimes it really is all about how you word it. Click any graphic to find a short article explaining in more depth why this matters and how it can help a friend. (The last 3 will post in the next few days!)

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“I Care About You” Important For Ill Friend To Hear

When was the last time you told a friend with an illness, “I care about you”? Everyone needs to hear the words, “I don’t know what to say but I care about you.”

“I care about you.” We don’t hear it very often, do we? Those of us who are living with chronic illness can occasionally feel like no one really cares about us. Yes, that can sound trite and a little self-serving, but living in chronic pain every day can become lonely.

For example, our life may consist of spending the day on the phone trying to figure out what new medications we are not allergic to that the insurance will cover now that the co-payment has increased on the one we like best. Or we may be trying to read about how to fix the ice maker because it stopped making ice cubes for the ice bag we desperately need for our pain. Everyone around us seems to be going through the normal activities of life, like what to make for dinner or planning vacation with loved ones.

Although there is no shortage of people who send us newspaper clippings about the latest cure for our disease or fresh advice of “you should try. . . .”, the words, “I care about you. I am here,” are less common than most people would believe.

These are precious words we don’t hear every day:

“I don’t know what to say. I wish I could fix it all and take away your pain. I don’t know what you would like me to say, and I am so afraid of saying the wrong thing. But know this: I care about you. Truly. I care about you.“

If you have a friend with a chronic illness condition and you tend to avoid bringing up his or her illness because you are afraid of saying the wrong thing, take a moment and just say, “Hey, I know we don’t talk about all the stuff you deal with very often, but I don’t want there to ever be any doubt about this: I care about you. I am here if you need anything.”

You never know how that will add trust and joy to the relationship.

TWEET THIS: Things TO SAY to an ill person #1 I don’t know what to say, but I care about you #iiwk12 http://ow.ly/ccLrX

PIN IT! Join us at Pinterest for chronic illness tips and goodies. We hope you will help us pin our tips reaching out to those with chronic illness to help spread the word.

-ljc

Popularity: 9% [?]

Invisible Illness Week Facts to Tweet

The most popular topics about invisible illness seems to be the misconceptions people have about a chronic disease or pain that cannot be seen.

Are there really that many people with invisible illness?
Why another awareness week? Enough already!
You can’t be that sick.
If you were that sick, you wouldn’t be able to stand here and talk to me.
But you look fine to me.
If you just thought about something other than your illness, you’d start to feel much better.

Do any of these sound familiar?

Help increase awareness about nearly any illness (most of them are invisible), by tweeting these facts below and reminding people that situations are not always as they appear.

We’ve found some interesting facts we think you will like and highlighted some few special statistics about invisible illness or chronic pain. You can find sources for our statistics here.

You can follow us on Twitter and then add “RT” at the beginning (that means you are retweeting it) and @invisibleillwk. That way people know the source where you found it and they can sign up for it themselves.

Facts to Tweet About Invisible Illness

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #1 Nearly 1 in 2 Americans (133 million) has a chronic condition. Not U? It’s someone U luv! http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #2 About 96% of illnesses are invisible. No visible signs and no assistive device used. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #3 The significance of one’s faith has shown to help one handle a stressful medical event better http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #4 Sadly, the divorce rate among the chronically ill is over 75 percent http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #5 Plp with illness are young! 60% are between the ages of 18 and 64 http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #6 By 2020, about 157 million Americans will be afflicted by chronic illnesses. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #7 90% of seniors have at least one chronic disease and 77% have two or more chronic diseases. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #8 Depression is 15-20% higher for the chronically ill than for the average person. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #9 Sadly, physical illness or uncontrollable physical pain are major factors in up to 70% of suicides. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #10 About 1 in 4 adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #11 Invisible illness includes #autism, #bulimia, #migraine pain, #arthritis, #bi-polar disorder #depression. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #12 More plp need pain treatment than those w/ cancer, heart disease, stroke & diabetes combined. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #13 Less than 2 hours is spent on pain management in most medical school curriculum http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #14 Most people prefer illness mgmt advice from health professionals before their spouse http://ow.ly/72fO

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #15 19 million of plp who are severely disabled do not use a wheelchair, cane, crutches or walker http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #16 4 in 5 health care dollars, 78% are spent on people with chronic conditions in USA http://ow.ly/72g4

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #17 Patients with a deep faith recover faster from depression,even when illness doesn’t improve. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #18 Faith reduces stress, loneliness, pain, & anxiety according to American Cancer Society http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #19 Over half of the chronically ill say the worst thing someone can say is “you look great.” http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #20 34% of respondents said the person closest to them with a chronic illness is a parent. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #21 Most medical residents leave med school believing that 80% patients R addicts seeking drugs. http://ow.ly/72gP

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #22 Over 75 percent of patients with depression complain of physical pains. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #23 The # of plp in the US 65 > will double in the 25 yrs to 20% of Americans = more illness. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #24 Depression can predispose patients to chronic pain due to chemical imbalance it creates. http://ow.ly/6Otw

RT @invisibleillwk #iiwk12 Fact #25 Faith gives plp w/ health challenges peace of mind & will to live http://ow.ly/6Otw

Popularity: 9% [?]