What is Creaky Joints? 

The Global Healthy Living Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, based in Upper Nyack, New York, with the mission to improve the quality of life for people with chronic illness.

GHLF advocates for improved access to care at the community level, amplifying education and awareness efforts within its social media framework. Central to this advocacy are GHLF’s successes educating about the importance of diagnosis, early and innovative medical intervention, long-term lifestyle improvement with the goal of improved outcomes. Co-founded in 1999 by arthritis patient and advocate Seth Ginsberg (diagnosed with Spondyloarthropathy at age 13), and social entrepreneur Louis Tharp, GHLF includes disease-specific communities, the most visible being CreakyJoints, a network of more than 100,000 arthritis patients and caregivers in all 50 states, Western Europe, South America and Australia. Other disease areas of focus include psoriasis, chronic pain, cancer, and diabetes.

Learn more about Global Healthy Living Foundation here

Learn more about Creaky Joints here

Since 2019 I have been writing personal essays for Creaky Joints – this is my collection of writing I have either written myself or been apart of.

Chronic Illness

• When Rheumatoid Arthritis Made Things Feel Hopeless, Believing These 3 Principles Changed Everything
• How I Explain Rheumatoid Arthritis To Others Who Don’t Have it and Don’t Get It
• The 8 Main Reasons I Went on Disability for My Rheumatoid Arthritis
• What’s a Real Day in Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis? Here’s A Look at Mine
• What Does Rheumatoid Arthritis Really Feel Like? The 10 Descriptions You Won’t Read in an Office Pamphlet
• How I Explain Chronic Fatigue to Those Who Don’t Have It
• A Message for the Medication and Diet Shamers Out There (from Someone with Rheumatoid Arthritis Who Is on Biologics and Eats Healthy)
• The Letter I Wish I Sent Myself The Day I Was Diagnosed With Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Brain Fog: Why Don’t We Talk More About This Frustrating Symptom of Rheumatoid Arthritis?
• The Frustrations of Living with an Invisible Disability like Rheumatoid Arthritis
• How a Sneaky Copper Deficiency Landed Me in the ER
• How You Can Support Someone with a Chronic Illness (and Some Real Advice on How *Not* To)
• Your Period, Menstrual Cycle, and Inflammatory Arthritis Flares: What’s the Connection?

• Since Being Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I Always Feel Like I Have the Flu. Here’s What I’ve Learned About Malaise.

• Please Stop Telling Me I’m ‘Too Young’ to Have Arthritis

• What It’s Like to Have Both Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis at Age 35

• Sleep and Rheumatoid Arthritis Create a Vicious Cycle. Here’s How I Broke It and Finally Got Some Rest

• How I Handle Extreme Heat Waves Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

• How Rheumatoid Arthritis Changed My Relationship with Alcohol 

• What It Means to ‘Fiercely Fight’ Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Story Behind the New York Fashion Week T-Shirt I Helped Design

• Please Stop Saying That My Arthritis Diagnosis ‘Could Be Worse’

• Here’s How You Can Support Someone During a Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare

• The Number One Thing People Still Don’t Get About Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Patient Perspective: Notable Rheumatic Disease Studies at EULAR

• What The Heck is Arthritis

• 12 Reasons Other Than Seeking Attention Why I Post on Social Media About My Chronic illness

• 12 Painful Mistakes I Made at the Beginning of My Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis

• Top 10 Frustrations I Regularly Experience Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

• 20+ Terms That Explain Living with Arthritis

• When the Elephant in the (Rheum Exam) Room Is S-E-X

 

Parenting

• This Is How My Rheumatoid Arthritis Affects My 6 Year Old Son
• 12 Tips to Take the Guilt Out of Parenting with Chronic Illness (from a Single Mom with Rheumatoid Arthritis)

Covid-19

• Here’s What It’s Like to Be an Immunocompromised Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient in the Time of Coronavirus
• A Plea to the World from an Immunosuppressed Single Mom to Flatten the Coronavirus Curve
• Here’s How I’m Adjusting My Rheumatoid Arthritis Self-Care Routine for Coronavirus — and It’s Not Easy
• A Thank-You Letter to the True Heroes of the Coronavirus Pandemic, from a Worried Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient
• Parenting During Coronavirus Is Not Easy, Especially as an Immunosuppressed Single Mom
• The 9 Emotions I Keep Struggling with During the Coronavirus Pandemic (and How I’m Dealing)
• World Arthritis Day ‘COVID-19 Time Capsule’ with Eileen from Canada
• Social Distancing Since Before It Was Cool: What Others Can Learn from Our Chronic Illness Lifestyle
• The 13 Silver Linings I Found in the Coronavirus Pandemic as Someone with Chronic Illness
• Keeping My Son Home From School This Fall Is a No-Brainer Choice, Says One Mom with Chronic Illness — But It Still Breaks My Heart
• 6 Ways the Coronavirus Pandemic Affected Me as Someone with Chronic Illness (Despite Never Having COVID-19)
• Telehealth for Chronic Illness: The Pros, Cons, and Why It Needs to Stay an Option No Matter What

• I’m Immunocompromised Because of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Here’s How I Want Society to Move Forward from the Coronavirus Pandemic

 

Lifestyle

• Tattoos and Arthritis: Can You Safely Get Inked if You Have Arthritis?
• The Bizarre Emotions of Dating When You Are 33 and Have Rheumatoid Arthritis
• The Sneaky Perks To Dating Someone With Rheumatoid Arthritis
• I’m Turning 34 But My Rheumatoid Arthritis Makes Me Feel Like I’m 87
• This Is How Rheumatoid Arthritis Makes Me Feel Like I’m a Bad Friend
• Here’s Why I Stopped Making New Year’s Resolutions After Having Rheumatoid Arthritis
• The Good and Bad That Comes with Connecting with Other Arthritis Patients
• I Was Scared of Strength Training Because of My Rheumatoid Arthritis. Here’s How I Got Over It.
• I Am Not a Burden Because of My Chronic Illness (Even Though Dating Makes Me Feel Like I Am)

• 7 Ways My Rheumatoid Arthritis Changed My Personal Style and Look

• What I’ve Learned About Having Great Sex While Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Hiking with Rheumatoid Arthritis Is a Small Victory Over My Disease

• How I Make Mornings Just a Little Easier with My Rheumatoid Arthritis

• I Used to Be Afraid of Needles — Here’s How I Make My Rheumatoid Arthritis Infusion Day Easier

• The Best Gifts for Moms (or Anyone) With Arthritis

 

Mental Health

• The 11 Moods of Rheumatoid Arthritis and How I’ve Learned To Cope With Them
• Mourning Your Old Life After a Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis – And How to Move On
• ‘You Can’t Spell Gratitude Without RA’: One Patient’s Journey to Finally Accepting a Positive Outlook
• How I Finally Found Courage in My Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis
• Chronic Pain and Suicide: Signs You or a Loved One Needs Help, and How to Get It

• Arthritis ‘Flare Fear’: What I Do When Flare Anxiety Makes Me Feel Trapped

• Self-Love and Self-Care: What Chronic Illness Taught Me About Both

• Top 10 Frustrations I Regularly Experience Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Creaky Joints Canada

• I Have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Am Immunocompromised: Here’s Why I Decided to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine
• What I Learned About My Rheumatoid Arthritis By Using a Health Tracker to Participate in Research (and How You Can Too)
• How the Canadian Winter Affects My Rheumatoid Arthritis (and How I Deal with It)
• Canada’s Updated Movement Guidelines Acknowledge the Challenges I Face Being Active with Rheumatoid Arthritis – Creaky Joints Canada

• 10 Ways I’m Shining a Light on Arthritis Awareness Month and How You Can Too

• My Message to the Freedom Convoy as an Immunocompromised Canadian

• What the Canadian Family Physician Shortage Means to Me as Someone With Chronic Illness