BeWell Blog

Picture of the ocean in evening light. Blue water, blue sky, gentle surg and warm clouds.

Salt, Sun & Spoonies: In Which the Ocean Enables Chronic Illness Wellbeing

Have you ever noticed how your mood improves when you've spent some time by or in the sea? There actually is some scientific basis to this. The ocean is not just a pleasant picture to us chronically ill folk—it possesses...

Read more

Spring Cleaning as a Spoonie

Spring Cleaning as a Spoonie

The birds are chirping, flowers are starting to bloom, and everyone's talking about spring cleaning. My social media news feed is flooded with before-and-after photos of tidy closets and sparkling kitchens. Meanwhile, I'm looking at my cluttered bedroom, calculating math...

Read more

Self-Love Isn't Selfish: A Chronic Illness Guide to Valentine's Day—With or Without a Partner

Self-Love Isn't Selfish: A Chronic Illness Guide to Valentine's Day—With or Without a Partner

But in reality, the day of Valentine's may turn out to be pretty tricky once one has been dealing with some chronic illness. Perhaps on social media, one goes through all these couples all cute and stuff, while you are...

Read more

A Spoonie's Guide to January: Real Talk About Surviving the New Year

A Spoonie's Guide to January: Real Talk About Surviving the New Year

Hey friends! Let's talk about January. You know that overwhelming feeling when everyone's bouncing around with "new year, new me" energy while you're just trying to figure out how to get through your basic daily tasks? Yeah, me too. I've...

Read more

How to Cope with Seasonal Affective Disorder: Keeping Your Mind Well When Days are Dark

How to Cope with Seasonal Affective Disorder: Keeping Your Mind Well When Days are Dark

Written by: Amanda Phillips Living with a chronic illness is never easy, but the shorter, darker days of winter can make it especially challenging. A lack of sunlight can leave many people feeling sad, listless, and lethargic—all symptoms of a...

Read more

The Benefit of Gentle Exercise for Chronically Ill Patients

The Benefit of Gentle Exercise for Chronically Ill Patients

Written by: Amanda Phillips Living with a chronic illness presents many daily challenges that others may not understand, and exercise is one of these. While it can be hard to exercise when the body is tired, in pain, or stiff,...

Read more