 Happy Monday y'all! As we all know Fibromyalgia is a widespread chronic illness (extreme pain) that affects your whole body. There are many symptoms that vary from patient to patient. According to The Mayo Clinic, “Fibromyalgia pain is not the same in everyone with this disorder. Some people may have extreme skin sensitivity to gentle pressure. Some may have tender finger joints without redness or swelling. Others may have significant tenderness of the muscles of the upper back and neck.” Have you ever wondered what is the latest news between Fibromyalgia and the autoimmune system? When I was in school, I was taught to question a dot com site. Upon reflection, these health sites do seem legit.
What is Health Literacy Month? “Studies consistently show that a significant number of people have problems reading, understanding, and acting on health information. This impacts personal health and healthcare resources. Personal health literacy is when individuals have the ability to find and understand and use information and services for health-related decisions for themselves and others.” During the entire month of October, this organization will work together to “shift from health literacy awareness to health literacy action by building a world where all individuals have access to quality health outcomes” (Health Literacy Month). While there may be websites who are not always going to agree with a theory. It is reassuring to know there’s an organization who is working to spread literature we all can understand. What were you most interested to find out in the blog? I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next time! Rachel References:
Would you like to read more blogs like this one?
2 Comments
 Happy Monday y’all!
The Fall time is one of my most favorite times of the year because of the flavors, and smells that come out of the kitchen. October 16th is World Food Day. In honor of this day, thought I would share a recipe from one of our cookbooks. The apple crostata combines two of my loves, the apple and Italian food. A crostata is an Italian baked tart, or pie also known as coppi in Naples. A crostata is a "rustic free-form version of an open fruit tart" that may also be baked in a pie plate. Historically, it also referred to an "open-faced sandwich or canapé" because of its crusted appearance, or a chewet, a type of meat pie. To get everyone in the holiday spirit, I am sharing this recipe for Apple Crostata. I am referencing The Ultimate Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Justin Warner (photograph by Robert Bredvad). I have tried this dessert before, and it is wonderful! I hope you will think so too! Ingredients: Juice of ¼ lemon 4 medium crisp apples, such as Fuji, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced ½ cup granulated sugar ¼ cup packed light brown sugar 2 tablespoons instant flour 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 (9-inch) store bought and refrigerated rolled out piecrust Cooking Spray
Let me know in the comments below what you think about the dessert, if you make it, and what you thought about it! However you decide to celebrate with food this week, make it the best week ever! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Till next time! Be well! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next time! Rachel  The Dark Traveler Tell me dark traveler, Why do you come back every day? Haven’t you noticed a change? Just wait, one day I’ll refuse to fade away. Tell me dark traveler, Since you’ve taken over, it’s my life I’ve had to rearrange. At times, there’s nothing left to say. It doesn’t do any good to shout. Tell me dark traveler, Most days I think you a practical joker. Then my most uninvited guest, you shouldn’t hang about. Hurry! Here’s your coat and hat! Tell me dark traveler What will you do, when I am good and through with you? Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next time! ~Rachel  Happy Monday y’all! When you are a visual artist, it’s pertinent to constantly observe the world around you. As a character developer, combining imagination with real life is one of my favorite things to do. If you were to create a character with Fibromyalgia, what would it look like? While you are pondering that, were you aware there’s a yearly awareness day celebrating a festival called The Big Draw? You can check out all exciting details here: About The Big Draw Festival. The symptoms of Fibro are listed in this article from the CDC: Fibromyalgia - What is Fibromyalgia? While these characteristics are notable, your characters’ personality is extremely important when you’re sketching out ideas. Many Fibro articles don’t mention the compassionate, friendly, and understanding traits purple butterflies can possess. Believing your creation is a real person, while keeping them relatable to the audience is your main objective. For instance, the main character in the book I am writing suffers from Fibromyalgia. Choosing the right colors for your character is vital. A group of people could look at the same color and each person will react differently to it. Reds are typically used to express pain, whereas I turn to the ‘cool colors’ like blues and purples. Originality is the key! One negative about writing and illustrating at the same time is that it’s taking longer than I anticipated. I remind myself that good books weren’t overnight! Do you think you’ll enter the contest? Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next time! Rachel  Happy Monday y'all! Depression is an awful feeling that is something that can hit any of us at any time. You feel very low and are in a dark, possibly suicidal place. When I've been depressed, I feel it can be worse for me personally. Please let me explain my reason for saying this. If you have daily chronic pain, that is hard enough. However, if you had depression into that mix, it can be unbearable. Please do not ever dismiss your feelings! I would encourage everyone to read this article I found on the 9 Types of Depression and How to Recognize Them. I’m not going to pretend I was depressed for a short amount of time. I have been depressed off and on throughout my twenties. It was mostly career related. I tried different medications to help me, but nothing helped me. Have I ever had suicidal thoughts? Yes, I have had moments where I have been suicidal. The first time was when I was younger. I was fine for a while until they discovered I had Fibro. I’ll admit I’ve had a few suicidal thoughts since my diagnosis. I was so exhausted, frustrated and wanted the pain to end. I didn’t know what to do. I realized that I was feeling this way and it scared me. So, I began to pray about it. I talked to my new doctor. She placed me on another antidepressant. Since all that, I feel I’m able to handle my depression better than I used too. It is comforting to know for those times I get extremely depressed, from my pain that I am not alone. I know I am preaching to the choir, as many purple butterflies go through the same thing daily. My mind wants to have a good time, alas my body won't have any part of it. I am very fortunate to have an awesome support system. They lift me up when I need it the most. Do you have anyone you can talk to if you need to? Do you have anyone you can talk to if you need to? How do you handle your depression? I understand this is a sensitive subject. If you’d like to respond, leave a comment below. As always, I pray everyone is staying safe! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next week! Be well! Rachel  Happy Monday y’all! We will all encounter things in our lives that are not always within our control. It's a fact of life that you can either run from it or do something about it. It took a long time, but I have found my way to cope when such occurrences happen. Coping could be something simple: comfort food, your favorite blanket, or finding it in laughter. The problem back I had in the past was I had difficulties laughing at my situation. I'm not exactly sure what changed. I just got tired of the depression. One day I began started laughing at the humorous side of what I was going through. I recall the expressions of my family and friends when this occurred. They were momentarily confused, but it didn't take them long to see my point of view. I can tell you with the utmost certainty that they are relieved I am laughing instead of crying. You see, it really all began after I learned I would be needing to have a Cholecystectomy in 2019. Then the intensity of my back pain of my back pain became so unbearable, that I elected to have my neurostimulation surgery. As most of you are aware, I was not able to have my surgery for an entire year. It was at that time my body decided, Rachel’s not busy! Let’s give her something to do! This was when I had my appendicitis adventures! I’m leaving you this week with some beautiful quotes from the ones and only Robin Williams. How do you cope with things? Let me know in the comments down below. Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next time! Be well! Rachel     |
About the author:Rachel Barclift, has been suffering from Fibromyalgia for many years. She went to the doctor, never finding any answers for years. She went to one doctor who told her the pain was all in her head. In 2011, she finally found a doctor that believed her! She was officially diagnosed by her rheumatologist and she was so relieved! She writes blogs in hopes to help others find positivity. |