“Finding Joy With An Invisible Chronic Illness” — sharing a bit from this fantastic book (+ GA, ends 3/29)

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Here is a book that I believe you’ll find incredibly helpful, if you’re a person who’s struggling with a chronic illness or an invisible chronic illness. Author Christopher Martin has been there–and he’s learned so much about how to live life with joy despite those challenges. Keep reading for more and also, keep an eye out for the giveaway, where you could win!

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Finding Joy with an Invisible Chronic Illness by Christopher Martin, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Finding Joy with an Invisible Chronic Illness Author: Christopher Martin Publisher: Martin Family Bookstore Release Date: November 15, 2021 Genre: Christian Nonfiction; self-help; chronic illness

A 2022 Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner

“Finding Joy is a vital guide on how to best manage and navigate life with a chronic illness.” —James Nestor, New York Times bestselling author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art Finding Joy presents a comprehensive, practical guide for living your best life with chronic illness. This psychology self-help book integrates personal and professional insights to give you tools for handling various aspects of living with a chronic illness. There is also a chapter specifically for the loved ones and caregivers of the chronically ill. While this book is designed for anyone with a chronic illness, the spiritual content early in the book suggests the value of sticking to your faith and offers several Bible references. Ultimately, Finding Joy is an A-to-Z guide that critiques the literature and empowers the reader with:

1. Positive psychology techniques. These range from self-compassion, positive reappraisal, positive self-talk, and pacing to positive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors such as optimism, humor, and volunteer work.
2. Stress-reduction methods. These include tools such as mindfulness, breathing exercises, simplification, and (therapeutic) journaling.
3. Proven therapies. Examples include cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
4. Effective communication strategies and their impact on relationships and even the ability to access quality healthcare.
5. Numerous tips to both access and optimize your experience with high-quality healthcare.
6. Important considerations for loved ones of the chronically ill, so they too can know how to best support their loved one and take care of themselves in the process.

“This book offers great value for anyone with chronic illness as it contains clear, practical, and actionable insights and steps that can be naturally implemented into daily life. An engaging, easy, and helpful read. Highly recommended.”—Alla Bogdanova, MSc, MIM, co-founder and past president of the International Empty Nose Syndrome Association “The thing that sets it apart from others is that it’s written by afellow sufferer who can also give valuable insight as a psychologist.This topic could easily be heavy-going, but it is mainly an upbeat, positive read. Saying that, the author has taken care to balance positivity with reality.”—Elsa Bridger on Amazon.co.uk “What I loved the most about this book is theauthor has his own chronic illnessesso all methods are tried and tested. I really like the way this book was written as it didn’t feel like any other self-help book I have ever read; it felt more relaxed.You knew that the author understood you and his manner made me take more in.”—Ladyreading365 on Goodreads.com “I have had various invisible chronic illnesses for nearly forty years, but I was still able to find suggestions that will help me. So many of the things I have gone through are reflected in this book. I highly recommend this comprehensive book.”—Sue on Amazon.ca

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound | BookBub

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About the Author

Christopher Martin is a school psychologist, husband, father, and an award-winning author who has lived with multiple debilitating chronic illnesses and their hidden effects – from chronic fatigue to significant pain to seemingly endless infections – for 25 years. As a result, he is all too aware of how disruptive and life-changing they can be to our daily lives.

But don’t let what was just shared fool you: while he is far from cured of his illnesses, he still maintains a fulfilling life and experiences ongoing joy, peace, and happiness. He appreciates the small things in life such as drinking hot tea, going for walks with his family (when he is feeling up to it), and reading inspirational books. It was his goal, in turn, to give back to others by doing what he loves to do: authoring books on these conditions. He wrote his most recent book, Finding Joy with an Invisible Chronic Illness, because few books exist that offer comprehensive, practical guidance on chronic illness. And even fewer books exist that include mental health tips from the perspective of a psychologist and sufferer. Christopher enjoyed integrating his background in psychology with his experiences as a patient into realistic, easy-to-understand and apply strategies. His deepest hope in writing Finding Joy is to inspire the reader to live a more abundant life. Learn more by visiting invisibleillnessbooks.com.

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Tour Giveaway

(2) winners will receive $25 paypal cash and an audiobook download of the book!

(3) additional winners will receive an audiobook download of the book!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight March 22, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 29, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

Here are some excerpts from this book for you to savor

Excerpt 1

A chronic illness provides a constant reminder to self-blame, which leads to decreased self-esteem and depression. We blame ourselves for overdoing it, for needing extra rest, for our “decrepit” bodies, for falling behind at work, for failing to socialize, and for not accomplishing our daily activities or striving toward long-term goals and dreams. To add insult to injury, when we voice this self-blame, our seemingly “able-bodied” friends and family members may also inadvertently join in the criticism either by what they say, by what they do, or by encouraging us to act beyond our physical limitations. This destructive cycle of negative self-regard must not only be stopped, but also reversed, in order to effectively manage our chronic illness.

Self-compassion offers the best way to stop this cycle of negative self-regard. Self-compassion holds a positive self-view and regards oneself with kindness during times of trouble. Among patients with chronic illness, self-compassion leads to lower stress levels, better emotional regulation, better adaptive coping skills, and improved health practices. (2) Psychologically, it promotes
happiness, conscientiousness, optimism, and decreases depression and rumination – thinking the same thought over and over without an end or solution. (3)

Excerpt 2

I am blessed to have a family and the ability to work as a school psychologist, which are two realities that I realize not everyone with chronic illness has. But like most with chronic illness, I incur daily hidden struggles. I experience chronic fatigue, breathing difficulties, and I have a demanding physical ailment that consumes hours each day just to manage properly. Consequently, I practice pacing daily in order to not overdo it. In fact, I personally identify best with those who suffer most – particularly the severely debilitated – as our symptoms and experiences with navigating the medical field are often strikingly similar.

Excerpt 3

Expect that your daily schedule will deviate from your planned schedule due to interruptions and the unexpected. This will happen and it presents the greatest deterrent from implementing pacing. Do not give up at this point. Simply revise your schedule. In his song, Beautiful Boy, the famous Musician John Lennon sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
Additionally, if you face an unexpected stressor such as a tense encounter, a surprise bill, or a cumbersome, lengthy meeting, you might find that you will not be able to accomplish anything further that day. That’s okay.

I hope these words encourage you! I’ll be sharing soon my own review of Finding Joy With An Invisible Chronic Illness. There’s just a wealth of information and encouragement for you, and I’m looking forward to sharing more!

Enjoy! –Wren

Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.