CSSA is a non-profit organization dedicated to informing the public on various less known disorders that trouble people which don’t get enough recognition by the public or the health care industry. In fact, the disorders that CSSA tries to shine more light on are often times dismissed as not real by many people. Still, there are those of us who actually have them and who have to suffer every day. We would love nothing more than being able to one day just declare that our condition is all hogwash. Sadly that’s not how things work.
Latest articles
When does regular pain turn into chronic pain?
Hey there everybody. A question that we here at CSSA often get asked is what is the difference between pain, meaning regular pain, chronic pain, …
Why does fibromyalgia affect women more than it does men?
Fibromyalgia is one of the most represented conditions amongst the CSSA membership. Out of the about 40 people that are members of CSSA who have …
Conquering Your Child’s Chronic Pain: A Pediatrician’s Guide for Reclaiming a Normal Childhood
If there is one thing obvious about books that deal with the topics of chronic pain it's that their titles are super long. Today we're …
Famous people with chronic syndromes – Lady Gaga
I don't know if you have heard about this but quite recently Lady Gaga made splashes in the media by announcing that she has fibromyalgia …
CSSA annual vacation fund raising is over
CSSA is a community that cares and one of the ways that we show our members that we care is by setting up annual vacations for our youngest members. Every year funds are raised with the intent on making the lives of some of our most vulnerable members somewhat easier. This year we’ve really went out of our way and decided to book a trip to Split, Croatia. A local travel agency we’ve worked with before suggested the location. We were kind of skeptical at first, but after finding many cool things that you can do in Split, we’ve decided to go with this destination. Exploring palace cellars was unique experience I’ll remember for life.
One of the things that our members will surely love is the Split to Blue cave tour, which we’ve heard great things about. If interested, you can read more about it here. But I digress from the most important thing, community. A community that cares is what made all this possible, all of you kind people who have contributed have made it possible for our little ones to have the time of their lives, and that is something that I am very thankful. As is again tradition, once the vacation is over and the kids come back, we’ll organize a welcome back picnic for all the CSSA members to enjoy. This will bring to a close another year here at CSSA, which couldn’t be possibe without all of you. So thank you, and here’s to another good year.
Join the cause
The team behind CSSA would like to get in touch with others who might suffer from various chronic disorders, who have been shunned by institutions, in an effort to show them that they are not alone. CSSA members are spread out all across the country. We can provide you with support and help get in touch with the right doctors that will help you deal with your situation. We hold regular meetings in local hubs where we talk about the issues that trouble us and where we have fun. There’s a community room at our offices in Washington DC, where our members can talk, share their experiences, support each other and also have fun. We have board games, video games, and recently we even bought several cheap drones that we use to have some fun during meetups. I and all my colleagues like to think that the best way how to deal with chronic syndromes is by filling your time with hobbies, whatever they might be. That way you don’t spend time thinking about your illness and just relax.
History of CSSA
CSSA is a relatively young support group for chronic syndrome sufferers made up of people who have gotten together in order to provide each other help and advice on how to deal with their disorders. We have officially started our effort back in 2012. Out of the ashes of many similar non-profits that have existed before us, we got together and formed CSSA, Chronic Syndrome Sufferers Association. Majority of our membership know each other from many similar associations that have either existed and closed their doors, or exist for specific disorders that people battle against.
Speaking of disorders, you must be wondering just what kind of disorders it is that we’re talking about here. Well, we cover pretty much all of them. We have members that suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity disorder, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic Myofacial Pain disorder, Gulf War Syndrome, Post Polio Syndrome and other related illnesses. We are a diverse group with a large membership all across the US. You can join us to, and make your voice heard. Not only that, but like we have already mentioned, we offer a lot of different fun activities, like flying beginner drones, for our members during meetups.
Public perception of the chronic syndromes
We here at CSSA are well aware of the publics’ perception of chronic disorders and syndromes that are ailing our community. Even disorders like the Gulf War Syndrome, one that affects our veterans, gets flack and disbelief not just by people, but health care professionals as well. Not to mention some of the less known disorders that some of our membership is dealing with, like Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
Members of CSSA are really saddened by the situation we have found ourselves in. It’s really disinheriting seeing our problems dismissed like they don’t exist, but they still do affect a lot of people. They are very real to us. It is our hope that through our work here with the Chronic Syndrome Sufferers Association, and also through the work of many other similar groups out there, we will fight for our right to be taken seriously.
Our mission
Mission of CSSA is first and foremost to help people who suffer from chronic syndromes get the right treatment so that their situation and quality of life is improved. Chronic syndromes take the toll on not just those who are affected by them, but also on their loved one, like any other condition. CSSA will strive to help people in three ways.
Knowledge
Many people are affected by chronic syndromes without even realizing this. They just shrug it off as either being tired, not drinking enough coffee, not getting enough exercise or in some other similar way. They usually employ half measures in an effort to deal with their problems. Key step in getting help is admitting that you have a problem. Luckily you’ve come to the right place. Our plan is to post articles here on the website that can help people learn more about the serious chronic syndromes that exist out there, and also how to come to terms with the fact that you might have them.
Acceptance
Once you finally admit to yourself that you have a chronic syndrome, the next step is to accept that you will need help and that you are going to need to deal with the stigma that having chronic syndrome entails. That’s what we’re here for, to help people like you. CSSA team is always ready to listen to people who found themselves affected by a disorder that they can’t quite understand or explain. Members of CSSA are always here for other fellow sufferers and we are always going to be here. Get in touch with confidence that here you’ll find acceptance, understanding and help.
Treatments
Those of you who have any kind of knowledge about chronic syndromes will probably be familiar with the fact that depending on what kind of condition it is that you have, there might not be that much that you can do, but that doesn’t mean that you should just give up and not try and look for treatments. Many methods exist out there which are devised in order to help people like us. We will use this website of ours from time to time to post articles explaining breakthroughs in chronic syndrome treatment. However the real strength of the CSSA is in it membership. We’ll be here for you no matter what.
Thank you for your support
The entire team here at CSSA would like to thank you being here for us and for allowing us to help you. We are pleased to hear from you, so get in touch using the contact page. Thank you once again, and see you at our meetings.