There's a reason I see that darn Phil Mickelson ad for Enbrel everywhere I go when I'm browsing. That one and Lumosity are dogging my virtual footsteps at website after website. I know where they come from of course. Over the years I have dropped many fragments of information about myself on electronic media. Some were freely given and some were not.
freakingnews.com
And all of those bits of information have made me a target for those who advertise and profile. It's obvious from my browsing habits that I have an interest in diseases where high priced biologics are used so that accounts for Phil and the Enbrel. And advertisers are also assuming I may be starting to worry about my cognitive abilities as well.
In the middle of a tweetchat recently I suddenly became more conscious of this situation and interpreted the feeling by thinking of Hansel and Gretel dropping breadcrumbs going through the woods. When I said this others in the chat agreed, with J. Shore saying he feels like that "Only on days that end in y".
We're all out there leaving information where it can easily be found by others and making our individual trails. Dr. Ann Becker-Schutte, a psychologist from Kansas City, gave me a different perspective in the #EOL chat when she said "But you are helping more people than yourselves find the way home."
That is a motivating factor for many people posting in online blogs and commenting about their experiences. They are trying to use their experiences to inform and help others who have an interest in similar topics. People faced with a new health experience in particular are likely to find the experiences of others to be helpful.
For years I have been reading health related blogs written by both patients and a variety of health care professionals. They have been touching, informative, educational and all have contributed to making me healthier. I think people interested in health form one of the strongest social media communities. When you look at the #rheum, #hcsm and #hcsmca on Twitter you find links to more resources than you will have time to digest.
So pick your favourites and dive in.
This used to be a free game that made me question my cognitive ability. I never Beat the Chimp but it's good for your brain to try some of these games.
What do you think the best health strategy would be? A bowl of fruit daily, a blog post at regular intervals or a multivitamin?
Some may say that's like comparing apples and computers.
Fruit courtesy of DH
From what I have been reading you are well advised to turn on the computer and start blogging if you are looking for a novel yet accepted method of dealing with chronic disease.
Creative outlets are distracting in a good way. When you are creating something it is a huge distraction from pain or unpleasant circumstances. That's why we see people with hand problems adapting in many ways to keep from losing their creative outlets.
garlic clove
cactus & mutant bunny all knitted by Cat Beattie
The act of writing a blog is a creative work also. I read at The Seated View last week that Lene researched writing before she started her book and found two things essential to success as a writer. It was the second essential where she cited Dorothy Parker and Stephen King that made me remember her post and look back as I was struggling with this one. To see the essentials have a look at her post here.
One thing I have always appreciated in Stephen King is his ability to use details of music, books and surroundings to set his work in a specific time or place. This is a quality you find in many blogs of all types, not just health blogs. Here's my idea of a shelf of interesting books. You can see why advice from King might resonate with me.
I was advised to keep a journal as a method of improving my health in a self management course and was very skeptical of the value. Now I am coming to realize that a blog is a lot like journaling and I can see benefits to continuing to do this.
This is a quote from the Health Mentor program that I mentioned in this post. "Personal
reflection has long been recognized as an important learning tool,
where new ideas and concepts can become integrated into future
critical thinking and practice." It is a learning tool for others as well as for the blogger, so blogging makes you feel good about sharing hard learned information.
Rosetta Stone
If you are a person who likes to help others or is accustomed to being in what I think of as a "helper profession" it can be very satisfying to share your knowledge. Julia's past career as a nurse helps her to do a great job now at Reasonably Well in sharing information about Sjogren's Syndrome and other "fun" issues like bursitis. She's the only person I know who ever made cookies for her infusion nurses - Mousie cookies.
Julia's mousie cookies
And here are some conclusions of a paper by Pamela Ressler, Y. Bradshaw, K. Kwan and Lisa Gualtieri. The data was gathered by online questionnaire and they say it warrants further study but it makes sense to me.
Communicating the Experience of Chronic Pain and Illness Through Blogging
"Results suggest that blogging about chronic pain and illness may decrease a sense of isolation through the establishment of online connections with others and increases a sense of purpose to help others in similar situations.
Respondents reported that initiating and maintaining an illness blog resulted in increased connection with others, decreased isolation, and provided an opportunity to tell their illness story. Blogging promoted accountability (to self and others) and created opportunities for making meaning and gaining insights from the experience of illness, which nurtured a sense of purpose and furthered their understanding of their illness."
