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“30 Things About My Chronic Illness ” Meme

admin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:00:09 +0000

Last year hundreds of people participated in our “30 Things” Meme. We’d love to hear from you again (A new year may bring new answer, so even if you filled this out last year, we would love to see your answers this year, as well! ).

This is a great way to blog about your invisible illness too. We may say, “No one understands!” but have we really given them the chance to?

Fill this out, post it on your blog or on Facebook, etc. and then let your friends and family know. You may even be surprised to find out who you know who is living silently with his or her own invisible illness.

Be sure to comment below with the name of your blog and where it’s posted so we can come read it!

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know

1. The illness I live with is:
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year:
3. But I had symptoms since:
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is:
5. Most people assume:
6. The hardest part about mornings are:
7. My favorite medical TV show is:
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is:
9. The hardest part about nights are:
10. Each day I take __ pills & vitamins. (No comments, please)
11. Regarding alternative treatments I:
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose:
13. Regarding working and career:
14. People would be surprised to know:
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been:
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was:
17. The commercials about my illness:
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is:
19. It was really hard to have to give up:
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is:
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would:
22. My illness has taught me:
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is:
24. But I love it when people:
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is:
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them:
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is:
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was:
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because:
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel:

Are you blogging for Invisible Illness Week? Be sure to sign up and let us know at Bloggers Unite!

Speak Out and Take This Survey on Invisible Illnesses and Hidden Disabilities

admin — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:00:21 +0000

Laura Brydges, B.A.Sc., M.A., and Jennifer Martin, PhD, Industrial/Organizational Psychology have put together a survey about invisible disabilities and have asked those involved with National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week to be involved!

These women bring their personal experiences of having disabilities together with more than 30 years of research and health communication expertise. They began a group last year on Facebook called “Hidden Disability” and now have launched an invisible illness and hidden disability survey that asks some very important questions about disability. It is a secure and confidential English-language survey that will give adults everywhere their chance to share their opinions on some new disability issues.

The survey is the result of advocacy efforts of two women who both have disabilities. They have funded this research through garage sales, and are relying on word-of-mouth for this survey to reach as many people world-wide as possible. So please forward this message onto all of your contacts, friends and family, and ask them to take part too.

The survey should only take 15 to 20 minutes to do.

Rest Ministries Sponsors Invisible Illness Week (chronicillnesspaindevotionals.wordpress.com)
Living With Invisible Illness: 5 Ways To Get Over Aggravations (invisibleillnessweek.com)

How You Can Help This Week! Things to Know

admin — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 22:21:54 +0000

Monday, September 13, 2010 kicks off Invisible Illness Week!

There are many ways to get involved in the online activities of the week, but the most important thing to know is…

We will be having an online VIRTUAL conference. What does that mean? Each day, M-F, 10:30-12 PACIFIC you can go directly to http://invisibleillnessconference.com and you will be connected with our workshop automatically at Blog Talk Radio.

Each morning we will have a series of special guest experts who have dealt with illness in their own lives who will be able to answer questions and who will have some key talking points about topics such as coping with illness, parenting, getting organizes, relationships, setting boundaries, working, and of course, the whole “invisible” illness issues.

Here are some other ways to get involved:

Tell someone!
Do you want to email a family member, friend, pastor, counselor, support group leader, your favorite newsletter’s editor? Here is a short description of Invisible Illness Awareness Week – copy, paste, & share anywhere! http://ow.ly/2D1eo

If you have a blog:
Do our meme: “30 Things You May Not Know About My Invisible Illness” (Found here: http://ow.ly/2D1aQ ; Or blog about any invisible illness topic) and then sign up at Bloggers Unite so everyone can find your blog post at http://ow.ly/2D13m Be sure to grab the badge that you are participating too!

Grab the button for your site:
See bottom right side column with code at http://invisibleillnessweek.com

Read about our panelists/special guests:
See someone who you want to make sure your friends know about – be sure to let them know with an email and link to this page:
http://invisibleillnessweek.com/2010/09/08/conf-workshops/

Connect with others: Join the Sunroom group for Invisible Illness Week: http://www.restministriessunroom.com/group/invisibleillness

Download our free 80-page ebook!
20 Experts share their tips about living with a chronic illness. Just sign up for the daily updates from Invisible Illness Week at http://invisibleillnessweek.com (top right side of page), confirm “subscription”, and you will get the download link.

To read blogs of others:
Bloggers who have committed to blogging about invisible illness week or II topics are registered at Bloggers Unite at http://ow.ly/2D13m – Here you can get a description of their blogs too.

Do you tweet? Here are some great things to retweet!
http://invisibleillnessweektweets.wordpress.com

Give a donation!
Have you considered giving a donation to help with Invisible Illness Week expenses? Every little bit helps if you are financially able to give. http://ow.ly/2D1sh

Check out the photos of where people have left sticky-notes this year! http://invisibleillness.com (right column)

If you are on Facebook:
Join our “Invisible Illness Week Cause” http://ow.ly/2D1GP
Be a Fan! http://ow.ly/2D1I3
Click the “like” button on any of our web posts at http://InvisibleIllnessWeek.com
RSVP to the “event” http://ow.ly/2D1A5

* Share anything (the Cause, Event, Group, etc.) with a friend!

Post this as your status!
Nearly 1 in 2 people live w/ a chronic condition, most of them invisible. If it’s not you, it’s someone you love. In recognition of Invisible Illness Awareness Week, http://InvisibleIllnessWeek.com post this as your status so someone who is suffering silently knows someone cares!

National Invisible Illness Week Features Virtual Conference This Week

admin — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:55:17 +0000

SBWire-9/13/10– National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week is September 12-19, 2010 and this week, Monday through Friday, the campaign features a virtual conference with one 90-minute seminar each day.

Listeners can log on to http://InvisibleIllnessConference.com to listen LIVE or later to the archived audio file. The seminars will also be available at itunes.com . To listen live, log on during September 13-17, 10:30 – 12 Pacific time; 12:30-2 PM Central time; or 1:30 PM – 3 PM Eastern time.

Topics include coping with illness, parenting, getting organized, relationships, setting boundaries, working, and of course, the whole “invisible” illness issues. Participants include best-selling author Pam Farrel, chronic illness coach Rosaline Joffe, and popular patient advocates Christine Miserandino or butyoudontlooksick.com and Jenny Prokopy of chronicbabe.com .

Over 20 speakers from all over the country come together to provide amazing workshops that are rarely available for those with illness who are unable to travel far for a conference or sit for extended periods of time.

The host of the show is Invisible Illness Week founder, Lisa Copen, who began this week in 2002 and has produced it each year since then. Lisa is the founder of Rest Ministries which serves the chronically ill and author of many books on chronic illness, including, “Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend.”

Invisible Illness Week offers many other ways to get involved including blogging for the cause, sharing invisible illness week facts on Twitter or Facebook, a Facebook cause page, and leaving anonymous sticky notes in honor of the campaign’s theme, “Each One Can Reach One.”

To find out more visit the web site http://InvisibleIllnessWeek.com .

Up – Visit Some Fabulous Invisible Illness Week Blogs

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:00:10 +0000

Many of you have been a large part of spreading the word about National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week by blogging about it for us! Thank you!

And we hope that you have gained some encouragement and inspiration in reflecting on living with invisible illness as well as reading the blogs of others.

So far this morning you can read over xx blog posts with people who have registered through Bloggers Unite. To read them click here at Bloggers Unite for Invisible Illness Week and then scroll down. Ont he right hand side it will say “Participating Blogs.” About 171 bloggers are registered from 2009 and they still have wonderful posts to read.
Bunches of people have participated in our Meme, “30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know” here.
If you read a post, be sure to leave a comment, even if just a short one. All of our bloggers love to hear from you and know that you stopped by!

Who is Blogging About Invisible Illness Week? Here are Some Sites We Found!

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:00:13 +0000

Who is blogging about Invisible Illness issues and our special week? Here are a few sites we’ve found!

Invisible Illness Week 2010
By James
Invisible Illness Week is almost here again! Scheduled for the 13th-19th of September 2010, this is the 9th year – and it’s less than a month away! This year, there will still be online seminars, though not as many as in past years. … Headache and Migraine News – http://headacheandmigrainenews.com/

SocialWrkr24/7 : Eyes Opened Wider: Invisible Illness Awarness Week
By SocialWrkr24/7
I don’t think I talk a lot about my “invisible illness” here on the blog – but I know I’ve mentioned it a handful of times. It is easy sometimes for me to brush it aside because I like to consider myself in “remission”. … SocialWrkr24/7 : Eyes Opened Wider – http://eyesopenedwider.blogspot.com/

Watching The Waters: National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness …
By Corey
National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week: Migraine. September 13-19 is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. I learned about this on another blog, and will be participating several times in the coming weeks. … Watching The Waters – http://www.watchingthewaters.com/

Oh My Aches and Pains!: Good Reads for the Weekend: Lots of Linky …
By SelenaIt’s that time of year again, time to celebrate National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. This will be my second year participating in this virtual event which is happening September 13 through the 19th. … Oh My Aches and Pains! – http://www.ohmyachesandpains.info/

Sheryl Aronson: Invisible Illness Week
By noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Aronson)
September 13-19 2010 has been designated ‘National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week’. They have a simple and fun way of getting the word out about this awareness week, and make people feel good at the same time. … Sheryl Aronson – http://sherylaronson.blogspot.com/

CHRONICLYsILLy: Laws of A Lupie- CHRONICLYsILLy Rules to Live by
By CHRONICLYsILLy
Fact #1: Lupus is an autoimmune disease and is commonly referred to as an “Invisible Illness.” An invisible illness means that you cannot necessarily tell that the person is sick simply by looking at them, thus their illness seems to be … CHRONICLYsILLy – http://chroniclysilly.blogspot.com/

Journey with Chronic Illness BLOG » Invisible Illness Week Team …
By journeywithchronicillness
“Chronic Illness Tips: 263 Ways To Do More Than Just Get By” is by Invisible Illness Week founder, Lisa Copen and friends. Friends include chronic illness career specialist Rosalind Joffe, relationship expert and best-selling author Pam … Journey with Chronic Illness BLOG – http://journeywithchronicillness.podbean.com/

Invisible Illness Week — Post Its & How YOU Can Spread Cheer …
This is too good not to share, watch the video about how you can participate in a post-it note campaign on spreading encouragement and good cheer!
chronicbabeclub.ning.com/xn/detail/2082969:Topic:30192?…

Random (Mostly) Chronic Illness Stuff « A Young Wife’s Tale
Click on Invisible Illness Week to find out. This year’s Invisible Illness Week theme is “Each One Can Reach One.” It’s September 13-19 and I will of course …
youngwifestale.com/blog/chronicillness/…/comment-page-

Facebook Brings Those With Chronic Illness Together for Invisible Illness Week (invisibleillnessweek.com)
Gearing Up for Invisible Illness Awareness Week 2010 (ohmyachesandpains.info)
Up – Are You Blogging for Invisible Illness Week? (invisibleillnessweek.com)
How to Add Current and Future Invisible Illness Week Seminars to Your Web Site (invisibleillnessweek.com)

What Illness/Health Related Newsletters Do You Get?

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:11:26 +0000

Between all of us with a variety of chronic illnesses and symptoms, there are hundreds of thousands of newsletters and ezines out there on the internet. Since many of us live with different illnesses than our friends, we actually have quite a few editors we can reach in a short time.

I am letting the editors of the newsletters I receive know about Invisible Illness Awareness Week.

I am just going through the newsletter ezines I’ve received in the last few weeks and have hit “reply” or “contact” and sent them an email sort of like this (be sure to personalize yours and keep it short)

Keep in mind that the easier you can make it for them to tell others the more likely they will! So be sure to include the paragraph that has the description they can copy and paste.

Dear (name):

I recently received your newsletter and enjoyed it as always, especially the part about (what I liked here).

I wanted to call your attention to the date of September 13-19, 2010 which is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week.

September 13-19, 2010 is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. This annual event, started in 2002 by Lisa Copen, features a variety of ways to get involved including a virtual conference September 13-17 online for free with speakers each morning 10:30 – 12 USA Pacific time.

There is a Meme “30 Things You May Not Know About My Invisible Illness”, you can sign up to blog for the cause, read guest bloggers’ posts, and get involved in the campaign on Facebook. There is even a free 80-page ebook when you sign up for email updates, with 263 tips!

With nearly 1 in 2 people living with a chronic condition, about 96% of those people are suffering silently with invisible illnesses. You can find more information at http://InvisibleIllnessWeek.com

Thank you so much for passing this along!

(Your name)

Let Your Church Know About Invisible Illness Awareness Week

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Nearly 1 in 2 people in the US have a chronic condition. . . This includes people sitting in pews too! Invisible Illness Week is sponsored by Rest Ministries which is the largest Christian organization that specifically serves the chronically ill.

About 300 HopeKeepers groups exists around the USA and beyond too (find a HopeKeepers group near you or start a HopeKeepers group yourself!)

Pastors actually receive very little education in seminary that specifically discusses how to reach out to the chronically ill. They may learn to counsel a bit, pray, and pray for healing, but 6 weeks later-when the person has not been healed– it can be confusing as to what to say and do then.

Now is a great time to introduce Rest Ministries to your pastoral staff. There are some simple ways to increase awareness, by just emailing your pastor about the event. (A description is below that can be edited.)

If you need something to include on a resource table Beyond Casseroles bookmarks and Rest Ministries brochures are perfect give-aways. If your church will approve it, you may wish to get up and share a bit about chronic illness, Rest Ministries, or your testimony.

We are here to answer any questions! And if your pastor does not seem enthused. . . that’s okay. Don’t take it personally. If you are considering starting a HopeKeepers group or some kind of chronic illness ministry, “How to Start a Chronic Illness Pain Ministry” a new book by our founder, Lisa Copen, has some great tips regarding the emotions of it all, as well as the practical tips.

We recommend sending off a short email to your pastor and let him know that you will follow up with a phone call in a couple days. And then call him! If the pastor is very busy or oversees a huge church, you may wish to choose a pastoral staff member that oversees those who are ill, caregivers, the women’s ministry director, etc. Connect with the person who you believe will most connect with your passion of chronic illness ministry.

September 13-19, 2010 is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. This annual event began in 2002 by Lisa Copen, founder of Rest Ministries, a national Christian organization that serves the chronically ill and an affiliate of Joni and Friends, the ministry of Joni Eareckson Tada. The week has a variety of ways to get involved including a virtual conference September 13-17 online for free with speakers each morning 10:30 – 12 USA Pacific time.

There is a Meme “30 Things You May Not Know About My Invisible Illness”, you can sign up to blog for the cause, read guest bloggers’ posts, and get involved in the campaign on Facebook. There is even a free 80-page ebook when you sign up for email updates, with 263 tips!

With nearly 1 in 2 people living with a chronic condition, about 96% of those people are suffering silently with invisible illnesses. See InvisibleIllnessWeek.com .

Press Release – Invisible Illness Week Bloggers Driving Force Behind Awareness Campaign

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:16:56 +0000

* Feel free to share this on your blog, post it in your newsletter, whatever! Thanks for your help.

Invisible Illness Week Bloggers Driving Force Behind Awareness Campaign

San Diego, CA — (SBWIRE) — 08/31/2010 — National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, established in 2002, is September 13-19, 2010 and bloggers are a driving force behind the campaign’s success.

“The patient bloggers who participate by using their blogs as a platform to educate and increase awareness is the reason we are able to reach so many people on virtually no budget” shares Invisible Illness Week coordinator and founder, Lisa Copen. “Patient bloggers, as well as those who are health advocates, are some of the most active participants in social media and the causes they care about.”

InvisibleIllnessWeek.com features daily guest bloggers through September 19th that focus on a variety of topics that impact the lives of those who are chronically ill. These include being the spouse of one with illness, learning how to ask for help, and being a part of the patient community.

Anyone can participate by blogging about living with a chronic illness, especially the invisibility factor. Participants are encouraged to sign up with Bloggers Unite Invisible Illness Week’s event at http://ow.ly/2wOzV so that readers can easily find the blogs. Bloggers can also download the badge that declares their intent to blog about Invisible Illness Week or personal issues of living with an illness.

Many bloggers are also participating in the Invisible Illness Week Meme, “30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know.” This year’s theme, “Each One Can Reach One” encourages people to leave anonymous notes of encouragement, so bloggers are also posting photos of their notes on their blogs.

During Invisible Illness Week people can listen to seminars featuring panels of experts on a variety of topics via Blog Talk Radio. For more details visit InvisibleIllnessWeek.com . The event is sponsored by Rest Ministries, the largest Christian organization that specifically serves the chronically ill.

Press Release – Invisible Illness Week Team Offers Free Ebook of 263 Tips

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:00:52 +0000

* Feel free to share this on your blog, post it in your newsletter, whatever! Thanks for your help.

Invisible Illness Week Team Offers Free Ebook of 263 Tips

20 Experts share their best tips about living with a chronic illness, from coping with illness and relationship tips to travel and homeschooling.

San Diego, CA — (SBWIRE) — 09/01/2010 — National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week is September 13-19, 2010. A free 80-page ebook is now available for download to anyone who signs up for daily updates from the web site invisibleillnessweek.com .

“Chronic Illness Tips: 263 Ways To Do More Than Just Get By” is by Invisible Illness Week founder, Lisa Copen and friends. Friends include chronic illness career specialist Rosalind Joffe, relationship expert and best-selling author Pam Farrel, advocacy authority Jennifer Jaff, and illness advocate Jenni Prokopy.

Over 20 contributors share their best tips to live successfully with chronic illness on a variety of topic. “These experts are people who have the credentials,” says author Lisa Copen, “but more importantly, they have experienced illness themselves or health issues of someone close to them. Their tips come from the experience of living with the challenges illness gives us.” The chapters include coping tools, relationship issues, career, faith, and practical tips, from traveling with an illness to homeschooling. There are also many tips on how to encourage someone who lives with a chronic illness.

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week is an annual event that features a free virtual conference online 9/13-17 with speakers each morning 10:30 – 12 USA Pacific time. There are a variety of ways a person can get involved including blogging for the cause, completing the Meme “30 Things You May Not Know About My Invisible Illness”, or joining the campaign on Facebook.

With nearly 1 in 2 people living with a chronic condition, about 96% of those people are suffering silently with invisible illnesses.

For more information see http://InvisibleIllnessWeek.com .