Selena Gomez "comes out" as a lupus patient

Lupus is still a fairly misunderstood illness. I still get strange questions about it, years after I was first diagnosed. Of course, I have to remember that when i was diagnosed, i'd never even heard the word "lupus" myself.

When a celebrity opens up about having an illness, it can potentially help bring more awareness and even more compassion to the illness, and more importantly, better understanding.

"Coming out" as a celebrity with a chronic illness is risky. There's the fear that people won't want to hire you for shows/ movies anymore because you might cancel the show/ perform poorly because you're sick. Decades ago, when celebrities developed cancer, they were completely hush-hush about it. They would find a doctor who would treat them in a remote place, under complete secrecy, and neither the doctor nor the celebrity would ever speak of it. Show biz is, indeed, a competitive business. No one wanted to jeopardize their career by admitting to not being in perfect health and able to work at the drop of a hat.

Speaking of hats, hats off to Selenaa Gomez, for talking openly about her recent diagnosis of lupus.
http://tinyurl.com/pwwrfv7

The Spoon Theory

One of the many frustrating things about having lupus, or any chronic illness, is trying to communicate to others what you're going through. When the disease is active, we often look better than we feel (thank heavens! it's one thing to look like crap, but who wants to also look like crap?), and some days we actually feel better than others. But the fact is, if you're struggling with an active chronic illness, life is different after diagnosis, and it can be hard to clearly explain your situation to "earth people."

If any of you have not seen or read or heard The Spoon Theory, you're in for a treat. This is blogger/ sepaker/ patient advocate Christine Miserandino's account of finally being able to explain to her best friend what it was like to manage very limited energy. The spoon theory is widely popular among those with chronic illness, because it seems to finally put into words what all of us at some point have struggled to communicate. Here it is being read by Christine herself:




I couldn't agree more with this: it can be a gift to have something in your life that forces your to live more deliberately. Thanks to Christine for this great explanation- a leap forward in communicating from both sides with empathy, compassion, and greater understanding.


Carla Ulbrich, The Singing Patient and Health Coach

http://tinyurl.com/348hroc - Carla's book

www.singingpatientwellness.com - health coaching- visit this site to get a free e book on nutrition! 

www.thesingingpatient.com tour dates, videos, CDs, books

www.youtube.com/user/carlaulbrich- funny medical songs