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Such a Scrounger! 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly grateful for the benefits system here in the UK. Without it, I honestly don’t know where I’d be. (Yes I do, on the streets.) But what I hate, is the stigma attached. So here it is. I’m 29 and I claim benefits. I’m probably never going to work again. […]

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You didn’t just go there?!

I often read blogs about ‘What not to say to the chronically ill.’ On the whole I do think these are helpful for people who want to remain a good friend to those of us who have been blighted with these kinds of issues. (Huge credit to you for trying!! We know we aren’t the […]

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Told pain was in my mind before diagnosis

Hi, I’m Chloë and I am 18 years old. Here’s my story.. At the age of 16, I started with agonising pain in my ear which completely stopped me in my tracks. I visited the doctors constantly to try and find the cause of my pain but they had no answers to give. Months and […]

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Let’s get a few things straight.. 

I’m getting really annoyed with how ‘PC’ the world is becoming, particularly in reference to disability. I am disabled, so I honestly think I’m entitled to a view here. The way we speak of things these days has become so much about not causing offence, that terminology has just become ridiculous. For example, the other […]

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POTS – Let’s talk showers…

Let’s Talk Showers! “Wow! I feel so refreshed after that shower!” said no person with POTS, ever. Showering is not a relaxing pastime. Nor is it ever possible to have a ‘quick shower’ with POTS, so let’s forget that idea right off the bat. Showers take time, preparation and energy. Lots and lots of energy. You […]

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When your glass doesn’t seem “half full”…..smash it up! – READER STORY

23 years ago, I was an at-home mum with a fab toddler, Cameron, so I thought I’d have another baby. Half way through the pregnancy, I was admitted to hospital with some very odd symptoms. I packed knitting, crochet and cross stitch immediately. A difficult 8 weeks later, when Roseanne was born, I was handed […]

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Most Recent!

Shiny New Website Selling Tools – Feb 2019!

Shiny New Website Selling Tools – Feb 2019! We’ve added some exciting new selling tools to help you run successful businesses: 1. Disable ‘Add to Basket’ button when adding Holiday Message (optional) 2. You can now add 10 product images! 3. Delete Image function has returned! 4. Add Shop SEO (optional) 5. Add a Facebook […]

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I Am Not My Illness

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the labels we have attached to us when we have a chronic physical or mental illness. They are powerful labels that can be associated with a lot of stigma, sadness or make you feel a little bit hopeless. I am trying to think of labels as something I ‘have’ […]

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The concept of time when living with a Chronic Illness

It’s hard to believe that time can pass so fast, yet so slowly, at the same time! I can’t liken the feeling of chronic illness to anything other for those who do not suffer to understand. On one hand, days feel like they last forever, stretching on and on as the pain consumes you and […]

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All Blogs

  • All
  • Anxiety / Depression
  • Aspergers
  • Autism
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Borderline Personality Disorder
  • Cancer
  • Caregivers
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / ME
  • Chronic Illness
  • Chronic Migraines
  • Chronic Pain
  • Craft
  • Depression
  • Dysautonomia
  • Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
  • Epilepsy
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)
  • Gastroparesis
  • IBS
  • Illness / Disability
  • Intracranial Hypertension
  • Lupus
  • Lyme Disease
  • Marfan Syndrome
  • ME
  • Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
  • Neuralgia
  • Panic Attacks
  • Postnatal Depression (PND)
  • POTS
  • Prolapse
  • PTSD
  • Raynaud's
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Schizophrenia
  • Seizures
  • Spina Bifida
  • Ulcerative Colitis

How I became an Artist, whilst fighting with Disability and Chronic Illness

Hi, I’m Roz, and I’m the artist behind North Mayo Fine Art. I’ve been creating art for most of my life, but have been an artist for 3 years. I might not have become an artist, had it not been for the fact that I became disabled, with multiple chronic illnesses, and became housebound. I […]

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Being a Carer – how hard can that be?

You know what it’s like to be a carer. Or at least you think you do. It’s just looking after someone else, how hard can that be? … RIGHT. Well just take a moment to sit and think. Caring is not a choice it’s a lifestyle. You need to have all your wits about you […]

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How being a Carer meant I discovered my creativity

My name is Lucy and I was introduced to Conscious Crafties by the amazing Karen Thomas (what a fantastic job she is doing, running this website and shouting out for fellow chronic creatives, I think its fab). I don’t have a chronic illness myself, and my story has developed over the last 4 years after losing […]

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My Story – Crafting through Ulcerative Colitis

I’m Jane Elizabeth Higgins. I was Jane Elizabeth Chandler until last year when I Married the gorgeous Mr Higgins, who loves and supports me through sickness and health. I am so happy to have found this beautiful community of Crafties. I can’t actually express in words the emotions I felt when I read the welcome […]

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Caring in Chaos

I’m lucky to be a carer for two amazing people!!! My son and my Mum! My son was diagnosed with Aspergers/ High functioning Autism, at age 7. We have had a tough old road, now he is 17, done his GCSE’s and is now at college! Safe to say I am one proud Mum! In […]

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HOW TO: Have Energy-Conserving Great HAIR

HOW TO style HAIR with minimal energy and so we can save energy for the important stuff! (I know hair loss is very common with Chronic Illness. In fact, I lost 2/3rd of my hair a few years back and had to cut it all off. Please do not be discouraged if you are experiencing this, […]

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Caring is a full time job

I have never written a blog before and I am not all that good at writing about who I am or how I feel. Just lately I have felt that I should give it a go and reach out to people. Caring can be a lonely job. I get sick of people telling me it’s […]

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A Desperate Plea…

Below is an email I sent this morning to a specialist I saw last year. It’s not professional. It’s not the right way to go about things. But it’s real. It’s my life. It’s the level of desperate I’m now at. I’m not sharing this for sympathy. I’m sharing it to highlight the thousands of […]

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There is another way…

In the last few months my levels of pain and exhaustion have hit a whole new high. This has left me pretty much bedbound most days. Then awake and restless at night. Alongside all that, my Gastroparesis has flared, meaning I’m nauseous almost all the time. My stomach feels full and bloated and eating, or […]

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Jaymee’s Battle

Our story begins when Jaymee became a mother, at the age of twenty. Soon after she was diagnosed with Postnatal Depression, a fairly common problem that many mothers face. As is so often the case, Jaymee was given antidepressants and sent on her way. But Jaymee knew deep down something wasn’t right. Months passed, and […]

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Jennifer, Monty and their story

Throughout the world there are thousands upon thousands of people living below the radar. Struggling just to exist, let alone be ‘functioning’ members of the community. These people, people like me, live with disability. Together we form a huge portion of the global community, but with so few of us in the public eye it’s […]

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Becoming Disabled

I remember having a dream as a small child. I was with a circle of adults around a fire and there was something that they were not telling me. I awoke feeling cross and very frustrated and the memory of the dream lingered… As a young, able-bodied adult, I left home and did a degree […]

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We’re always on the look out for new, interesting and exciting blogs to feature on our site. If you have an idea for something you’d like us to write about or want to write a guest blog yourself do get in touch! x