Courses Living Well with Arthritis and Related Conditions 1. Is there a course in my area? 2. How much does the course cost? 3. 10 Reasons to do the Living Well Course 4. What will I learn on the course? 5. About self-management 6. Pain/Fatigue Cycle 7. Self-management toolbox Reduce your pain and reclaim your life from arthritis by signing up for our 6-week Living Well with Arthritis and Related Conditions course. Developed by Stanford University, this award-winning course covers every area of self-management. You will be equipped with a variety of tools and techniques to help you better manage your condition. Some 6,000 people have successfully completed this course since it was introduced in 2006. 1. Is there a course in my area? In spring 2020 courses we run courses in the following locations, online booking for all courses will be open shortly. In meantime you can email your interest to [email protected] Location Venue Start date, time Booking Dublin South Deansgrange Parish Centre Fri 28th Feb, 10am-12.30pm TBC Cancelled Dublin Centre OLH Harolds Cross TBC TBC Cancelled Dublin North, Swords Holywell Community Centre Wed 25th Mar, 10am-12.30pm Cancelled Celbridge, Co. Kildare Celbridge Manor Hotel Fri 28th Feb, 11am-1.30pm Cancelled Drogheda, Co. Louth Scholars Townhouse Hotel Tue 25th Feb, 7pm-9.30pm Cancelled Athlone, Co. Westmeath Shamrock Lodge Hotel Wed 25th Mar, 7pm-9.30pm Cancelled Wexford Town Riverbank House Hotel Tue 24th Mar, 7pm-9.30pm Cancelled Cork City Bru Columbanus, Wilton Thu 27th Feb, 1030am-1pm Cancelled Limerick City IWA Center, Roxboro Thu 20th Feb, 6.30pm-9pm Cancelled Tralee, Co. Kerry Education Centre Tralee Thu 12th Mar, 6.30pm-9pm Cancelled Waterford St. Joseph's Centre, Response TBC Fri 12th Apr 10am-12.30pm Cancelled Letterkenny Station House Hotel Tue 31st Mar, 7pm-9.30pm Cancelled Galway Connacht Hotel Wed 11th Mar, 7pm-9.30pm Cancelled Westport, Co. Mayo Town Hall Theatre Wed 11th Mar, 7pm-9.30pm Cancelled Back to top 2. What does it cost? There is a small fee to participate in the workshop which covers a small portion of the cost of providing the programme and provides you with Living a Healthy Life with Cronic Conditions book, an excellent resource written by arthritis specialists Dr. James Fries and Prof. Kate Lorig. Course fee: full price - €32, discounted price (for medical card holders) - €24 (plus booking fee) Back to top 3. 10 BIG reasons to sign up today Reduce your pain Reduce your fatigue Reduce the number of times you need to see your doctor and healthcare team. Understand your arthritis, medication and other treatments Improve your relationship with your doctor and healthcare team Start or improve your exercise regime Improve your mental health Improve your diet Improve your problem solving Learn to set realistic goals and plan to achieve them Back to top 4. What will I learn on the course? The Living Well with Arthritis and Related Conditions course is taught over a six-week period in weekly 2.5 hour sessions. Each group usually has 18 people and is led by two trained leaders. Most of the leaders have conditions themselves or are health care professionals. They are all interested in helping people with arthritis and related conditions, and have successfully completed a Leader Training Workshop. Session One Introduction to the Workshop Group Introductions The Mind-Body Connection/Distraction Getting a Good Night’s Sleep Introduction to Action Plans Session Two Feedback/Problem-Solving Dealing with Difficult Emotions Introduction to Physical Activity and Exercise Preventing Falls and Improving Balance Making an Action Plan Session Three Feedback Making Decisions Pain and Fatigue Management Endurance Exercise Relaxation: Body Scan Making an Action Plan Session Four Feedback Better Breathing Healthy Eating Communication Skills Problem solving Making an Action Plan Session Five Feedback Making Healthy Food Choices Medication Usage Making Informed Treatment Decisions Positive Thinking Making an Action Plan Session Six Feedback Working with Your Health Care Professional and Health Care System Weight Management Looking Back and Planning for the Future Back to top 5. About Self-Management Self-management is about being aware of and putting into practice the little things that make a big difference to your quality of life when you have arthritis. Taking medication does not represent the full spectrum of arthritis treatment, but is rather just one (albeit essential) part of keeping your arthritis under control. Self-management is about recognising this and understanding that you and how you live is the key to taking back control of your life. If the choice is to be an active manager, then we must be willing to take on three sets of self-management tasks. 1- Take care of your health problems (such as taking medicine, exercising, going to your healthcare providers, changing diet) Keeping informed about your status - asking questions, reading and when necessary carrying information from one provider to another. Taking part in planning your treatment programme by monitoring and reporting on your condition and sharing your preferences and goals with the doctor, and all other members of your healthcare team. 2- Carry out your normal activities (activities, employment, social life, etc.) Doing the things in life that are important to us. This may mean changing the way we do things. For example, using a garden tool on wheels or having prepared dinners in the freezer for times we are not feeling up to cooking. 3- Manage your emotional changes (Changes brought about by your illness, such as anger, uncertainty about the future, changed expectations and goals, and sometimes depression. Changes can also happen in your relationships with family and friends.) Knowing that there will be emotional 'ups and downs' and that the 'downs' are not pits to crawl out of, but natural ups and downs that all paths have. 6. Pain/Fatigue Cycle Many people assume that the symptoms they are experiencing are due to only one cause: arthritis or fibromyalgia. While it can certainly cause pain, fatigue, it is not the only cause. Each of these symptoms can by themselves contribute to the other symptoms, and all can make pain and fatigue worse. Even worse, they can feed on each other. For example, inflammation from the arthritis can cause pain, which causes stress and anxiety, that can cause poor sleep, poor sleep can cause depression, depression can sometimes make it hard to take medications as we should, and these can lead to more pain or fatigue, and so on. The interactions of these symptoms, in turn, make our arthritis or fibromyalgia seem worse. It becomes a vicious cycle that only gets worse unless we find a way to break the cycle. This is called the Pain/Fatigue Cycle. By understanding the Pain/Fatigue Cycle and how each symptom contributes to increase others, we can learn techniques that help break the cycle at these various points. Before we go on to talk about some of the tools we will learn in this workshop, there are a few key principles for pain management: Treating pain earlier is more effective than if you wait until it gets bad. Don’t wait to see if it’s going to get worse. Treat pain when you first notice it. Small changes in pain can make a huge difference. You do not have to be pain free to do what you want and like. Sometimes just taking the edge off the pain can make a great difference. Self-management activities such as exercise are not usually pain free. However, you can use pain as a way to judge when we have done too much or when we should be doing more. We will talk more about this when we discuss exercise. Back to top 7. Self-Management Toolbox There are many things you can do to break the pain/fatigue cycle using your self-management tool box. This toolbox includes a variety of tools, such as physical activity (or exercise), healthy eating, problem-solving, modifying activities, planning, medications, communicating, and thinking activities that use the mind. We can use these tools at different times, as needed, to break this cycle and manage pain and fatigue. You don’t use a screwdriver for every thing; sometimes you need a hammer or a drill. It’s the same way with this toolbox. The Scheme to Support National Organisations is funded by the Government of Ireland through the Department of Rural and Community Development. Back to top