Arthritis LIFE

Home
United States
Seattle, WA
Arthritis LIFE

Learn to THRIVE with arthritis through courses, support groups, podcasts & more! Led by Cheryl Crow
(1)

01/21/2026

💁🏻‍♀️I love this arthritis friendly hair straightening brush!

✅You can see a link to this and all my favorite arthritis friendly gadgets by commenting GADGET below!

❓Do you have a favorite arthritis friendly hair tip or gadget? Let me know in the comments!👇

01/20/2026

🌟Instead of a “best of” clips episode, I sat down for a solo reflection to celebrate this milestone and distill the most important lessons that kept resurfacing across nearly 200 conversations.

✅When I stepped back and looked at the big picture, nine clear themes emerged.

💜What made this especially powerful for me is that these themes didn’t come from a single voice. They emerged from hundreds of conversations with people living with inflammatory arthritis, along with clinicians, researchers, and advocates who care deeply about this community.

🙌 Whether you’re newly diagnosed, a few years in and exhausted, or quietly wondering “Is it normal to feel this way?” - I hope this episode helps you feel a little less alone.

🎙You can listen to Episode 200 now on your favorite podcast player, watch the video on YouTube, or go to the Arthritis Life Podcast for a full transcript, https://www.arthritis.theenthusiasticlife.com.

01/19/2026

❓Have you been feeling lost or alone in navigating your chronic illness?

💪Rheum to THRIVE can empower you and give you tools to adjust to your new normal with confidence and clarity.

💜As Rheum to THRIVE member, Helen, says, it’s a “safe space” designed to create community along with education and support.

✅ If you need some guidance on how to navigate your diagnosis, Rheum to THRIVE is for you! New cohorts are starting soon!

👇Comment THRIVE below for more information.

01/16/2026

That feeling when you:

1. Let go of social pressure to manage your disease a certain way 🙌

2. Reject internalized ableism and love yourself WITH chronic illness ✅

3. Finally have a roadmap and step by step guide for managing RA 🗺️

4. Know you're not alone 💜

Which one is your favorite?

Comment GUIDE below, and I'll send you information about the roadmap to help you manage your arthritis!

01/15/2026

Episode 200 🧡

I’m taking a moment to look back on 200 conversations from the Arthritis Life Podcast and distill the biggest lessons they’ve taught me about living well with arthritis.

From uncertainty and medication decisions to community, self-compassion, and redefining “normal,” this episode is a reminder that you’re not alone and that thriving can look many different ways.

To get the link to this episode, comment ARTHRITISLIFE.

01/14/2026

🔥Chronic illness memes: Heated Rivalry edition!

Which ones do you relate to?

Do you also use memes or humor to cope? Let me know in the comments!

01/13/2026

🎙️Throwback to Episode 47 of the Arthritis Life Podcast where fellow occupational therapist, Lindsay Delong, and I share ALL our tips for making an arthritis friendly home!

✅ Let me know if you want the link to my favorite products by commenting FAVE below. 👇

👂 Listen to this episode on your favorite podcast player, watch the full video on YouTube, or go to the Arthritis Life Website for a full transcript, https://www.arthritis.theenthusiasticlife.com.

01/12/2026

❓Have you heard this myth about ankylosing spondyloarthritis? Any others?

✅ Join Cheryl, Eileen, and Dr. Liew as they bust myths about this topic!

👇Comment BUSTED below, and I'll send you the link to the full episode.

🎤 You can listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast player, watch the video on YouTube, or go to The Arthritis Life Website for a full transcript, https://arthritis.theenthusiasticlife.com.

01/09/2026

When you live with chronic illness, it’s easy to believe that the only kind of hope worth having is hope that things will get better.

After living with rheumatoid arthritis for over 20 years. and working as an occupational therapist for over a decade, I’ve come to embrace a different kind of hope:

🌟 Hope that even if my RA flares up and down over time, I can keep getting better at living a full, meaningful, beautiful life alongside it.

I’ll be honest: this kind of hope isn’t as immediately comforting as “everything will improve.”

But a quote from writer Tom Robbins has stuck with me:
🔥 “That which you hold, holds you.”

The more tightly we cling to the belief that our health must improve before life can feel good, the more trapped we become by that expectation…and the more painful it is when chronic illness inevitably shows up again.

Here’s what I won’t promise you:
❌ That your condition will definitely get better
❌ That doing all the “right things” guarantees control
❌ That everything will turn out exactly “OK” (as you defined it pre-illness)

Because the future is unknowable, and some parts of health will inevitably be out of our control.

But here’s what I can say with confidence is: ❤️

✔ You can get better at living fully with your condition
✔ You can learn to focus your energy on what is within your control
✔ You can get better at weathering flares, minimizing symptoms and savoring the calm moments
✔ You can learn how to be “OK with not being OK”

This is the kind of hope I teach inside Rheum to THRIVE, my comprehensive self-management program for people living with RA and other similar rheumatic diseases.

🌟 It includes practical tools and an optional live, virtual support group, because learning alongside people who “get it” often makes the process of adjusting to your new normal so much smoother.

Learn more here: https://arthritislifeschool.thinkific.com/

❤️And please remember, you are not alone.

❤❤

01/05/2026

✨ From frustration to inspiration ✨

🙌 If you've been feeling frustrated with your diagnosis or even receiving a diagnosis, this episode is for you!

✅ Cheryl and Melissa, a nurse turned patient, discuss her experiences in the healthcare system, driven by frustration to become a self-advocate.

📚 This led Melissa to write the book Invisible: a Nurse Turned Patient's Resource to Living Well with Autoimmune Disease, aiming to provide validation and resources for others facing similar struggles.

👂To hear Melissa's full story, listen to Episode 182 now on your favorite podcast player, watch the full video on YouTube, or go to the Arthritis Life Website for a full transcript, https://www.arthritis.theenthusiasticlife.com.

12/22/2025

Every year, I have a vision of a beautifully formatted, Instagram-worthy year-end post. One where I sagely summarize all my hard-earned wisdom and wrap everything up with a tidy little bow. ✨

And every year, I “fail” to complete that goal.

But this year, instead of feeling guilty about what didn’t get finished, I’m choosing to celebrate all my unfinished projects.

🏰I’m waving hello to all my castles in the sky that are still awaiting foundations, or that may never be built at all.

❤I’m taking a moment to remember that "I am a work in progress.” If you can relate, let's celebrate our imperfections together!

As 2025 rounds to a close, I also wanted to share one of my favorite quotes:

“In the depth of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.”
— Albert Camus

Living with chronic health issues has certainly challenged my sense of invincibility. But I am captivated by the idea of an “invincible summer.” To me, it represents a deep inner drive to keep turning toward beauty, meaning, and possibility, even when life is hard.

Let's be clear: clinging to possibilities of sun, while in the depth of winter, is HARD. But doing it with community and social support can lessen that load.

❤With that in mind. I sincerely thank everyone in the Arthritis Life community who has taken the time to support, inspire, and uplift me and one another this year!

Whether you’ve listened to the Arthritis Life Podcast, sent a thoughtful DM, shared a post, or participated in a Rheum to THRIVE support program, your presence matters.

Together, we’re helping make the world a more understanding, compassionate place for people living with rheumatoid arthritis and similar conditions, and that is truly a beautiful thing.

With that, I’m saying goodbye to 2025 and looking ahead to the new year.

I’ll be back on January 5th, and the Arthritis Life Podcast will be back in early 2026 with a special 200th episode 🎧

Take care, and I’ll see you in 2026!
— Cheryl 💚

12/19/2025

Just a little fun for Friday! Anyone else feel this way? 😂🎄

Address

Seattle, WA

Website

https://arthritis.theenthusiasticlife.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Arthritis LIFE posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Arthritis LIFE:

Shortcuts

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Seattle?