"The moment I received my official diagnosis, I dropped all my assumptions about RA. It was so freeing." -Member of myRAteam

Living with a chronic condition can be difficult and even a burden, but also an opportunity to rid yourself of what you think you know.

Have you heard the saying, "People don't get it until they get it"? That is so true about RA.

"The more I learn about RA, the more I realize that it's not my fault." -Member of myRAteam

An RA diagnosis forces us to drop our negative assumptions about life with a chronic condition. Members on myRAteam gain perspective from other members' experiences to become better informed about what it's really like to live with RA.

Here are recent conversations from members of myRAteam:

• "I am new to this disease as well, well about a year in and getting my final diagnosis in July. It's quite the adjustment from a fast-paced life but I'm trying to stay positive."
• "I'm blessed; I suffered no paralysis, just memory loss and some other small problems that I'm learning to live with. But I still have my dreams, I'm not giving up, I know who I am and what I have to offer. I'm just learning to live in a new way."
• "I am learning the hard way to pace myself, my children and grandchildren come over every Sunday for dinner. We had a few more guests and I hate to leave pots and pans to be done the next AM. But I'm going to have to change my ways and clean those in the AM. At this point in my life, I've decided I don't care about the dirty dishes."

What negative assumptions have you let go of about RA? Tell us about it in the comments below or directly on myRAteam.com.