During this Self Care Week, I have been sharing some insights into self care when you have a long term condition from some friends who inspire me. We all have different conditions, but we also have a lot in common, I think most importantly, our determination to live as well as we can with our various conditions.
Thank you so much to my inspirational friends Karen, Louise, Stevie, Jen and Mia for sharing your stories and helping to raise awareness of what it is like to live with a long term condition.
If you’ve missed any of their stories, you can catch up via the links below:
Self care with friends who inspire me
- Part 1: Learning to live with Lupus (Karen)
- Part 2: How being in the moment with rugby helps with the pain of fibromyalgia (Louise)
- Part 3: Being independently supported to live well with type 1 diabetes (Stevie)
- Part 4: Opening jars, coping with pain and talking about arthritis (Jen)
- Part 5: Faith, hope and zebras (Mia)
Practical tips for self care
As we reach the end of Self Care Week 2021, I thought it might be helpful to share a few practical tips on self care for anyone with a long term condition…
- Find out if you are eligible for a flu jab and if you are, book it as soon as possible.
- Get your COVID-19 vaccination (and booster, if and when you are eligible) if you haven’t already.
- Always read the information leaflet before taking any new medication and if you have any queries, talk to your healthcare professional who prescribed it, or a pharmacist.
- If you pay for your prescriptions and need regular prescriptions, it might be worth getting a pre-payment certificate*. It has literally saved me a fortune over the years.
- Use the internet/social media with caution. Sadly there are fraudsters** out there who will prey on the vulnerable. Always use trusted websites for medical information (such as NHS websites or registered charities). There is lots of support out there from both professionals and others with long term conditions, just be cautious. And remember everyone is different, so don’t be alarmed by other people’s stories. Choose wisely and carefully who you interact with. Choose those who inspire you. And remember, you always have a choice.
*please note this applies in England.
**for information on reporting fraud, visit Action Fraud UK’s website.
Thank you…
Thank you to all of you for taking the time to read my blogs this Self Care Week. I am grateful for your support. As Stevie said “We can only self care well if there is kindness around us.” And throughout my Parkinson’s journey, I have been surrounded by kindness, so thank you!
More information about any of the conditions covered by my blogs this week is available from the following UK charities:
Information is also available on the nhs.uk website:
Living with Parkinson's 
Hi Angela Thank you for continuing to inspire and make me think and look for the positives . I wanted to share your self care week posts with my dad who has a few long term conditions but how do I do that please? Thanks again Helen
Sent from my iPhone
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