Arthritis Humor and the Therapeutic Powers of Laughter and Social Media
Last week I started a GIF based Tumblr blog called “Arthritis Humor.“ My goal for this blog is to help patients with autoimmune arthritis (and other chronic illnesses) transcend their experiences via humor, and feel less alone by connecting to others through shared laughter. Why find the humor in arthritis? As a healthcare professional and patient, I will concede that there is nothing intrinsically funny about either category of arthritis: osteoarthritis (“wear and tear” arthritis, the kind associated with aging) or autoimmune arthritis forms such as rheumatoid arthritis (whereby one’s own immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of one’s joints and other body systems as well). However, as a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), I believe…
Why I Dance (with arthritis)
I created this video ostensibly for a Jazz Video Contest in 2010, but in reality the idea had been kicking around my head for a while and I just needed an excuse to get out and actually complete my vision 🙂 It pretty much speaks for itself, but I will add a few notes for context below: Video Objectives To show that everyone can enjoy the swing dancing community, regardless of what challenge they may have in their life. Many people in the Seattle dancing community had no idea I had Rheumatoid Arthritis, so I also wanted to communicate my health situation to them in a way that would make…