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Feedspot Top Blog: No 6 of 70 Pain Management Blogs and Websites
I'm a top blogger in this day and age of youthful influencers! And I'm also really proud to be a representative of the lived experience among a stream of companies and services listed on FeedSpot's 70 Best Pain Management Blogs and Websites. And, I'm the only Australian-listed blog in the top 40. Rated number six and facing the world with a profile image among business logos, I feel quite chuffed about this achievement.
Own Your Health Data
Self-management is hard, chronic illness is overwhelming. Chronic illness robs you of your independence and control, leaving you feeling defeated and mentally and physically drained. Add to the endless appointments required; now, we also have to be considerate of healthcare systems under pressure. Guess who gets the short end of the stick? We pay with our lives. Perhaps healthcare systems were destined to burst their stitches because healthCARE was never built to care for people; it was made to keep people relying on it. That's not care. Can taking more ownership of our health make a difference?
Here and There, art exhibition at Queenscliff Gallery
Here and There exhibition: paintings, drawings and etchings of Venice by me at Queenscliff Gallery. It's thrilling to be writing this post. To my friends and followers further afield than Melbourne, I will have a virtual tour of the exhibition published on the Queenscliff Gallery (QG) website where you can view the works forming the exhibition and some of my other available artworks. Here and There is a culmination of my recent trip to Venice... to date!
Soula Mantalvanos in Times News Group’s Women in Business International Women’s Day 2023 Edition
(Image: Soula Mantalvanos, founder My Health Story features in Women in Business, Bellarine Times International Women’s Day special edition 2023) Feature, Women in Business, Bellarine Times International Women’s Day 2023 edition. Soula Mantalvanos is an entrepreneur who has dedicated herself to making a difference for people living with chronic illness. This mission stems from her experience after an injury in 2007. Despite visiting multiple health professionals, Soula was misdiagnosed for 4.5 years and left with chronic pain. This personal experience inspired her to create a solution for others facing similar challenges. With her company, [...]
Introducing Nerita Lewis, Founder of Jaspen, a new social platform
In 2011 when I built pudendalnerve.com.au, the internet was starved of helpful communities and resources. It was the very reason my advocacy began. I didn't want anyone to be as lost as I was on my search for important health information. There were few online portals where people could connect, and the only health information available was through science journals – no individual could understand them! Health orgs that did have a web presence seemed not to have a dialogue with the consumers they claimed to exist for. Thank goodness that's changing, but we still have a way to go as the usual questions remain; What is chronic pain? How can we manage chronic pain and its symptoms and effects? What are the best treatments, and why is there such a lack of understanding? etc This is where Nerita Lewis comes in with her idea to democratise healthcare with Jaspen.
Soula’s Coconutty Granola
I am skipping more breakfasts; my body manages far better (cutting out goat's feta on the seedy cracker). The less work my body does in the morning, the happier it seems. No pressure! An empty belly is no pressure on the gut. Feeling hungry does not cause pressure and is easier to deal with than the pain effects. I treat myself a couple of times a week to a croissant. On those days, I avoid carbs for the rest of that day. Carbs have to be in very little moderation for me. So finding a non-carb lunch is important, and it had to be easy to put together. Cereal! Well, most cereals have loads of carbs. Granola! A great idea; make a batch and just add fruit. But wait! Most granola mixes have heaps of sugar (and pepitas, which I am allergic to).