Hi Reader, Recently I told you that my IIH diagnosis turned out not to be the main thing going on. I couldn’t fit the whole story into that email, so I wrote it all out. The post covers how I found out, what the grief has been like and what I’m sorting through now. It also explains what’s changing here on the site. My About page and many older posts still mention IIH. Those posts aren’t going anywhere, and I’ll be linking them back to this one so you can see the whole story. Read the post:...

Hi Reader, On my worst flare days, my hygiene routine is three things: a wipe-down with sensitive-skin wipes, mouthwash when brushing is too much, and clean underwear. Some days I need help even with those. For a long time I thought that didn’t count. Hygiene meant the full routine, and anything less meant I was failing at it. Chronic illness took that idea apart, and what replaced it has made my hardest days a lot more manageable. In this week’s post, I’m sharing how I scale my routine down...

Hi Reader, If fall has felt heavy lately, you are not alone, and you are not being ungrateful. Maybe it started with the first cooler morning, or a store aisle already stocked for a season you are still catching up to. Maybe someone asked what you have left to do before the year ends, and your stomach dropped a little. For a lot of us, the shorter days and the year winding down quietly ask how much energy we had and what we hoped to do with it. That can ache, even when nothing dramatic...