Celeste Cooper interviewed by Cinda Crawford on the Health Matter’s Show. Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and other May awareness disorders:

Improving Perceptions, Using Anger to Your Advantage, and Managing Strategies for a Complete Life despite Pain and Other Life Altering Symptoms

Two Interviews PART ONE and PART TWO

Each interview is approximately 30 minutes.

 

Part One:

Part one of the interviews with Cinda Crawford, regards awareness and the importance of advocacy, including tips for how you can contribute your time, talent and treasures.

We cover important topics such as:

• What conditions are considered for MAY awareness?
• What is a neuro-endocrine-immune disorder/disease (NEI/NEID)?
• What overlapping conditions are also honored in May? You could be surprised.
• How you can participate
• Support for organizations and individuals

Learn about your kissing cousins, what others do for you and how to use your own time, talent and treasures to make a difference for everyone.

You will need to copy and paste the following link in its entirety into your web browser:

https://www.audioacrobat.com/playweb?audioid=Pb5dd383b9d44c671a7af979de4ae06cbZVl7RnxuY2dwUA&buffer=5&shape=6&fc=33CCCC&pc=CCFFFF&kc=20&bc=FFFFCC&brand=1&player=ap21

Part Two:

Chronic pain and illness can create feelings of frustration, fear, anger and helplessness. In part two of the interview we discuss ways to address these feelings and start a journey to make a difference in your own life.

There are four key elements to being whole and finding balance in our life. We talk about everything from sleep and diet to learning the value of emotional and spiritual awareness. The four elements for fullness and balance are:

• Physical
• Emotional
• Mental
• Spiritual

You will need to copy and paste the following link in its entirety into your web browser:

https://www.audioacrobat.com/playweb?audioid=P59f02ac9621a152c3b1ef08e3dbd36aeZVl7RnxuY2dwVw&buffer=5&shape=6&fc=33CCCC&pc=CCFFFF&kc=20&bc=FFFFCC&brand=1&player=ap21

 

Cinda Crawford is a health counselor and host of the Health Matters show, a mind-body healing author, ordained minister and creator of Sacred Celluar Healing.

Celeste Cooper is a retired RN, educator, fibromyalgia patient, and lead author of the Broken Body Wounded Spirit: Balancing the See Saw of Chronic Pain devotional series (coauthor, Jeff Miller PhD), and Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection (coauthor, Jeff Miller PhD), and contributing author to Deirdre Rawlings, Fibromyalgia Insider Secrets: 10 Top Experts.  

Celeste is also a fibromyalgia expert for Dr. Oz, et al., at Sharecare.com,  and she advocates for all chronic pain patients as a participant in the Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy (PainsProject.org). Her website is www.TheseThree.com

Looking Back and Planning Forward: Invisible pain and illness

Looking Back

First I look back. Since last May I have posted over 50 blogs from "Are Your Power Lines Down: Sensitivity of Neuro-Endocrine-Immune Disorders," (here),  "Is your butterfly dead: your thyroid and you?"(here),  and "100 MILLION Americans Suffer from Untreated Pain: Does your healthcare provider have the knowledge base required to treat you at all?" (here)  to "Fibromyalgianess is ALL in Our Head? My Correspondence with Dr Frederick Wolfe." (here). 

I answered  over 90 fibromyalgia questions as Sharecare expert, (here).  including a monumental question #300 “How do I handle other people's reactions to my fibromyalgia?”  (here).

I was privileged to have articles published such as, "How to Write an “I AM” Poem in the Fibromyalgia and ChronicPain Life  (a National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association magazine),  “New Canadian Guidelines for Treating Fibromyalgia,” published at the National Pain Report, (here),  and "Could Fibromyalgia Be Labeled as a Psychiatric Illness?" the National Pain Report, (here).

Recently I did two interview with Cinda Crawford on the Health Matters Show on fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, and awareness and advocacy for all comorbid disorders and how to identify helpful strategies for coping with pain and other symptoms. (here)

I have been blessed that others such as you have shared what I see as helpful information for educating ourselves on our illnesses.  And I recognize those who have been particularly helpful in my Facebook note: Standing on the shoulders of giants - Thank you for your support, (here). 

Looking forward

It will be interesting to see how far advocacy will take all of us in the chronic pain and invisible illness community. I hope you will join me in supporting organizations and individuals that share their own time, talent and treasures as we look forward to what the next twelve months will do to raise awareness for chronic pain and invisible illness. 

You can help by re-sharing information from organizations and independent bloggers that promote awareness and support. If others see us get excited, they may join in. We never know how far the sharing can go. In today’s social media the sky is literally the limit.

I hope you will use your talent by dropping names and standing together on important topics.

Research has come a very long way, but “miles to go before we sleep,” quite literally for many of us. I have been thrilled by some research and disappointed by others.

There has been a great deal of debate of the validity and ethical implications of the American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5 classification of somatic symptom disorder. Here is the hope, there are those in powerful positions who are working hard to try to see that the DSM-5 is completely eliminated from the World Health Organization ICD codes, which are used to help with diagnosis, tracking data, proposing research and much more. This is an important article I want to share with you. Huffington Post on Somatic Symptom Disorder, (here).

Personally, I have been struggling with how to conserve energy and still contribute effectively and efficiently. The conclusion is that my responsibilities as author and educator, volunteer work, being a guest blogger and publishing articles for raising awareness are of greatest priority. Therefore, on Facebook, I  am asking friends and others mutual goals to stay connected on my new page. (here)  I encourage you to also evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, we all have them, in an effort to re-prioritize..

Remember, we are never alone in our plight. If you feel isolated or are in despair, I sincerely hope you will pick up one of our books,  which you can access from the right side of this blog or visit my website http://TheseThree.com

I look forward to a fruitful year by continuing my advocacy work, collaborating, learning new ways to deal with my own personal struggles, and to use my energy wisely for education and review of the research. 

"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions 

on the next seven generations."

~Iroquois Maxim (circa 1700-1800)

In healing and hope, Celeste