{"id":478,"date":"2013-02-12T20:24:55","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T20:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=478"},"modified":"2013-02-11T20:56:56","modified_gmt":"2013-02-11T20:56:56","slug":"chronic-illness-steering-the-type-a-in-all-of-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/02\/chronic-illness-steering-the-type-a-in-all-of-us.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Illness: Steering the ‘Type A’ in All of Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I’ve heard many lupus patients say, over the course of time in which I’ve spoken with patient groups, that many of us were and still are “Type A” personalities. The ones who did it all. The ones who would take the call to help – and pitch right in. The ones who seemed to have multi-tasking down to a science and an art. When lupus hit, those skills came in handy at first. There was juggling the new list of specialists, meds, and tests. There was trying to add the lupus lifestyle without sacrificing other activities or responsibilities. There was the initial energy from the relief of finally getting a diagnosis, finally knowing what was wrong and having a game plan – and so there was, at first, the ability to forge ahead still in “Type A” mode. I’ve been right there with you, as have, I know, not just lupus patients, but many people with chronic illness and pain.<\/p>\n

But now, with years of lupus under my belt,\u00a0 I recognize that the “Type A” tendency needs to be, well, steered more firmly than before. And, it’s quite a task, even on the best of days! That ol’ plate that used to be heaping with “to do” items has gotten smaller and, so, the number of tasks that can be on it at any given time.\u00a0 Recognizing fatigue and rationing energy are even more important, now, as is relaxing, truly relaxing (really tough sometimes…okay, frequently!). Faith becomes ever more important, too, as a way to calm the spirit and help discern exactly what to do with the precious few minutes or hours of strength in any given day.<\/p>\n

The most crucial thing I’ve found when it comes to not having as much ability to run blithely ahead throughout the day is that this reduction in energy does not mean I or you or anyone with lupus or another illness is a failure. It simply means our lives are different, now, and we can take who we are, all that we are, and fit quite nicely into the parameters of those new\u00a0lives.<\/p>\n

Trying to keep on the way life was before lupus or any other illness\u00a0is much like trying to jam a foot into a shoe that is way too small.\u00a0\u00a0Pain ensues. And disappointment. But in the right size shoe, ahh! Now, we can walk!<\/p>\n

Blesssings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve heard many lupus patients say, over the course of time in which I’ve spoken with patient groups, that many of us were and still are “Type A” personalities. The ones who did it all. The ones who would take the call to help – and pitch right in. The ones who seemed to have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,43,4,379],"tags":[409,412,413,411,45,18,414,410,381,332,408],"class_list":["post-478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-lupus-2","tag-achievments","tag-activities","tag-activity","tag-doers","tag-faith","tag-lupus","tag-moderation","tag-overachievers","tag-relaxation","tag-rest","tag-type-a"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Illness: Steering the 'Type A' in All of Us - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/02\/chronic-illness-steering-the-type-a-in-all-of-us.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Illness: Steering the 'Type A' in All of Us - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I’ve heard many lupus patients say, over the course of time in which I’ve spoken with patient groups, that many of us were and still are “Type A” personalities. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions\/481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}