People with rheumatic disease experience changes in the physical appearance of their body. This can be associated with many negative feelings and emotions which can affect body image and self-esteem. It is unfortunately common to experience this if you have rheumatic disease.
Mindfulness can be a useful tool to practice self-compassion and kindness towards your body. When your body is not feeling well or your appearance is changing, it may be hard to stay in the present moment, without judgement. We suggest practicing the following meditations routinely to help grow self-compassion and loving kindness for yourself. By practicing self-compassion meditations routinely, you will learn how to stay in the present moment and to engage less and less with the negativity. This will give you more energy to heal.
Body Image Meditation #1
Body Image Meditation #2
Share Your Feedback
Thank you for your interest in the Johns Hopkins Division of Rheumatology’s Mindfulness Program for People Living with Rheumatic Disease. We welcome feedback regarding our exercises. Your response to this questionnaire will remain anonymous and no personal identifiers will be recorded. Completion of this questionnaire is purely voluntary and by taking this survey, your consent to this research study is assumed. Please complete this survey if you are at least 18 years of age and have a rheumatic disease. You may complete this survey for each meditation you have practiced. The information gathered from your responses will help to improve this resource and gain information for research purposes.
Research Study Name: Mindfulness for People Living with Rheumatic Diseases Study ID: IRB00289772 Principle Investigator: Clifton O. Bingham III, MD For more information, contact Michelle Jones: 410-550-9674 or mrkjones@jhmi.edu