Meghan Bea

"I have chronic fatigue, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm tired 100 percent of the time," I explained to a new friend over dinner. He nodded, then looked confused...

In 2014, I stood up after teaching a violin lesson one day and forgot how to walk. A severe episode of lupus cerebritis, or brain inflammation, followed and lasted for...

Making money when you are chronically ill can be a challenge. It is not easy maintaining a job while dealing with achy joints and fatigue. It can also be difficult...

When I first got sick with lupus, I was not a stranger to feeling tired. Throughout high school and college, I had spent many late nights studying or practicing the...

The first time I saw a doctor about my chronic illness, I was 22. I had just finished my first semester of graduate school. For months, my hair had clogged...

When I think of the word "disability," I often think of the universal symbol for disability: a simple blue picture of a person sitting in a wheelchair. Wheelchairs and other...

A month ago, I decided to change up my workout routine. Instead of my usual Pilates and light weight-lifting, I searched YouTube for workout videos and stumbled upon a beginner...

Some people collect coins, stamps, or rocks. Most lupus patients collect misdiagnoses, unfortunately against our will. By the time I was finally diagnosed with lupus at age 22, I had...

Like many lupus patients, I don't have as much energy as a healthy person my age. I sleep 10-12 hours a night yet still feel tired every day. Between balancing...

When I was a child, my brother was the creative one in the family. From a young age, he loved to draw and paint. Over days and weeks, a pencil...

When I was at my sickest with lupus cerebritis, my mother-in-law, who had moved in to take care of me, introduced me to thrifting. My Other Mother, as I call...

Still haven’t found a creative outlet? Here are more ideas to try! (Energy Level: Moderate) When I was a young child, my mother used to sew dresses and jumpers for...

I've always been a Type A, goal-oriented person. In the weeks leading up to New Year's Day every year, I research the best type of planner, then fill it with...

When you have lupus, it can sometimes feel like you are just surviving instead of living. Making time for creativity can help relieve stress and add some joy to your...

According to Brene Brown (author, social scientist, and researcher), "Unused creativity is not benign. It metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, judgment, sorrow, shame." I have found these words to...

One of the most painful parts of getting sick with lupus was having to let go of my goals and plans. I mourned the loss of the life I had...

Lupus is an autoimmune disease. This means that instead of attacking invading germs, the body's immune system attacks its own skin and organs. Often, this assault by the immune system...

"In sickness and in more sickness," my then-fiance and I joked in the months leading up to our wedding ceremony. We had dated 7 years before getting engaged. Three of...

A lupus diagnosis can feel like being suddenly abandoned in a foreign land. You thought you understood how your body interacted with the world around you, only for all the...

As a lupus patient, I don’t have as much time or energy as most people my age. Even after getting the over 10 hours of sleep a night that I...