Why Budgeting with Chronic Illness Matters Budgeting with chronic illness isn’t just about numbers, it’s financial planning that supports your health. I was 24, just moved out on my own, living in a 244-square-foot apartment with a shared bathroom. Rent was cheap and I looked the part but I felt free figuring life out. My…
I learned early how easily chronic pain and laziness get confused. In grade 12, my teacher Mrs Smith had a word with me after the last bell rang.While my classmates spilled out into the hall, buzzing about Friday night plans, I sat slumped in a hard wooden chair. Knees swollen, neck stiff, and my back…
At 7 p.m., I’m staring at a blinking cursor, my body screaming to stop, but fear of disappointing others keeps me typing. That’s what living with chronic pain often looks like: silence, not screams. For years, I thought boundaries were walls. Saying “no” felt like pushing people away. But over time, I learned the truth:…
When I wake up on flare days, disappointment hits first. I go through a quiet flurry of negotiations with myself:“Can I push through this pain today?”“Can I pull myself upright for one more meeting?” After 20 minutes of internal tug-of-war, I ask a better question:“What version of my routine do I need today?” Flare days…
When you’re 25, you think you have time. You think your body will bounce back, that working harder will eventually pay off, that one day you’ll arrive at a version of your life where everything feels stable. But chronic pain has its own timeline. It doesn’t care about your plans. I was 25 when I…
Most people think living with chronic pain is about endurance. For years, I thought so too. I woke up ready to fight my body, convinced that if I just pushed harder, I’d win. But pain isn’t an opponent. My body wasn’t the enemy, it was an exhausted ally. Dragged onto a battlefield I created by…
Most home office guides are about style. Mine is about survival. Living with chronic pain means every tool you use matters. The wrong chair can wreck your spine. Bad lighting can drain your focus. A too-firm mattress can ruin your next 24 hours. After 25 years with psoriatic arthritis, these are the remote work tools…
Living with a chronic illness doesn’t just change your health. It rewrites who you are. For me, psoriatic arthritis didn’t just mean pain. It meant losing the identity I’d built since I was a kid: athlete, competitor, future NHL player. This is my story of chronic illness and identity loss and how I started rebuilding…
Most home office guides are built for comfort. Mine was built for survival. When you live with chronic pain, an Instagram-worthy desk won’t cut it. I needed a remote work setup for chronic pain that could flex as fast as my symptoms, from spine-locking fatigue to nerve flare in my wrists. Remote work gave me…
This morning I woke up at a 7/10. My body begged me to stay in bed. But I’ve learned something in 25 years with psoriatic arthritis: if I don’t move now, I’ll pay double by noon. So I stretched, whispered “slower is smarter,” and started anyway. I don’t chase pain-free days anymore. I design my…