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by Katherine W.March 22, 2018

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Katherine set up The Reluctant Spoonie in 2017 as a resource for those newly diagnosed with a chronic condition. After developing POTS in 2015, Katherine struggled to find blog posts that accurately depicted what she was going through, so she decided to write her own. Starting out with an Instagram and being accepted as writer for The Mighty, Katherine found that she had a lot to say on the topic of living with a chronic illness which is when The Reluctant Spoonie was born. Katherine is passionate about raising awareness of chronic illness and improving the lives of those who live with chronic illnesses. Read her full POTS story here.

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YOGA FOR CHRONIC FATIGUE- AROGA YOGA REVIEW⁠ ⁠ I'm sure we've all been told to 'just try yoga at some point'. I've tried yoga for chronic pain and most recently I had the opportunity to review Aroga Yoga's Yoga for Chronic Fatigue- 7 Steps to Aid Recovery from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Kayla Kurin. This yoga book is different to most as it has been written by someone with a chronic illness. You can complete the practices at home with the aid of the book and free videos provided by Kayla. ⁠ ⁠ Check out my full blog post for more about Aroga Yoga and this book. Link in bio⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ --------------------⁠ Help me raise awareness of POTS and other chronic illnesses by visiting my Etsy shop or donating to my Ko-Fi today.⁠ --------------------⁠ #spoonie #spoonielife #chronicillnesswarrior #sicklife #chronicsick #youngandchronic #invisibleillness #pots #potssyndrome #chronicillnessblog #zebrastrong #spooniesunite #spooniechat ⁠ #sickbutinvisible #spoonieproblems #endowarrior #dysautonomiaawareness #migraine⁣⁠ #invisibleillness #autoimmunedisease #fibromyalgia #ehlersdanlossyndrome #butyoudontlooksick #chronicfatigue #yoga #arogayoga #disability #chronicillnesssucks #chronicillnesssupport #chronicillnessblog⁠

Reposted as it didn't crop how I wanted it. ------ Watch my awkward first youtube vid now where I'm chatting about chronic illness, how I wasn't able to read for a while and why I love watching youtube videos ✨ Let me know what sort of videos you would like me to make for my channel. I have a study vlog coming next month and I'm currently taking questions for a POTS Q + A video. I hope to upload a video once per month, but do find filming to be exhausting. Watch the full video on my youtube channel now (with captions). Link in bio. Do you have a youtube channel? Comment below so that I can check it out 👇🏻 #youtube #youtubechannel #youtubers #chronicillness #chronicpain #spoonie #invisibleillness #fibromyalgia #autoimmunedisease #spoonielife #anxiety #mentalhealth #chronicfatigue #butyoudontlooksick #chronicillnesswarrior #endometriosis #chronicpainwarrior #chronicallyill #potssyndrome #chronicillness #chronicpain #ehlersdanlossyndrome #fibromyalgia #invisibleillness #dysautonomia #pots #notalldisabilitiesarevisible #invisiblepain #chroniccommunity

Recycling is probably the first environmental thing that we were taught about in school with the mantra 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'. ⁠When you live with a chronic illness, it may be more difficult for you to make sustainable choices, but recycling items may be a good place to start. You may think that you already know everything about recycling, but with policy changes and differing council regulations, you may find that you actually don't 🤷 Even as an environmental professional, I have found that I haven't been recycling effectively, mainly due to moving locations frequently and not taking the time to learn a new recycling policy. ⁠ ⁠ In the UK, we are lucky enough to have curbside collection of our plastic, glass, cardboard and in some areas even food waste. However, different councils have different rules as to what recyclable items they will take which makes effective recycling somewhat of a minefield. ⁠Some councils will only take plastic bottles of a certain shape whereas others will take almost everything. This is why you should always check the recycling policy when you move to a new area. ⁠ ⁠ Not everything with the recyclable logo ♻️ will be accepted in the recycling bins. So, you may have unwittingly been putting things in the recycling bin that are not able to be recycled where you live. Another thing to consider is what your local authority actually does with your recyclable waste. Do they burn it? Do they ship it off elsewhere? Is it actually just going to landfill? Finding out may take some research and sleuthing on your part. ⁠ ⁠ How easy is it for you to recycle where you live?⁠ Have you found barriers to recycling due to your chronic illness/disability? ⁠ Find out more about recycling through the link in my bio⁠. ⁠ --------⁠ #recyling #recycle #recyclemore #plastics #environment #ecofriendly #zerowaste #lesswaste #plasticwaste #doyourbit #recyclables #recylingtips #lovetheplanet #reducewaste #lovetheplanet #sustainability #spoonie #chronicillness #sustainablespoonie #chronicillnesswarrior #climatechange

*Trigger warning* for my latest blog post as it discusses medical trauma and mental health. ⁠ ⁠ This post is a bit different from my usual posts, mainly because it's twice as long. I have bookmarked each section so that you can skip over the bits that you don't want to read. I am still healing from the medical trauma that I have experienced over the years and know that many people with POTS and other 'invisible illnesses' have experienced the same thing. ⁠ ⁠ I have chosen to share this part of my POTS story to give an honest view of how my illness has affected every aspect of my life and health. ⁠ ⁠ I hope that you will take the time to read it, but I understand if you don't want to. Link in bio to the full post. ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ --------------------⁠ Help me raise awareness of POTS and other chronic illnesses by visiting my Etsy shop or donating to my Ko-Fi today.⁠ --------------------⁠ #spoonie #spoonielife #chronicillnesswarrior #sicklife #chronicsick #youngandchronic #invisibleillness #pots #potssyndrome #chronicillnessblog #zebrastrong #spooniesunite #mentalhealth ⁠ #sickbutinvisible #spoonieproblems #endowarrior #dysautonomiaawareness #recovery⁣⁠ #invisibleillness #autoimmunedisease #fibromyalgia #ehlersdanlossyndrome #butyoudontlooksick #chronicfatigue #gastroparesis #selfcare #disability #chronicillnesssucks #chronicillnesssupport #chronicillnessblog⁠

Our featured Spoonie for January is @amyruthnorris⁠ ⁠ "Hello everyone! I’m Amy I’m 23 years old and I live in the UK. ⁠ ⁠ My story it’s super long so I will try to keep it short and sweet, when I got to 13 years old I noticed I started to become a lot more tired and at just 13 years old I was diagnosed with CFS, I wasn’t able to attend school much because I just couldn’t cope with really long hours, when I got to the age of just 17 years old I noticed my symptoms were totally different and getting so much worse, I kept fainting, feeling nauseous, dizzy all the time and my heart rate was always sky high! I was diagnosed with PoTS when I got to 18 years old, I was offered many medications but sadly I suffered so badly from side effects I couldn’t continue with the tablets, because my body doesn’t cope well with really strong medication and because that’s no cure and no quick fix for PoTS it’s left me stranded and dealing with the most horrific symptoms everyday but that’s just part and parcel of living with PoTS and CFS/M.E.⁠ ⁠ My everyday life is a constant fight just to get through the day but I will forever fight till a cure is found ❤️ ⁠ ⁠ But the one thing I am very proud of is sending my story into metro newspaper this year, all I ever wanted to come out of the article was to help as many people as possible, to spread the awareness of chronic illnesses, and to basically say you are not alone in this ❤️ living with a chronic illness can be very lonely so it’s always lovely to have just a little bit of extra support even if it’s just through a little message or a post ❤️⁠ ⁠ I’ve started many blogs to spread the awareness of chronic illnesses, I recently decided to make a Facebook page for anyone who is suffering with a long term chronic illness my page is called Amys Dysautonomia Diarys. My page is a special place for spreading awareness of all chronic illnesses, reaching out to many wonderful people and some extra support for anyone who is battling with a long term illness please visit and know you're always welcome! ❤️⁠ ⁠ So to all those amazing warriors out there, you are all truly inspiring and please know that you are loved more than you know! ❤️" ⁠ ⁠ ⁠

WHY I'M NOT MAKING ANY RESOLUTIONS THIS YEAR⁠ ⁠ The new year is often a time when people set themselves goals for the year. I have done this for the past few years, setting myself one personal and one professional goal that I wanted to achieve. However, this year, I am not setting myself any goals as I find that they do not bring me any joy or fulfilment once achieved. ⁠ ⁠ This year, I will be living in the moment and enjoying life as it happens. I hope to share the highs and lows with you on the way. Three things that I am looking forward to this year are 1) being a bridesmaid at my friend's wedding,⁠ 2) Attending my first graduation ceremony and 3) the long-awaited release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons (prepared to be spammed with cute content in March).⁠ ⁠ One thing that I do want to do this year is to meet the lovely @lifeofpippa in person after volunteering with her charity @spooniesurvivalkits for 4 years, it is high time that we get some nice tea and cake together ☕🍰 ⁠ Are you setting yourself any goals this year?⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ --------------------⁠ Help me raise awareness of POTS and other chronic illnesses by visiting my Etsy shop or donating to my Ko-Fi today.⁠ --------------------⁠ #spoonie #spoonielife #chronicillnesswarrior #sicklife #chronicsick #youngandchronic #invisibleillness #pots #potssyndrome #chronicillnessblog #newyear #spooniesunite #spooniechat ⁠ #sickbutinvisible #spoonieproblems #endowarrior #dysautonomiaawareness #newyeargoals #invisibleillness #autoimmunedisease #fibromyalgia #cosplay #butyoudontlooksick #chronicfatigue #pokémon #love #disability #chronicillnesssucks #chronicillnesssupport #chronicillnessblog⁠

There is just 1 week left to apply for my Social Media Assistant position. ⁠ ⁠ I have designed this role with a chronically ill person in mind. The time commitment is just 1 hour per week. This role is most suited to someone with an interest in chronic illness/ disability blogging who does not yet have their own blog. ⁠ ⁠ Please note, that this is a voluntary position, but you will get several things in return such as the experience of managing a social media account, a generous thank you gift when you move on to other projects and a reference/ recommendation from me for future jobs. ⁠ ⁠ See the link in my bio for the full advert and how to apply. #chronicillness #spoonielife #spooniechat #pots #spoonieblogger #spoonieblog #chronicsick #chronicillnesswarrior #bloggerlifestyle #spoonie #chronicallyill #chronicallyawesome #chronicfatigue #chronicillnesssupport

I've been busy working on a few new projects which will be launched later this year. The main one is my POTS ebook that I've been working on for the past few months (stay tuned for more info on that). ⁠ ⁠ Check out my latest blog post for 5 projects that I've been working on and how you can get involved. Link in bio. ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ --------------------⁠ Help me raise awareness of POTS and other chronic illnesses by visiting my Etsy shop or donating to my Ko-Fi today.⁠ --------------------⁠ #spoonie #spoonielife #chronicillnesswarrior #sicklife #chronicsick #youngandchronic #invisibleillness #pots #potssyndrome #chronicillnessblog #zebrastrong #spooniesunite #spooniechat ⁠ #sickbutinvisible #spoonieproblems #endowarrior #dysautonomiaawareness #migraine⁣⁠ #invisibleillness #autoimmunedisease #fibromyalgia #ehlersdanlossyndrome #butyoudontlooksick #chronicfatigue #gastroparesis #lyme #disability #chronicillnesssucks #chronicillnesssupport #chronicillnessblog⁠

Today, I will be following back everyone who follows me. If you are also open to doing a 'follow for follow' exchange, comment below with a heart ⁠ ⁠ Rules:⁠ 1. Spam account will not be followed⁠ 2. Do not follow to unfollow ⁠ 3. Spead kindness and like a photo of everyone you follow #follow #chronicillness #chronicsick #chronicillnesswarrior #followfriday #pots #spoonielife #spooniechat #spoonie #chronicillnesssupport #zebrastrong #chronicpain #chronicfatigue #followme #potsielife #sunflower #invisibleillness

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I do not have a medical degree and this blog is for your information only and outlines my own personal experiences living with a chronic illness. Your own experiences/ illness will be different to mine. Any radical lifestyle changes such as a new exercise programme or diet should be discussed with your doctor first.

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