Link Round-Up.

My ginger-and-pasty complexion requires me to wish you a happy St Patrick’s day! Here’s a couple of (non-Irish) things that have caught my eye on the web over the last few weeks.

Mindfulness has been shown to be a helpful technique in relaxation and managing pain. Here are some quick-and-easy ways to give it a go while commuting or in a particularly boring lecture.

xoJane has been running a series on respectful interactions with certain groups of (usually minority) people. It’s been a bit hit-and-miss for me, but this one on interacting with disabled people was interesting. Although it’s visible-mobility-issue specific (the writer uses a wheelchair), both the article and the comments (which are awesome) gave me a lot of “me too!” moments.

Laurie Edwards, who wrote both a blog and a book that I love, published this interview on relationships touched by chronic illness with the author of another interesting new book, In Sickness as In Health.

In scary but unsurprising news, a study has proposed a link between the high levels of refined and processed salt in junk foods and autoimmune disease.

Julie at Managing Fibro wrote a beautiful piece for International Women’s Day about the link between gender and fibromyalgia, and the impact of that link on fighting for research and treatment.

Via Fibro Feist, this article discusses tips for keeping your relationship strong when you are living with chronic illness.

And from Toni Bernhard at Turning Straw into Gold, some common struggles for balance in chronic illness.

I hope you’re having a relaxing weekend.