On the contrary, actually. As a consequence of living with rheumatoid arthritis, it is easy to develop a bad attitude. Most people would say a bad attitude is understandable. Some may even say you are entitled to it. While your bad attitude may indeed be somewhat expected — par for the course, explainable, and understandable — it still hurts you. RELATED: Rheumatoid Arthritis and Mood Disorders: Understanding the Link

The Rheumatoid Arthritis Journey Is Fraught With Challenges

No one would ever suggest that life with rheumatoid arthritis is easy. Each day forward, from the day you are diagnosed, you are faced with challenges. In an instant, or so it seems, RA becomes part of your life. It’s daunting at first to imagine how it will affect your life as you know it. It truly is difficult to maintain your usual routines and responsibilities while dealing with pain, fatigue, medication side effects, and more. RELATED: Rheumatoid Arthritis Changes You You’re not only dealing with aspects of the disease itself, but you also are faced with feeling overwhelmed, angry, bitter, sad, fearful, cheated, and joyless. Combine all of those feelings and you have a bad attitude that rises like the most perfect soufflé.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Requires You to Make Positive Adjustments

Despite the fact that everything I have said to this point is understandable, you cannot fight RA with negativity. You must accept RA as part of your life, not try to live your life by ignoring it. You must make necessary adjustments in your life to help you manage RA. Negativity just serves to heighten your pain perception. Think about that for a moment. Negativity doesn’t help you control or manage the disease; it makes you feel the disease even more, physically and emotionally. RELATED: Why Stress Happens and How to Manage It Despite our best efforts to maintain a positive attitude, there are hints of a bad attitude which creep back in from time to time. It’s called being human. But that realization and admission does not get us off the hook. It is not to be viewed as permission to cultivate a bad attitude. It is more of a warning that you need to get back on track. But how? “I don’t think RA entitles one to have a bad attitude. I try very hard not to have one, because not focusing on what is positive in one’s life just seems to make for misery,” says Rebecca L., of Little River, South Carolina. “I slip up once in a while and descend into a pity party, but I try not to inflict it on anyone else. I try not to wallow. I get myself out of it by thinking about what is good in my life, and remembering that there are a lot of people who have a lot bigger problems than I do.”

Positive Psychology

Positive psychology is a relatively new discipline. A psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Martin Seligman, is credited with launching the field of positive psychology, according to Psychology Today. Seligman became president of the American Psychological Association in 1998. Positive psychology strives to ferret out what allows humans to thrive. That may include: achieving a goal, creating a stable relationship, or feeling inspired by nature. RELATED: A Laugh-Out-Loud Author Takes on a Deadly Serious Topic: Fighting for Health Insurance Coverage Proponents of positive psychology believe that the good and bad parts of life are equally genuine and that good is not the absence of bad but rather the presence of well-being and purpose. The goal isn’t to ignore suffering but to better understand what allows individuals to flourish and enhance well-being.

7 Ways to Nurture a Positive Attitude With Rheumatoid Arthritis

  1. Accept that RA is part of your life and requires adjustments. Living successfully and positively with RA begins by accepting that you have a chronic disease. Denying that fact or trying to avoid making necessary adjustments and adaptations does not allow you to meet the challenges of RA. Acceptance is key. This likely sounds obvious, trite, or trivial. On a personal note, I can tell you it took me 20 years to accept my RA, and I have heard many people say the same. RELATED: How to Try a Simple Breath Practice for Rheumatoid Arthritis-Related Stress and Pain
  2. Allow yourself to have bad days but limit how often and how long. Just as RA is characterized by variability, good days and bad days, so it is with your mood and attitude. It is important not to allow bad moods and attitudes to be prolonged, though. Recognize when it is occurring and get control by consciously switching up the atmosphere around you. Distract yourself from it. Walk through nature. Write in your journal. Brew your favorite, soothing tea. Whatever it takes, do it. You really are in control of changing it up.
  3. Focus your thoughts and change your internal dialogue. When you find yourself stuck in a bad mood or recognize you have a bad attitude, change how you talk to yourself. Replace hopelessness with hope, sadness with joy, timidity with courage. Project positivity as you plan ahead. You control how you think about RA and how you talk to yourself about it.
  4. Don’t hide from your reality. This is really part of acceptance — but in a physical sense. Don’t shun your physical needs. Don’t say no to splints, or a cane, or a handicapped placard. Deal with RA with honesty. RELATED: People With Rheumatoid Arthritis Should Embrace Their Cane
  5. Disallow the victim mentality. Take the energy you could expend on “why me” and “why now” and channel it into better managing the disease. It is you. It is now. It will not be helpful to blame and complain.
  6. Stop comparing yourself to people without RA or to yourself before RA. Be present in your own life. Don’t try to be someone else or your former self. When you look in the mirror, be proud of yourself. Do what it takes to have a positive self-image. Give yourself credit for facing very tough challenges.
  7. Work on how much you worry about the future; control fear. Mindfulness meditation has become a popular concept within the last few years and it can be very helpful to people with RA. Mindfulness is about being focused on “now.” In other words, be present in your current situation rather than consumed by worry about the future. Worry and fear take your mind away from “now,” promote negative thinking, and ultimately change nothing.

The Takeaway on Managing RA Fear and Worry

People with RA who have a positive attitude are more likely to adhere to their treatment plan, eat healthy, get regular exercise, and feel better overall. A positive approach is not an option — it’s necessary.