Arthritis Benefits Everyone in this world has a tendency to focus on the negatives of life. I have done many posts and rants about the bad affects of JIA and this and that about what I deal with and depression and all that jazz, but I haven't said much about the good. You must think I'm crazy or bipolar. How could a girl who has had her life, her childhood, her we'll need ripped away from her find a upside to it after all her other rants? Well I have some positives of arthritis. First, those with arthritis have a tendency to age more gracefully. I have friends who are 17 and 18 like me who look 14 and 15. I have 20 year old friends and up being asked what year of high school they are in. This can be annoying at first, especially when you are trying to be an adult, but it will definitely come in handy later in life. We are far more sympathetic, nine times out of ten. We know what it's like to be sick, like really sick. And I personally pretty much grew up in hospitals, around all the kids with health problems like mine and worse. Some visible and some not. But I never saw the disability. I only saw a kid who wanted to play. I still do. I look at someone with leg braces or in a wheelchair, I don't see the problem. I just see a misunderstood person. It's our normal. We are not our disability. We have a tendency to work harder and be over achievers. We have to work harder to come off as normal. I know that I get home from school and crash on the couch for 3 or so hours and take a nap because dealing with school is too exhausting. I then have to work really hard later on to be a good student. We find the most efficient ways to work too. Thanks to this over achieving tendencies, it makes us good leaders. Most of us are type A personalities. We know how to get it done and are definitely not afraid of hard work to do anything. The arthritis shows us how strong we actually are. You never know how strong you are until being strong is all you have left to be Another flare Oops I did it again... but it's not good. I overdid it yet again and now I am in pain. My ankles want to scream if I put any weight on them, my knees aren't much better, and the stress is causing the rest of my body to go all out of wack. It is times like this where I need positive things to think about. Things such as how this is making me stronger. How I was given this problem because I can handle it, and another may not be able too. These thought help Le deal with flares and arthritis in general. When I flare, I get depressed. Not a normal depressed, but really bad. Because I know I will never be normal. Physical activity today means a week in bed recovering. So I repeat those positive things in my head until I believe them. My friend and I have a saying... I'm crazy because I'm depressed and I am depressed because I have arthritis. It really sucks, but it is the honest truth. There's nothing to be done about it. So why dwell on the bad things in life? I was given this because I am strong and resilient. I am a beautiful you g woman. So what if I'm never "normal"? I would love to live without this pain and swelling and inability to move. It would be great if I could keep up with my friends without worrying about repercussions. But I know I have the means to deal with it. And others may not. The arthritis sucks, there is no denying it. It makes you depressed and ruins your entire life. But it can be a blessing in disguise. back - (Page 4) - next