Courses Living Well with Arthritis online Living Well with Arthritis is a proven self-management course that helps people living with arthritis and related conditions manage their pain and fatigue, and develop a healthy lifestyle. The six-week course (preceded by one-hour introduction session) is available online (via Zoom). Since March 2020 we have successfully delivered 49 courses online. During the Covid-19 pandemic, all of our courses are free. From October 2021 we will run the last 10 courses of this year. Please see the schedule below and book. Please email your questions to [email protected] ***Participants should have basic computer skills, a laptop or tablet to participate in the course, and an internet connection. It is not recommended to undertake the course using a smart phone***. Monday 11th October, 10am Introduction - Monday 11th October, 10am-11am, sessions from Monday 18th October to Monday 22nd November, 10am-12.30pm Started Tuesday, 19th October, 10.30am Introduction - Tuesday 19th October, 10.30am-11.30am , sessions from Tuesday 26th October to Tuesday 30th November, 10.30am-1pm Started Wednesday 20th October, 6pm Introduction - Wednesday 20th October, 6pm-7pm, sessions from Wednesday 27th October to Wednesday 1st December, 6pm-8.30pm Started Thursday 21st October, 10am Introduction - Thursday 21st October, 10am-11am, sessions from Thursday 28th October to Thursday 2nd December, 10am-12.30pm Started Thursday 21st October, 6pm Introduction - Thursday 21st October, 6pm-7pm, sessions from Thursday 28th October to Thursday 2nd December, 6pm-8.30pm Started Wednesday 27th October, 2pm Introduction - Wednesday 27th October, 2pm-3pm, sessions from Wednesday 3rd November to 8th December, 2pm-4.30pm Book Tuesday, 26th October, 10am Introduction - Tuesday 26th October, 10am-11am , sessions from Tuesday 2nd November to Tuesday 7th December 10am-12.30pm Book Thursday 28th October, 10am Introduction - Thursday 28th October, 10am-12.30pm, sessions from Thursday 4th November to Thursday 9th December, 10am-12.30pm Cancelled Monday 1st November, 10am Introduction - Monday 1st November, 10am-11am, sessions from Monday 8th November to Monday 13th December, 10am-12.30pm Book Monday 1st November, 6pm Introduction - Monday 1st November, 6pm-7pm, sessions from Monday 8th November to Monday 13th December, 6pm-8.30pm Book 1. 10 reasons to do Living Well with Arthritis 2. What will I learn on the course? 3. About self-management 4. Pain/fatigue cycle 5. Self-management toolbox 1. 10 reasons to do Living Well with Arthritis 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 2. 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 3. 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. 4. 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 5. 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. Back to top Sign-up for news and updates about our self-management courses and Arthritis Ireland Donate