As someone with a chronic illness, you may call it quits for the day once you run out of spoons, even if you didn’t do all your tasks. Sometimes, knowing the amount of energy you have to complete daily activities can be tricky, which can lead to overexertion and flare-ups. You can improve your energy management by learning how to pace yourself.

With a rare disease, you and your loved ones may face a lot of worry and uncertainty about your condition. In addition, as someone with a rare disease, you may deal with challenges in sharing your health concerns with others. Given how many struggles you can face with a chronic illness, a few added layers exist with a rare disease. Here are seven ways to self-advocate for yourself as a rare disease warrior to celebrate Rare Disease Day.

If you’re living with a chronic illness, you may face some time management challenges. Chronic illness can bring many uncertainties that you won’t be able to prepare for. Fatigue, flare-ups, emergency surgeries just a few factors that can keep you from creating a set schedule. Use these tips to help you develop time management skills while living with a chronic illness.

Although your healthcare team is providing you with care and treatment for your diagnosis, do you feel like you have everything you need to manage your chronic illness? Unfortunately, healthcare biases can affect the quality of care for Black patients, thus leading them to not be well-informed about their health and may lead to unhealthy lifestyles. Patients of color need to have resources outside of the doctor’s office that can help them navigate living with a chronic illness. Here are six resources we compiled to help Black patients living with a chronic condition.

The hardships surrounding chronic illness not only affect you, but those around you. If you’re in a romantic relationship, chances are that your condition may be impacting your partner as well. If your partner is also your caregiver, they may be dealing with caregiver burnout, which can cause distance and communication issues in the relationship. With this in mind, it’s important to find ways to maintain a healthy relationship while dealing with a chronic illness.

One of the main causes of stress for people living with a chronic illness is their conditions' uncertainties. We don’t always know when we can have an awful flare-up or if our joints are too stiff to be physically active. With this in mind, having a structured routine may not be the best option for us. Creating a flexible routine can give us time to care for ourselves while also getting work done.

Health disparities significantly impact how health concerns are addressed among minorities. For African Americans, they have the highest rates of morbidity and mortality across many chronic diseases. Here’s a look at the most common health disparities among African Americans in the United States.

A common myth about the chronic condition of rheumatoid arthritis is that it’s an older person’s condition. Unfortunately, this misconception affects how younger patients navigate this chronic illness. Age-shaming from friends, family, and even healthcare providers can take a toll on your mental health and make you wonder if your chronic illness is real.

As a chronic illness patient, you’re probably juggling several healthcare providers. At one point or another, you’ve probably disagreed with what your doctor said about your health. However, as an advocate, you can respectfully decline their recommendations when you have concerns about your health. Here are five tips for what to do when you disagree with your doctor to ensure your voice is heard.

We want to highlight thyroid warriors and spread awareness about their invisible illnesses during Thyroid Awareness Month. With this in mind, we want to educate patients with thyroid diseases about potential health conditions they may encounter from this chronic condition.

Discussing health can be a sensitive subject for many people. For people with chronic illnesses, specific topics should be left off the table. Here are four questions to ask someone living with an invisible disease and four questions you should avoid asking.

To celebrate Thyroid Awareness Month, three thyroid advocates on social media are impacting the thyroid disease community!