BLOGS
Raregivers100: Honoring 100 Changemakers in Rare and Chronic Disease
Meet the Raregivers100, a global tribute to 100 rare disease changemakers; individuals who are shaping the future of rare and chronic disease awareness, advocacy, and caregiving. From globally recognized voices to grassroots changemakers, these honorees are helping bring visibility, dignity, and action to communities too often left in the shadows.
Living with the Unknown: Caring for Yourself While Caring for Someone You Love
One of the hardest parts of becoming a caregiver is recognizing that something isn't quite right with someone you love. Maybe it's a Rare child who isn't meeting developmental milestones, or a spouse whose health is slowly changing.
What an Emotional Journey Map Adds to Caregiver Wellness
Caregiver wellness often becomes visible too late. Our emotional journey map helps families get support before a crisis.
Are You Feeling Spread Thin?
Feeling spread thin was a common theme in our group this week. If you are caring for a spouse or child with a Rare disease, you likely know what it feels like when everyone needs something from you at once.
What Is Caregiver Stress? How Rare Disease Families Can Build Resilience Before Crisis
Caregiver stress can build before families recognize the pressure. Early support helps families build resilience before a crisis
What Is Sustainable Caregiving?
Caregiving is not a sprint—it's a long journey. If you are caring for someone with a Rare or chronic disease, sustainability isn't a luxury; it's a necessity. The truth is that you can't continue giving if your cup is empty
What Fragile X Awareness Month Can Teach Us About Family Caregiver Support Groups
Fragile X awareness often overlooks caregivers. Family caregiver support groups help families feel informed, connected, and supported.
Finding Your Way After Caregiving
What is it like to step into a new identity after the loss of a loved one you have cared for over many years? In our support group this week, we explored what can support you through this challenging time, what can make it difficult, and how to find your way when caregiving has been such a central part of your life.
Caregivers Island: Losing Yourself, Finding Yourself (Stage 6 Finding Meaning)
As a caregiver, it can be easy to lose yourself in caring for another’s needs and you may experience a radical shift in your perspective on life when becoming a caregiver is your primary identity. When this happens, self-care often falls away or drops to the bottom of your impossibly long to do list.
How Caregiver Stories Are Changing the Rare Disease Conversation
Discover how caregiver storytelling is reshaping rare disease advocacy by increasing awareness, reducing isolation, and strengthening support conversations.
Holding Space for the Hard Things
Communicating about the hard things is a challenge many caregivers of loved ones with Rare diseases face and misunderstandings are common. It can be easy to take things personally and let frustration, fear, or sadness take over.
Fathers Who Care: The Untold Stories of Rare Disease Dads
Explore the emotional realities and father caregiving stories shaping rare disease families while recognizing the vital role father caregivers play in caregiving communities.
Embracing The Unknown
For caregivers of loved ones living with a rare disease, grief is often a continuous companion. This week in our support group, we explored what it means to lean into anticipatory grief. Making room for difficult emotions takes courage. It asks us to turn toward what we would rather avoid and acknowledge realities that can feel overwhelming. In Western culture, we often avoid conversations about death and aging, yet contemplating the mortality of a loved one can bring our own mortality into sharp focus.
The Rare Truth Caregivers Wish More People Understood
Explore the rare disease caregiver challenges families face every day and support caregiver advocacy, emotional understanding, and stronger rare disease awareness
The Blossoming of True Friendship – Starting With Yourself
This week in our support group, we reflected on what it means to be a true friend. Together, we defined a true friend as someone who can meet you with a quiet mind and an open heart. As caregivers navigating the uncertainty of Rare or chronic illness, it is important to remember that the first person you must learn to be a true friend to is yourself
Why Emotional Support Healthcare Is Essential for Caregiver Well-Being
Strengthen caregiver wellbeing through emotional support healthcare, peer connection, and caregiver emotional care designed to support long-term resilience.
Caregiver Crisis Support: Recognizing When the Weight Becomes Too Much
Experiencing high levels of stress or burnout? Learn how to recognize an emotional crisis and access immediate caregiver crisis support.
How Caregivers Can Protect Their Mental Health
Caregivers often put their own needs last, which, however well-intentioned, is difficult to sustain. Explore caregiver self-care strategies that support mental health.
Put Your Feet Up and Relax
As a caregiver navigating the world of Rare disease and a complex medical lifestyle, the first step toward caring for yourself is recognizing that you have needs too. Your needs matter.
Women Caregivers: The Invisible Backbone of Global Healthcare
Women caregivers make up the majority of caregiving globally. Explore the emotional labor, gender gap, and need for greater support and recognition.
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