Are You Blogging for Invisible Illness Week?

Do you have a blog? You may have one and not even realize it! if you are part of a social network like the Rest Ministries Sunroom, you have a blog feature.

Hundreds of people are joining our efforts to blog about either Invisible Illness Week or their invisible illness! If you don’t have a blog, just try to post something about it somewhere and it will help us out a lot. (MySpace, Facebook, any social network you are a part of.)

Whenever you post something it helps us increase our exposure and it’s because of you this week is going to be a success!

A lot of our bloggers have joined Bloggers Unite Invisible Illness Week to let us know when and where and what topic they have blogged about. We encourage you to join (it’s free, quick and easy) so that your blog will get the most readers!

If you have posted your thought somewhere, be sure to let us  know below too in the comments section! We’d love to come and visit your blog!

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How to Add Current and Future Invisible Illness Week Seminars to Your Web Site

It’s easy to add the widget of the Invisible Illness Week seminars from 2008, 2009 and . . . 2010 will automatically appears soon after they happen- to your own blog or web site.

Remember, this year, 2010, we will be doing just 1 seminar a day with guest panelists.

The “code” is below. Just copy it and paste it into a text widget. You can also find it at the web site. If the code below does not work there is specific code at Blog Talk Radio depending on what blogging software you use, etc.

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Do you want the code to feature a specific show on your blog or web site?

After the show is done recording, go to the archived shows for Invisible Illness Week, and go to the show you want. In the top right area is the Blog Talk Radio logo box with the show. To get that show only click on the little tiny button that says “Share” beside the envelope.

A box will open with “embed code” – the basic embed code will work on most sites, or you can choose the logo for other software you may be using. (If you are on Facebook, go ahead and click that logo now too, to share it on Facebook)

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Facebook Brings Those With Chronic Illness Together for Invisible Illness Week

One of the fastest growing ways for people to share the things they care about, including how health and illness issues impact their daily living, is through social media networks such as Facebook. Invisible Illness Week provides opportunities to connect with others to gain mutual support.

San Diego, CA — (SBWIRE) — 08/24/2010 –

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week is September 13-19, 2010 and so far thousands of participants are showing their support through the social network, Facebook, the second largest site on the internet according to Alexa.com.

Lisa Copen, founder of National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, which she established in 2002, says, “In 2009 our nonprofit organization included Facebook for the first time in our awareness campaign and the results had a significant impact we could not have imagined.”

Copen explains that when people who live with chronic invisible illness join an Invisible Illness Week group, a “Cause” or “Like” a page, it is a non-intrusive way of saying, “This is something that personally affects my life and that I care about.”

According to Copen, before social media, many people expressed that it was uncomfortable to email their friends or family illness-awareness related materials without creating feelings of being pushy or critical of their responses to illness. Now, by joining a cause on Facebook and inviting friends to join, it is much simpler to create awareness about daily life with invisible chronic pain.

It is particularly enlightening when someone with an illness invites friends to join the Invisible Illness Week Cause, and discovers how many friends are also suffering silently from conditions such as chronic migraines or fibromyalgia. “Sometimes those of us with illness forget that we may have loved ones who are also silently coping with invisible chronic conditions,” says Copen.

Approximately 7000 thousand people are a part of Invisible Illness Week’s presence on Facebook and Copen says she would love to see this number continue to grow. “We have some amazing articles, guest bloggers, and seminars that will help people know they are not alone in their pain and how to deal with the daily part of it even better.”

With nearly 1 in 2 Americans coping with a chronic condition, they are not alone, but the invisibility factor can make it feel that way.

To join one of Invisible Illness Week’s Facebook groups, causes or more see http://InvisibleIllnessOnFacebook.com.
Media Relations Contact

Lisa Copen
Coordinator
National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week
888-751-7378

http://www.invisibleillness.com

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Invisible Illness Week Online Virtual Conference Registration Now Open

You don’t even have to get out of bed for this virtual conference!

Will you be attending at least one Invisible Illness Awareness Week Workshop?

Here are the details about the seminars of Invisible Illness Week:

• This year, 2010, we will have one seminar each day, 90 minutes long, with guest experts on panels
• M-F, September 13-17
• They will be held online, for free
• 10:30 AM Pacific time, USA
• Go to www.blogtalkradio.com/invisibleillnessconf at the time of the conference and the program will play out of your computer speakers
• If you miss it you can listen to it later, and within a few days they are also imported into itunes if you listen to podcasts on an ipod.

Here is a time zone converter.

Register below. It’s free. We basically just need your name and email, but if you’d like to share anything with us (including a web site address if you blog about your illness), we’d love to get to know you better. Leave any comments in the “bio” section if you’d like.

If the form does not work for some reason, just email us “yes, I am coming/listening in!”

http://invisibleillness.eventbrite.com

Are on Facebook?

If so, be sure to RSVP there too . Why? It helps us spread the word by popping up the little Facebook ad in the right hand column. Plus, we have a better idea of how many listeners to expect.

Remember, you can listen to all of the programs from your computer. They will be broadcast via Blog Talk Radio. If for some reason you can’t get it working, within moments of the program being complete, you can listen to it archived at Blog Talk Radio and later on itunes.

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Share About Your Life with Illness With Our “30 Things…” Meme

Last year hundreds of people participated in our “30 Things” Meme. We’d love to hear from you again (even if you filled out the 30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know last year, you may have some new answers this year… it will be interesting to see which ones!).

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!

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You Can Make a Difference! Each One CAN Reach One!

Upload your own photos!

You can send them to us but it may take a few days for them to get uploaded. You can also do it yourself at Photobucket. You will need to create a free account first, if you don’t have one and then you can upload as many as you want. Our account is http://photobucket.com/invisibleillness . We’d love to see them!.

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New Symbol Needed For Invisible Disabilities?

The international symbol for disabilities is nearly always the wheelchair, but only a small percentage of people with a disability use a wheelchair on a daily basis.

Laura Brydges hopes to change this and has a Facebook page set up to spread the word.

She explains. . .

What do you think of this symbol as an international symbol for hidden disabilities? It is meant to be used as an ID card carried by people with hidden disabilities. They can show it to identify themselves and their needs when they are having trouble coping or when they need help. The back of the card would be individualized, allowing them to state their specific disability, and what assistance they need.

She says. . .

Help this symbol be adopted as the international symbol for hidden disability. Many people with hidden disabilities need help, and with this symbol, they can identify themselves and ask for help when they are having trouble coping. Join as a fan.

Find out more at her Facebook Page and show your support if you are interested by becoming a fan.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Thanks for a Wonderful Week!

Special thanks to all who participated this week! And guest what? If you didn’t, it’s A-okay, because all of the programs are archived and you can listen any time.  We will post links to specific programs over at our Rest Ministries site in coming week, but for now, just got to Blog Talk Radio at our Invisible Illness Week Account and you can choose from any of the programs this week or last year.

Here are a few quick things to know about!

Prizes

We will be randomly choosing prize winners and announcing them here on our web site next week. All you need to do to be eligible is to have posted somewhere. We’ll be choosing from people who registered over at Bloogers Unite, people who blogged about II Week, people who commented on blogs, people who Tweeted, Re-tweeted or posted on Facebook. People who join our Facebook Cause page or our Facebook Fan Page.

MP3 Players!

We have 3 to give away. Between now and Sunday night 9/20/09 at midnight, you can be eligible to win an MP3 player. One will be given away to a random person who:

• Makes any purchase at the Rest Ministries Bookstore, ChronicIllnessBooks.com
• Makes a donation (tax deductible!)
  
• Sign up to receive email updates from the Rest Ministries web site when we update it with articles, Q/A and more! (See Rest Ministries site here)

One winner will be drawn from each of these areas fora 2GB MP3 Player.

Blogs

Thank you to all of the people who have blogged about Invisible Illness Week. or done our meme. You have created an entire new level of awareness out there about invisible illnesses! Be sure to visit the sites of some bloggers here at our web site in the comments section and here at Bloggers Unite!

And don’t forget to read some of the blog posts of people who were Guest Bloggers here at our very own Invisible Illness Week web site.

Our Meme

It spread through Facebook, Twitter and more online thanks to your participation! Read people’s memes “30 Things You May Not Know About My Invisible Illness” here.

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Christian Illness Ministry Sponsors 5-Day Virtual Conference Online

SBWIRE – SEPT 14, 2009 / Nearly 1 in 2 people in the USA live with a chronic illness and about 96% of these illnesses are invisible.* Rest Ministries, Inc., the largest Christian organization that serves the chronically ill, and an affiliate of Joni Eareckson Tada’s International Disability Ministry, is encouraging those with illness, friends, family, caregivers, and churches to get involved in their annual outreach, National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, September 14-20, 2009.

In addition to churches having outreach events for those with chronic conditions, Rest Ministries organizes a 5-day free virtual conference with 20 seminars that can be attended via one’s computer and computer speakers. Seminars are on a variety of topics including marriage, parenting, starting a business, how to apply for disability and more—all when you live with a chronic illness. The seminars are held via Blog Talk Radio and listeners can call in through their phone line with questions.

Well known Christian authors who will be presenting include:

• Bill and Pam Farrel, best-selling authors; The Marriage Code (Harvest House, 2009)
• Naomi Kingery, author of Sugar Free Me (Xulon Press, 2008)
• Dena Dyer, author of Mothers of the Bible (Barbour Publishing, 2009)
• Georgia Shaffer, author of How Not to Date a Loser (Harvest House, 2008)
• Joanna Faillace, Certified Biblical Health Coach an author of Super-Naturally Healthy Families Cookbook Devotional
• Lisa Copen, author of Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend (Rest Publishers, 2008)
• Maureen Pratt, author of Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness (Galilee Trade, 2005)
• Jennifer Saake, author of Hannah’s Hope: Seeking God’s Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage and Adoption Loss (NavPress, 2005)
• Marcia Ramsland, author of Simplify Your Life (Thomas Nelson, 2004)
• Jolene Philo, author of A Different Dream for My Child (Discovery House Publishers 2009)

Lisa Copen, 40, founder of Rest Ministries says, “Many Christians may have a solid walk with the Lord, but the emotional rollercoaster of a chronic illness and its constant progression can leave them feeling alone and misunderstood. They are hanging on by a thread and being told they look fine and should just make themselves get up and go to church only adds to the isolation and bitterness of others ‘not getting it.’ The emotional scars can be harder to cope with than the actual illness.”

Copen, who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia since the age of twenty-four, ended up in the hospital for a week last fall fighting off the flesh eating bacteria in an ankle wound. We never know what the next day will hold,” she explains. “It is so important that there is good communication between those who are ill and their loved ones, as well as the church body.”

Did Copen’s circle of friends and church come through for her? “It was an enlightening experience,” she says. “Although I teach others to ask for help, I found out how difficult it is. And then when I did ask for help, I experienced what it is like when you fall through the cracks and everyone thinks someone else is providing both the practical support as well as emotional encouragement.”

Rest Ministries extends their outreach about invisible illness awareness to churches, providing materials to start up HopeKeepers groups, books, cards, tracts, etc. About 96% of those with illness may appear perfectly healthy on Sunday mornings, but may struggle to get out of bed the remainder of the week.

Ken Chambers, Director of Church Relations at Joni and Friends International Disability Center, says, “It is vital that Christians understand the emotional and spiritual trials of those with invisible disabilities, as well as those with visible disabilities. I encourage church leaders to take advantage of the wealth of resources at Rest Ministries and to participate in the National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, which they sponsor annually.”

One can get involved by joining the hundreds of bloggers who are writing about illness in the next few days, by joining the cause on Facebook, and most especially, by tuning in for the conference. All seminars will also be recorded and archived.

See www.invisibleillness.com for more information or www.restministries.org for the sponsor of this event, Rest Ministries.

*Source: Chronic Care in America, U.S. Census Bureau

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Chronically Ill Unite September 14 to Blog About Invisible Illness Issues

Patient bloggers band together to bring awareness to invisible illness issues from handicapped parking confrontations to why they hate hearing “You look so good!”

San Diego, CA — (SBWIRE) — 09/10/2009 — Who would guess that nearly half of the U.S. population lives with a chronic illness? But according to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation over 133 million people have an illness or condition, most of which are invisible, and many that cause daily pain. Illnesses can range from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy to diabetes, multiple sclerosis to fibromyalgia, or painful conditions like back pain and migraines.

With 75 percent of internet users using the internet for health information (Pew Internet Project, 8/08) and many of them seeking support, thousands of bloggers now post daily journals about the emotional challenges they face with daily chronic pain.

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, September 14-20, 2009, invites bloggers to have a significant role in their awareness campaign. For example, part of their outreach has been featuring guest bloggers on their own web site invisibleillnessweek.com , as well as inviting bloggers around the globe to commit to blogging about invisible illness issues. To help spread the word they have also create a meme, “30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know” that people have posted on Facebook, blogs and other social networks.

Lisa Copen, who founded National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week in 2002 says, “Though our illnesses and symptoms may vary, we still have a great deal in common. We can learn from one another about coping and finding the balance of taking care of ourselves yet living life to the fullest.” Copen says patient blogs aren’t depressing like healthy people may assume. “Illness bloggers don’t typically dwell on the logistics of symptoms, lab tests, or hospital stays. Instead, they write on everyday topics and how their illness impacts their families, finances, careers. They may discuss patient advocacy issues, but they also write about vacationing with an illness or dating when you have a chronic illness.”

Invisible Illness Week was recently the host of Grand Rounds, the largest medical blog carnival on the internet.

Over 300 people have officially committed to blogging for Invisible Illness Week so far and many are sharing on their Facebook notes page or other social network. Copen encourages those who do not have a blog to shares something about their illness with Facebook friends, a few Twitter posts, or even in the comments section of the http://invisibleillnessweek.com web site.

If you would like to join this unique opportunity to blog for awareness about invisible illnesses, see http://www.invisibleillnessweek.com for details. Invisible Illness Week’s highlight is a 5-day virtual conference with 20 speakers that can be heard online for free on a topics such as marriage with illness, applying for disability, setting boundaries, and when your child is ill.

Copen is also the founder of Rest Ministries which sponsors the event and http://IllnessTwitters.ning.com for anyone who “tweets” on health or medical conditions.

Media Relations Contact

Lisa Copen
National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week
858-486-4685

http://www.invisibleillnessweek.com

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