sharing my experiences in the hope that it might help others – support, info & stories for all things autoimmune
Joel – Creator of JoelVsArthritis
Hi! I’m Joel…
…a man in my mid-thirties, from Norwich, UK who has had some form of arthritis or autoimmune disorder most of my life. Essentially my body’s own immune system attacks itself in various parts of my body.
I have had Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JiA) since I was 11, diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) when I was 14 and Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) in my 20’s. My condition unfortunately progresses with age and due to treatment to suppress my immune system, I am also vulnerable to infection.
I have always struggled with talking about my challenges and disabilities so after a difficult year in 2019, I created this blog to share my experiences, raise awareness, provide resources for people fighting autoimmune disorders and to act as a bit of self-help for myself when the going gets tough.
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I am stubborn and do as much as my body permits so although there will be posts when I’m struggling or having a bad day, I hope that I can inspire, demonstrate the positive side of those of us fighting arthritis or living with chronic pain and show that anything is possible with the right attitude and motivation.
I will also not shy away from the associated challenges of living with an autoimmune disease and hope that by openly talking about mental health, relationships, parenting and employment it can help others in a similar situation or newly diagnosed.
I am always looking for feedback, contributions, guest posts etc. to help build what I am trying to achieve with this project and give others a platform to tell their story and raise awareness, so please do get in touch if you think you can help.
If you enjoy your time on this site or in any way find it useful, please don’t forget to subscribe to receive notifications of new posts and like, share and comment on any articles you enjoy – it really does help!
Thank you for visiting – Joel. 🙂
New here or would like to read more about my story and motivation? Click here…
Latest blog posts
Chronic illness – a setback bigger than the illness itself
You might think you are helping by taking things away from me but you’re not. You are further knocking the confidence of somebody who is already fragile from their chronic illness. An event happened to me today that reminded me of something worse than living with chronic illness itself. The issue of people thinking they…
Unknown, yet shown
‘Oh, I see you’re limping away?’ *awkward pause as they wait for me to say* ‘How are you? You’re looking well?’ I deflect back, you don’t know my hell. Confused, they’re thrown. No gossip? Poor show. ‘What’s wrong?’, their patience expires. ‘Oh, just this long term thing’. I retire.
Product Review: Neo G fingerless arthritis gloves
Disclosure: I am an independent blogger and reviews are written based upon my own opinion. The links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a small commission. Affiliate links for products that we feel will be of interest to our viewers helps us…
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My story
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- An upsetting post to write – an update from the Biologics appointment
- Affiliate programs and partners – ‘win-win’ or a blogging minefield?
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