Careers for those with Fibromyalgia

Have you been denied of disability for one technical reason or another? You are not alone. Many people with this condition continue to go to work every day even though it makes them much sicker. Most people with this disease have to be able to have a lot of time off from work in order to keep their job due to constant flares.

First of all, a job that creates a lot of high-stress situations would not be good for a Fibromyalgia patient. Life, of course, always has its stresses that are unavoidable. Those aren't the ones I'm talking about. I'm just giving some advice to those of you who are thinking of taking on a position that will be accompanied by a lot of stress. Don't do it. It's hard enough for those of us with chronic pain to deal with stress to begin with. Try to find a job that is big on work-life balance. Ask around to see how people like working for the company before deciding to work there.

If you cannot be reliable enough for most employers that require physical attendance of their employees, you may want to consider remote positions. A lot of job sites highlight telecommuting as an option that you can check off in their advanced search options. You can also start working for yourself. Freelancing is very popular these days. The disadvantage to Americans, though, is that you are competing with people in 3rd world countries. The best freelancing area to be in is definitely writing. People that do not reside in the United States are going to have a harder time adapting to American readers. This is why many companies will pick an American writer over someone from another country because the quality is usually higher. One of the best sites for this is elance.com. There are several other sites you can get listed on and bid on projects. It would be wise of you to research certain terms like keywords, keyword density, and SEO before starting to bid on jobs. The best way to get definitions of words these days is to type in "define: 'the word'" and read all definitions. This will save you time. Dictionary.com is also a useful site for definitions. You can also become a freelance web designer. This takes talent and education, though. These two things take time to develop, so you might need to do some writing for a while first while you take continuing education courses related to web design and graphic design. Last of all, do not discount church groups when it comes to job networking. Let them know your skills and that you have to be able to work from home. You'd be surprised at the amount of small business owners that are ok with the idea of people working for them remotely.

Bible Verse of The Day:


“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” – Phil 4:19

We have to trust that God will meet our needs even though it is hard to see that happening in our current situation. Be resourceful and educate yourself about opportunities. Try to keep a level head throughout the job transition or search process. God will see you though.   

Multitasking and the Fibromyalgia Patient

I don't know about you guys, but I find it really difficult to multitask since I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I think this must go along with stress management because it has to do with managing your thoughts and not getting overwhelmed. There are products that help people like me and you. There are several books and full out programs to help us stop sweating the small stuff. I am thinking of trying a few of the programs out. I don't have much to lose, but a lot to gain.

Here is our bible verse of the day:

Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest. (Luke 12:25-26)

Isn't that so true? Worrying takes away time from our lives. We cannot get that time back that we spent stressing about something. God is stressing here that we should all just do the best we can. He is also saying for us to be humble and recognize that we cannot even add an hour to the day, which would be a small thing for God to do. Instead, God wants us to pray for his help in the matter, organize our thoughts and do the best we can. I know it sounds so easy, but stressing and worrying are hard habits to break. Just keep praying to Him and you will succeed.

Bible Passage of The Day:


Psalm 27:4-5
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock. (NIV)

Do you tend to seek God when you are dealing with the pain and trauma Fibromyalgia can cause? What about when you worry about money? I know I've done my fair share of that. If we trust God and truly seek him, we wouldn't worry about money, though. He will keep us safe if we just keep our eyes on Him. We get so used to feeling pain that we tend to look toward other things to help us feel better. I know I need to make it a point to pray any time I'm feeling weak or when I'm in pain. 

I sometimes listen online to this awesome preacher from Dallas, TX. His name is Tony Evans. One sermon I listened to was about how we can all be so stubborn in letting the spirit of Jesus Christ in our hearts. He was explaining how our souls are stubborn by nature because we have a sinful nature. We have to continuously keep ourselves in check by being in the Word and praying. 

You don't have to read to be in the Word, either. I know how reading a whole lot can tend to make me feel tired and/or give me headaches sometimes. You can always listen to sermons or listen to the bible online. There are several great pastors to listen to on this site and you can listen to different versions of the bible on the second site.

http://www.oneplace.com/

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/

I hope these links help you to stay in the Word! Blessings to all of you!

A Day at The Beach

After helping my hubby work on a huge project yesterday we had some much needed R&R this afternoon at the beach. It feels good to get out in the sun sometimes with Fibromyalgia. I feel like I can move around easier while in the water as well. Relaxation is so important for those of us that suffer chronic pain. Spending much needed time with our spouses is also important because many of us end up on different sleep schedules than them because we either sleep too much during the day one day or are going through one of the periods where we can't sleep at all. Oh, the roller coaster of fibromyalgia. My mother in law gave me some tea that has been helping me relax. It tastes a little weird but is fine if you add about a teaspoon of honey to it. It is called the dieter's tea? It is in a green box and says "Cali Girl Brand"...She said she got it at the dollar store. Go figure, it's cheap and it helps! You just have to know about it! This tea has helped me digest food better also. So many of us have problems with digestion. I kind of wonder if Fibro is caused by a virus that messes with our digestive system and in turn messes a lot of things up for us. I guess I'll have to wait a few years and continue reading about medical breakthroughs in it to find out...

Bible Verse of the Day:

Luke 4:38-39
Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. 


Don't ever forget to ask for God's help in dealing with this illness. Pray for a cure alongside me!

Meditation

Meditation can be great when it comes to helping us experience less harsh Fibromyalgia symptoms. Stress is a huge contributer to many diseases and illnesses, including FMS. God wants us to meditate in his presence. It is one of the things he wants us to do daily. I know that the day gets away from us sometimes or it seems difficult. Just try it by clicking a couple of the links I posted below. You can also meditate while enjoying soft music or during your quiet time.

Come away from the people. Be by yourselves and rest. -Mark 6:31 (NLV)

http://www.christian-meditation.com/onlineretreat.html

http://www.thechristianmeditator.com/ (scroll to the 7 minute free trial)

Enjoy these free minutes of peace and try to experience them regularly.