Living

I never was an early riser. As a teenager, I could easily sleep til noon on the weekends without concern that I was missing something and, more importantly, without being...

I was in a pretty dark place mentally just prior to my AS diagnosis. I was living in China and between jobs while I was dealing with some visa issues...

It's been a whirlwind of a year. It's February 2021, and goodness knows we've all been through a lot. For my family, we've had our fair share of stressors and...

Unlike many stories that I’ve read, I do not remember the day I was diagnosed. Not really. That period of my life was one big blur. I was stressed, studying...

Our identity is what makes each of us unique. Whether it’s our outward appearance, personality, or even our last names, one’s identity is what makes us who we are as...

Inspired by a post by The Unchargeables, an Instagram account dedicated to those of us with chronic illness, I was thinking about the feeling of overstimulation (or sensory overload) —...

I remember the first time I prayed in a long time; I was in my mid-20s and I was dealing with a year of uveitis flare-ups, I had been through...

When I first met my fiancé, I had already been in remission for seven years. I explained to him early on about my illness, how it affected my life, and...

In 2020, 787 people living with ankylosing spondylitis took our online Spondyloarthritis In America Survey. We also got information from people living with: Each year, we learn so much about...

Winter: a challenging season for so many of us with chronic conditions like AxSpA. The short days and cold temperatures are felt deep down in the bones and joints. This...

I feel like something a lot of us do is compare. We compare the things we used to do to the things we do now. We also compare what we...

We hear a lot of conversations around well-being and diet, especially so in the chronic illness community. We often are told that diet will be the cure for AxSpA (or...

Despite having lived with Keegan, my husband with AS, for over 8 years, I'm still learning a lot about how to communicate. I'm always one for checking in frequently throughout...

For years, my "good morning" attitude has been squashed by chronic illness. Enduring a restless night of pain associated with spondyloarthritis (SpA) makes it much more difficult for me to...

When I get dark, I get really dark — but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with confessing it. In fact, why keep it in — why let the engine...

Over the past few years, my mom has dealt with a few chronic health conditions (she's actually in the process of determining if she has a form of AxSpA herself)...

I never truly partook in self-care until I became sick. Now, it’s probably one of the most important things I do for myself. Since I’ve had AS, I’ve had to...

First of all, managing pain is different for everyone. During my journey, I quickly learned there is a lot of trial and error when it comes to pain management. What...

Everybody has experienced the toll a chronic illness can have on your mental health in one way or another. Being in constant pain, not being able to do the things...

In 2015, after 3 years of back pain and medical procedures, I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. What a shock this was, and at the same time a relief, to...