You are not Alone

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) “Six in ten adults in the United States have a chronic disease and four in ten adults have two or more.

Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. They are also leading drivers of the nation’s $4.1 trillion in annual health care costs.” The number of people with chronic illness is rising. These are conditions which cannot be cured in most cases but can have a major impact on people’s everyday lives.

Imagine if all these people had access to a chronic illness empowerment coach to help them get to grips with the their condition.  Imagine a parent dealing with a diagnosis for their child, getting the support to mange their emotions and develop a positive mindset which will help to lessen the impact on the whole family. 

Are you curious to know if your condition is considered rare, take a look at:

National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)

Check out the CDC’s “Top 4 Tips to Prevent Chronic Diseases” here

Arthritis

In the U.S. 24% of all adults or 58.5 million people have arthritis. It affects more women than men, roughly two to three times as many women.

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS)

A chronic form of arthritis that causes inflammation of the joints and over time can cause some of the vertebrae to fuse.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

It is estimated that 3 million people have COPD, of whom 2 million are undiagnosed. Prevalence increases with age and most people are not diagnosed until they are in their 50s.

Crohn’s Disease

More than 500,000 people suffer from Crohn’s disease; half of them women, and approximately 50% of patients are under 35 years of age at the time of diagnosis.

Dysautonomia

This is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) function. That's the part of the nervous system that controls heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and other automatic processes in the body. Over 70 million people worldwide live with various forms of dysautonomia. 

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

The combined prevalence of all types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome appears to be at least 1 in 5,000 individuals worldwide. The hypermobile and classical forms are most common; the hypermobile type may affect as many as 1 in 5,000 to 20,000 people, while the classical type probably occurs in 1 in 20,000 to 40,000 people.

Fibromyalgia

It is thought that fibromyalgia affects about 4 million US adults, about 2% of the adult population. There are many people who do not seek medical help, or are misdiagnosed.

Gastroparesis

An uncommon disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from your stomach to your small intestine. 

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

The thyroid gland becomes inflamed, impairing its ability to produce thyroid hormones which causes many functions of the body to slow down.

Interstitial Cystitis

Interstitial cystitis is a chronic bladder condition that results in bladder pressure, bladder pain and pelvic pain. 

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

IBS most often affects people between the ages of 20 and 30 years and is twice as common in women as in men. Prevalence in the general population is estimated to be between 10% and 20%.

Lupus

It is thought that about 1.5 million Americans have lupus, and there are an estimated 16,000 new cases each year. More than five million people worldwide have some form of the disease.

Raynaud's Syndrome

Narrowing of arteries that carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body, known as vasospasm attacks, results in reduced blood flow in the fingers and toes. This is generally triggered by cold temperatures and emotional stress.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

The prevalence of POTS is currently unknown, with it currently estimated to be about 5-10 times as common as orthostatic hypotension in clinical practice. Some studies have indicated estimates as much as 170/100,000, but also based on the estimate that 40% of chronic fatigue patients have POTS.

Stomach Motility Disorders

A striking 2 out of 5 people will experience some kind of chronic motility disorder during the course of their life. More severe motility disorders can affect as many as 1 in 10 people.

Sjogren's Syndrome

When the glands responsible for producing moisture in the eyes, mouth and other parts of the body are destroyed by autoantibodies.