Hello to each and every one of you and thank you for stopping by my blog. My name is Yolanda. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Anger Management Specialist as well as a Board Certified Tele mental Health Counselor. For those of you who know me personally, my magnificent sense of humor is something I pride myself on. I really enjoy making people smile and feel better after each encounter we have. Like everyone else, I wear many hats. I am a mother,  fur mom, daughter, sister, niece, aunt, grandmother, friend and I am living with a chronic illness called Hidradenitis Supprotiva. HS for short. I started this blog to not only bring more awareness to HS, but to also develop a place where other people can  come discuss and interact with others dealing with a chronic illness. Sometimes we need to read something funny or motivational to help us through the day.

I’ve dealt with HS since I was 16 years old although I was not formally diagnosed until 2012. This condition has so much shame and embarrassment attached to it that there are so many people that have it and will never admit it because of the stigma. After numerous trips to the ER, I was finally referred to a cancer specialist. He tried to help has much as he could, but he did not know how to treat HS so he put me on antibiotics for months as time.  I actually began to feel worse and it was then I began to do my own research. Thankfully I found so many people that were like me and I have not stopped making those connections to this day. Thanks to my new friends, I found a Medical Dermatologist who specialized in treating Hidradenitis.

I have learned so many things by connecting with other people who were dealing with similar issues as I am. I felt better knowing I was not in this alone. I wanted to find a way to not only share what I have learned, but also help others the way I have been helped. As a therapist and anger management specialist, I am able to provide a therapeutic approach when dealing with the difficulty of trying to not only maintain our sanity, but to also have a better quality of life according to our “new” normal. With this blog, my goal is to be the change I want to see with awareness and support for those of us dealing with chronic illnesses.  I want to remove the shame and stigma attached to it and ensure my readers we are on this journey together.