The chronic illness community deserves a better word than “FOMO,” the commonly used acronym which stands for Fear of Missing Out. This was determined by the wonderful Meggie (of @MeggieandMS) when I posted the above image on my Instagram story a couple of weeks ago. I was trying to make light of the fact that for the first time ever I was on a ski trip, yet there would be no skiing. At least not for me. This post was just one example of my efforts to convince myself that I was perfectly fine with spending most of the week alone while everyone else enjoyed a pastime in which I…

At just over a week into the new year, I’m perhaps a little late on this post. I mean, it’s already January 9th. Haven’t most resolutions been abandoned by now? If that is, in fact, the case, I’m right on time. Towards the end of December when all the “What are your resolutions?” questions were in full force, I made the careful decision not to get too wrapped up in it. Strict goal-setting doesn’t usually serve me well. I end up so laser-focused on the intention that I’ll maintain the behavior at my own detriment just for the sake of saying I did it. When I do decide to make a…

I recently embarked on the Medical Medium liver rescue cleanse in an attempt to treat my autoimmune disease, food allergies, and a laundry list of symptoms. When I first reviewed the nine-day map of what I was supposed to eat, how much of it, and when, it all seemed simple enough. The protocol wasn’t completely foreign to me, I’m no stranger to food restrictions, and nine days is nothing. I realized Thanksgiving was the day after I was scheduled to complete my liver detoxification, decided it was meant to be, and went all out. For the first five and a half days I closely followed the eating schedule. I referenced the…