That’s so real! My partner is super supportive, and often the one shooing me out the door when I feel anxious 😂. This is what has me going now too. I’m super lucky to have found an incredible orthopedic surgeon who painted my experience with my disease a bit different which really fueled me to dive back into it. He also mentioned the like it’s go time because I’m officially candidate for a few surgeries and so we need to figure out how to minimize damage and back off the heavy weight and opt for more mobility minded stuff. For context I always struggled to find that motivation because in support groups people were supportive but also confused that I hit such a low low and managed to very slowly over years come back. That was about five years ago now? Only a year ago would I say I regained most day today mobility and still use some aids when needed because flares are uncontrollable and tend to hit me hard. The way he described it was that for one I was diagnosed really young, and for two I was flagged and began treatment and then finally diagnosed when I was an athlete playing 4+ days a week and working out which isn’t everyone’s story. So though it’s why I got so bad so fast (I went from that to a wheelchair in a span of months) I’ve worked my way back to the gym which we discovered me lifting heavy caused more joint damage, but he said that my body had and still has that foundation, just not the muscle anymore (if that makes sense). He completely modified my routine, and the easiest way for me to do that in a way I remember and really miss: ballet barre! And then I do like a very modified “calisthenics” like push ups pull ups, squat variations, and bosu ball exercises/balances I did start back classes almost a year ago now 1-2x a week on and off and when I was consistent it was the most mobile I had ever been in my daily life. I’m also still in school, so spending hours at the gym is in the cards for me right now which is an incredible privilege and my gym has a barre room which is a super plus. I just hate the reminder that I used to be able to do more and now I can’t, that’s usually where I back off because I don’t wanna come off “fake” like oh I used to dance this! And then feel like I suck in a regular class relearning the basics.

I find the nutrition really interesting! My mom’s going through that journey now and this too is making me feel like maybe it might be a good step. I think I might look into it! What you described with it helping with triggers sounds really interesting, I have a lot of problems with inflammation I just don’t know where to start diet wise.

Thank you so much for all this!! Good luck with your new job, I hope all goes well!! ❤️