Real life Making social work Helen Reynolds, 38, runs a small firm delivering social media training. Being diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis led her to transform the business – and she hasn’t looked back iWords: Phil Lattimore Photography: Natasha Hirst spent my youth thinking I was going to be some kind of writer, and took a film studies degree at university. Following graduation, I got a job in PR, which I loved, and spent 10 years working in media relations for a local authority in Wales, where I began using lots of social media tools. Around five years ago, I left to take a better paid PR job, but I absolutely hated it and quit. That forced me to set up as a freelancer, which turned into a business – Comms Creatives – training other PR people in social media. And now I love what I do even more. I was very lucky with my job – I loved travelling around, delivering social media training. But it got to the point when everything in my body started to ache and I got tired. I didn’t know what was going on. One of my passions was music and going to gigs, but I felt pain in my legs and feet when I was standing up to watch bands. Making a connection I went back and forth to the doctors to try to find out what it was, and made the connection between the psoriasis I’ve had since I was 18 and my symptoms. Eventually, around two years ago, I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Then six months ago, I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I think I was going through some sort of denial at first. I carried on working longer than I probably should have, through the pain. I was struggling with a bit of an identity crisis. I didn’t like to think of myself as being weak and I didn’t want to tell anyone, as I felt they wouldn’t hire me, or might think I wasn’t up to the job. I didn’t talk to many people about my condition. Friends and family were supportive and have been absolutely lovely. But people would tell me that I was too young to have arthritis, as if it couldn’t be that bad because of my age. Previously, I had enjoyed running. But, as I wasn’t able to do that any more, I put on a lot of weight and felt a bit embarrassed about the whole situation, and blamed myself for it. I also found it frustrating that my energy levels were low – I wanted to do way more things than I could. I started trying to change my business a year or so ago, so that there would be less travel involved, because I found that very tiring. I transformed the business from training people in their workplace into an online training service. My sister joined the business to help me out, and she’s been absolutely brilliant. She can see when I’m flagging and tells me when I’m working too hard; she takes a lot of the strain off me, and it’s been really productive. It feels like I’m achieving much more now by doing less. The new approach has been exciting for me, because I’ve discovered it’s a useful format for people doing my courses who have chronic health conditions. It also turns out that online is a more effective way to do this sort of training, so it’s better for my business. In fact, the condition has actually made my business better for me: I work with my sister – which I love – and I’ve got an online business that I love, too. I don’t think I would have had the courage to try it without needing to. I have had to adjust to manage my condition. The day after I take medicine, I’m exhausted – but I just pencil it in as a bed day, which is really good for me. I read and draw, and do a lot of things people wouldn’t give themselves time for, to make me feel more like myself. Going to music festivals is a bit harder now, though, and my boyfriend tries to sort out glamping for me at festivals to give me a bit more comfort. I don’t get to see as many bands as I did before, but as I’m getting a bit more of a hold on the condition, I’m trying to go to more gigs. I’m also getting married in 2020, so I’m aiming to get as fit as possible. I plan to get back to running, and I’m doing a bit of yoga and trying to walk as much as possible. Feeling positive Having the condition has certainly made me approach life in a more positive way. I appreciate the things I have got, and it’s made me realise that there’s a lot in my life that I love, and that I haven’t got it as bad as many other people. The first thing I did when I was diagnosed was to look online for help and advice, and I now follow all the Versus Arthritis social media channels, which provide a very positive focus on the condition. My philosophy is to enjoy the day if possible, and enjoy what I have got and what I am able to do rather than dwelling on what I can’t do any more. I focus on appreciating everything. And if I don’t feel good, I rest up and don’t feel apologetic about it. Business is now going brilliantly. If it hadn’t been for the condition, it wouldn’t have happened like this. It’s great fun – it’s worked out like a dream. One of my passions was music and going to gigs, but I felt pain in my legs and feet when I was standing up to watch bands My sister can see when I’m flagging and tells me when I’m working too hard; she takes a lot of the strain off me, and it’s been really productive Making social work Real life Helen Reynolds, 38, runs a small firm delivering social media training. Being diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis led her to transform the business – and she hasn’t looked back iWords: Phil Lattimore Photography: Natasha Hirst spent my youth thinking I was going to be some kind of writer, and took a film studies degree at university. Following graduation, I got a job in PR, which I loved, and spent 10 years working in media relations for a local authority in Wales, where I began using lots of social media tools. Around five years ago, I left to take a better paid PR job, but I absolutely hated it and quit. That forced me to set up as a freelancer, which turned into a business – Comms Creatives – training other PR people in social media. And now I love what I do even more. I was very lucky with my job – I loved travelling around, delivering social media training. But it got to the point when everything in my body started to ache and I got tired. I didn’t know what was going on. One of my passions was music and going to gigs, but I felt pain in my legs and feet when I was standing up to watch bands. Making a connection I went back and forth to the doctors to try to find out what it was, and made the connection between the psoriasis I’ve had since I was 18 and my symptoms. Eventually, around two years ago, I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Then six months ago, I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I think I was going through some sort of denial at first. I carried on working longer than I probably should have, through the pain. I was struggling with a bit of an identity crisis. I didn’t like to think of myself as being weak and I didn’t want to tell anyone, as I felt they wouldn’t hire me, or might think I wasn’t up to the job. I didn’t talk to many people about my condition. Friends and family were supportive and have been absolutely lovely. But people would tell me that I was too young to have arthritis, as if it couldn’t be that bad because of my age. Previously, I had enjoyed running. But, as I wasn’t able to do that any more, I put on a lot of weight and felt a bit embarrassed about the whole situation, and blamed myself for it. I also found it frustrating that my energy levels were low – I wanted to do way more things than I could. I started trying to change my business a year or so ago, so that there would be less travel involved, because I found that very tiring. I transformed the business from training people in their workplace into an online training service. My sister joined the business to help me out, and she’s been absolutely brilliant. She can see when I’m flagging and tells me when I’m working too hard; she takes a lot of the strain off me, and it’s been really productive. It feels like I’m achieving much more now by doing less. The new approach has been exciting for me, because I’ve discovered it’s a useful format for people doing my courses who have chronic health conditions. It also turns out that online is a more effective way to do this sort of training, so it’s better for my business. In fact, the condition has actually made my business better for me: I work with my sister – which I love – and I’ve got an online business that I love, too. I don’t think I would have had the courage to try it without needing to. I have had to adjust to manage my condition. The day after I take medicine, I’m exhausted – but I just pencil it in as a bed day, which is really good for me. I read and draw, and do a lot of things people wouldn’t give themselves time for, to make me feel more like myself. Going to music festivals is a bit harder now, though, and my boyfriend tries to sort out glamping for me at festivals to give me a bit more comfort. I don’t get to see as many bands as I did before, but as I’m getting a bit more of a hold on the condition, I’m trying to go to more gigs. I’m also getting married in 2020, so I’m aiming to get as fit as possible. I plan to get back to running, and I’m doing a bit of yoga and trying to walk as much as possible. Feeling positive Having the condition has certainly made me approach life in a more positive way. I appreciate the things I have got, and it’s made me realise that there’s a lot in my life that I love, and that I haven’t got it as bad as many other people. The first thing I did when I was diagnosed was to look online for help and advice, and I now follow all the Versus Arthritis social media channels, which provide a very positive focus on the condition. My philosophy is to enjoy the day if possible, and enjoy what I have got and what I am able to do rather than dwelling on what I can’t do any more. I focus on appreciating everything. And if I don’t feel good, I rest up and don’t feel apologetic about it. Business is now going brilliantly. If it hadn’t been for the condition, it wouldn’t have happened like this. It’s great fun – it’s worked out like a dream. One of my passions was music and going to gigs, but I felt pain in my legs and feet when I was standing up to watch bands My sister can see when I’m flagging and tells me when I’m working too hard; she takes a lot of the strain off me, and it’s been really productive