Rheumatoid Arthritis Guy's 60-second guide to RA

I interrupt my usual cultural posts to share something very important to me that I don't tend to talk about much (normal service will resume shortly). Like every other night this week, I'm up at this ridiculous time not - like every other student at the moment, it seems - because I have essays to finish or revision to cram, but because my arthritis wants me to be. 

It's been a bit of a rough week. I woke up on Thursday really stiff and by Thursday evening could barely walk. I usually don't let pain stop me (just take some pain-killers and hope people don't notice I'm high) but I couldn't fight not being able to walk or stand up for long. It means I've had to cancel seeing Fragments of Ash, which I'm sure would be amazing, as well as Cardiff Read's monthly meet up, Cardiff University's round-table on the French presidential elections on Wed (an unmissable event for a politics geek like me) and Who's Afraid of Rachel Roberts? at Sherman Cymru coming up on Thurs & Fri. (If anyone goes to any of these, please fill me in!). On the plus side, being stuck indoors and completely insomniac does mean I've had lots of time to catch up on my writing (and finish my Gossip Girl marathon...). And then tonight, while trying to fill the void left by sleep, I came across an incredible website.

rheumatoidarthritisguy.com is run by a self-proclaimed RA superhero, @ra_guy. He blogs about living with the disease and uses his superpowers (which include positive affirmations and cute doodles) to raise awareness of the truth of RA (debunking common misconceptions) and celebrate those who don't let it stop them. By far best part of this fantastic site though is his 60 Second Guide to RA. I've always struggled with explaining it, especially as it sounds really stupid and wrong when you say "My body thinks I'm ill so it attacks me to make me better". In future, I'll just direct everyone to this handy guide, which really does only take a minute. Please read it.