Great post on one of my favorite bloggers, Pamela Slim / Escape from Cubicle Nation. 8 Strategies to get the most from painful or awkward life transitions . About to have her 3rd baby, she offers great ideas for going through those times when you’re experiencing change and it puts you off balance.

She even quotes from a favorite book of mine, Transitions: making sense of life’s changes , William Bridges. I frequently recommend it to clients. Neither Bridges nor Slim talk about or live with chronic illness (at least that I know of). But it doesn’t matter. We’re all going to face transition sooner or later in our lives, for one reason or another. Living with illness creates a state of constant transition. It’s usually not pleasant while you’re there. And, at some point you will move on. But, you have to allow yourself to be in that space of “off balance” so you can develop into the person you’re going to be. Rosalind

At 6:30am, I piled my body into my husband’s mini cooper to take him to work (my car was being fixed). I’d not driven it before and the big surprise came when I remembered why I no longer get a manual transmission car. Oh, that’s right. I have very numb feet and can’t feel aRead More

I’ve done it. I’ve carved a week for a vacation at our place in Gloucester, Massachusetts (home to 5 minutes of fame on YOU Tube for the St Peter’s Festival and the Greasy Pole). Nope, I didn’t see it but I did hear about it and all the locals love it because it brings inRead More

I’ve lived with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis since 1980. After having had difficult symptoms for two years, the diagnosis was a big relief, particularly since Iwas told that MS was the best news out of the different diseases that the doctors were thinking about. I think that was the first moment in my lifeRead More

I’ve been noticing how I no longer feel as “different”, now that I feel healthy so much of the time. I don’t think it’s just coincidence that I don’t feel as isolated when I’m not symptomatic. But this weekend, I was in my husband’s parents home and the air conditioning didn’t work well. Some roomsRead More

Louise, who was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 21, shared her journey with me. Her first doctor tended to minimize her suffering, telling her it wasn’t so bad. She thought he was nuts but didn’t speak up for herself. When her chiropractor referred her to an allergist a couple of years later she wasRead More

My husband, children and I are lucky that all of the grandparents, in their 80’s, are still alive. My parents have had severe chronic illnesses for the past 10 years, have witnessed the incessant loss of contemporaries, family and friends, and are now confronting their inability to take care of themselves. It’s painful and sadRead More

Today I’m feeling a little righteous. As a women who stayed engaged and in the workforce through the ups and downs of a chronic illness for over 14 years, and juggling everything else that comes with living life – including raising a child – I’m appalled to learn that my husband’s ex-wife is using herRead More