Having a long term condition and not getting the right support can be frustrating but it can also make you feel alone. We’ve been chatting to people across Scotland about their long term conditions and what works for them to show people that they aren’t alone.

We spoke to Joyce, a lady from Campbeltown, about how she controls her arthritis. Find out more about Joyce and her experience with arthritis here. Joyce told us that Arthritis Care opened up some new opportunities for her.

Arthritis Care is a charity that helps people living with arthritis and provides lots of support on a local level with their branches and groups. The aim is to help people manage their pain better, improve their health and wellbeing, prevent isolation and help people be independent. And it's easy to get advice from Arthritis Care; on their website they have lots of handy information on coping with pain, diet and exercise, medical issues, work, children with arthritis and welfare benefits.

If you have a question that hasn't been answered, even after you’ve read all the information available, Arthritis Care also has an online forum. All you need to do is register with the website and from there you can share your own symptoms and experiences, learn from others or find help with something that’s been on your mind for a while.

Join Arthritis Care’s online forum and be part of their positive community. It’s full to the brim with advice and resources and can put you in touch with people who have similar experiences.

If you’d like to speak to someone, Arthritis Care has a free helpline. You can call them on 0808 800 4050.

There are also events and activities you can get involved in where you’ll be able to make new friends and share experiences with each other. Recently, for example, Arthritis Care held their first workshop on pain management in Inverness, and an Edinburgh support group recently went on a barge trip.

Joining Arthritis Care can bring you lots of opportunities as well as helping you to manage your condition.

We have lots of different advice on our website from healthy diet to self-managing a condition. Find out more on FLOURISH.