Introduction: Making Peace with a Life Upside Down
I. Skills to Help with Each Day
1. Educating Family and Friends about Chronic Pain and Illness
2. Letting Go: A Not-To-Do List for the Chronically Ill
3. Asking for Help Can Be Your Gift to Others
4. Developing the Confidence to Say “No”
5. When the “Want Monster” Whispers in Your Ear
6. Complaining Is a Recipe for Suffering
7. Dealing with Tough Choice after Tough Choice
8. The Many Benefits of Patience
9. Cultivating Kindness
II. Mindfulness: Potent Medicine for Easing the Symptoms of Chronic Illness
10. Mindfulness Can Ease Physical Suffering by Easing Mental Suffering
11. Mindfulness Practices That Address Physical Discomfort
12. Formal Mindfulness Meditation Can Help Your Mind Help Your Body
III. Responding Wisely to Troubling Thoughts and Emotions
13. Breaking Free from Stressful Thinking Patterns
14. When the Blues Come Calling
15. Surviving a Bad Mood with Grace
16. Shedding the Burden of Embarrassment
IV. Special Challenges
17. Invisibility: When You Look Fine to Others
18. When You and Those You Love Are in Conflict
19. The Special Difficulties Faced by Young People Who Are Chronically Ill
20. Maximizing Your Chances of Success at the Doctor’s Office
21. Sick Upon Sick: Handling an Acute Illness While Chronically Ill
22. The Pesky Issue of Sleep
23. Longing for That Pre-Illness Life
24. The Uncertainty of It All
25. Taking Care of the Caregivers
V. Isolation and Loneliness
26. Quotations and Reflections on Loneliness
27. Healing Loneliness through Mindfulness
28. Coping with Isolation During the Holidays and Other Gatherings
VI. Enjoy the Life You Have
29. Beware of “Good Old Days Syndrome”
30. Why Not Me?
31. Don’t Let Envy and Resentment Keep You from Enjoying the Life You Have
32. Slow Down and Savor Life
33. Appreciating the Wondrousness of the Human Body
VII. For Family, Friends, Caregivers, and Anyone Concerned About Chronic Illness
34. Setting the Record Straight about Chronic Illness
35. What the Chronically Ill Hope Others Will Understand
36. “Oh No!” What the Chronically Ill Hope Others Won’t Say
37. “Thank You!” What the Chronically Ill Hope Others Will Say
38. What’s in a Name? The Harm Caused by Mislabeling Medical Conditions
39. Letting Go: A Not-To-Do List for Caregivers
40. Lessons for the Healthy from the Land of the Sick
VIII. Last But Not Least
41. True Confessions
42. My Heartfelt Wishes for the Chronically Ill
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the Author
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