Coping Tools

The American Art Therapy Association promotes using the creative process to enhance well-being, based on the belief that artistic self-expressioin helps people resolve problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and achieve insight.

AATA is largely aimed at professionals in the field, but any Babe who's feeling artsy can track down a local art therapist or see if there's an art therapy event planned in your area.

The American Self-Help Group Clearinghouse, hosted by Mental Help Net, provides visitors with a comprehensive guide to finding virtual and live support groups for a huge range of medical conditions.

Get help and support for the issues that matter to you most. Use their powerful search function to find a group or message board that fits what you're looking for.

Or, rather, to your e-mail inbox.

Subscribe to the free newsletters and surf over to Daily OM for your injection of inspiration with books, deep thoughts, and people to admire. Peruse archived articles about mental, emotional and physical well-being, or sign up for inspiring (and free!) daily e-mails. Take your shopping basket to the OM Marketplace, where you'll find CDs, yoga mats and more. Star-gazing babes can even check their daily horoscope.

If you're pooped, this is the forum for you.

Fighting Fatigue Forum is the place to chat about handling the exhaustion many of us live with as part of our chronic illness experience. Created by a Babe with chronic fatigue syndrome, it's a thriving community - and has a nice web site attached.

The FHC aims to connect people to others who deal with similar health conditions.

Join to be partnered with someone else who knows what you're going through. Both patients and caregivers can be matched with a support partner based on health problem, as well as age, hobbies and interests.

ChronicDude Rowe Jones offers support and encouragement to help others with chronic pain be their best in spite of it.

"The ability to overcome the adversity of chronic pain is a gift waiting to be discovered," says Happy with Pain founder Jones, who's lived with multiple neuralgias and permanent spinal injuries for 25 years. Let his encouraging words help you unwrap your own gift.

Supportive and motivational articles for people with chronic illness, along with info on specific conditions and health-related headlines.

HealingWell.com offers up health facts, true, but its real draw may be the feature articles on topics like kicking negative thoughts to the curb and the five magic words all ChronicBabes should use.

At HealthTalk, the "goal is to help patients with chronic illnesses improve their quality of life, stay informed and live with hope."

With focuses on nine chronic conditions, HealthTalk offers recorded programs you can play at your convenience. Any babe who'd like a more personal approach can just Ask the Doctor. Be sure to check out Editrix Jenni's November 1, 2006, HealthTalk Live webcast on "Holidays and the Chronically Ill."

The FMS Community has terrific resources for Babes in pain who still need to get housework and other chores done.

These tips on housework - managing tasks when you live with chronic pain - are fantastic, with advice on organizing, prioritizing, pacing yourself, delegation and more. Great advice for ALL Babes!

Then you're going to want to check out Just Got Diagnosed, the brainchild of Gary McClain, PhD.

Gary's site has some great resources for Babes who are new to the whole chronic illness thing, like Ten Steps to Becoming a Fighter and Some Tips for Gathering Information Online.

...Faith in yourself, that is!

Sickness, schmickness. Yes, your life has changed, but your outlook doesn't have to. We've been there, and so have these shiny, happy people with their generous tips for simplifying your day-to-day tasks.

These are the kind of ideas that you discover through juggling and or stumbling through a new reality, not through looking up answers in the Chronic Illness Guide 101. As you gain a new understanding of your own body and how to be good to yourself, send a shout-out to Coping Tips.

The Meditation Society of America presents discussions about and practical techniques for meditation from traditions all around the world.

The few paragraphs on "What Is Meditation?" will ease your way into the philosophy and practice. If that piques your interest, you may want to move on to Suggested Reading or ponder the Society's Words of Wisdom.

We're not talking a BOO-yeah type of coach tooting on a metallic whistle.

Rosalind Joffe, founder of CICoach.com, guides the chronically ill to more fulfilling lives as employed persons. After life with CI for over 30 years, she's on a mission to share her best practices for doing well at work and even has a free newsletter.

Rest Ministries/HopeKeepers is a Christian organization for those who live with chronic illness or pain.

The organization offers tons of online groups, chats, a great ezine, a printed magazine available for subscription, and over 300 HopeKeepers groups around the country. They also have those hard-to-find books on faith and illness issues like Why Can't I Make People Understand? or a devotional book, Mosaic Moments.

The Arthritis Foundation has a ton of helpful resources on accomplishing daily tasks even while living with pain and physical limitations.

These tips on pain-free grocery shopping include bringing gloves if you have Raynaud's and want something from the freezer case (Jenni the Editrix does this all the time!), taking breaks so you don't get worn down, accepting help from others and more. Great resources from the Arthritis Foundation!