Chronic Illness Support: That Chronic Thing

💌 Stay in touch with me at  @indoorcathy on Instagram. Make sure you leave a rating and a review!  Thanks a bunch. <3  Follow the show on your fave podcast app to be notified of new episodes. "Glitter Blast" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hey honey grahams! Today, we’re diving into a topic that’s both tough and strangely beautiful—my journey of navigating independence with chronic illness. The pandemic gave me a unique cover while my world was quietly shifting: from canes to rollators to wheelchairs, and from managing everything solo to learning the art of leaning on loved ones.  So grab your coffee, settle in, and let’s explore wh...

Hey my jelly bellies! It’s a dating 🚨episode!  Single. Wheelchair. Sick. it’s just a different ball game.    I want my profile to be honest, as I don’t want to do a bait and switch. I can’t hike, parasail—  I can’t even go on the sand at the beach without assistance. And I’m getting zero matches on some of the apps and it’s deeeepressing.  In this episode, I tell you all about my profiles (Hinge...

Now let’s cross our fingers, knock on wood, hop on one leg and hold our breath, as we don’t want to do anything that could dispel this progress! Okay?  Here is Alison’s story, where she suffers from significant ME/CFS symptoms, receives a diagnosis, but also is told she is likely in remission (by the time she has her evaluation). Her story is unusual, as it begins with a trauma, not a virus, and c...

hello hunny bunnies! Comfort Cards coming out September 13! → Did you know about Havenroot ? → I give you the #behindthescenes journey of the Comfort Cards → including a Illuminating Souls & Andrea Scher class. → I share some of my fave Comfort Cards on the pod! There are 31 cards in the deck, to support you throughout the deck. Includes a wooden display block! Being an entrepreneur makes me h...

Today we do a day-in-the-life for someone with chronic illness, although I combine a few days! Sometimes not a lot happens for someone with chronic illness, as we spend A LOT of time resting. My day as an “unemployed sick girl.” → My Baby Skincare Routine → Being scared of symptoms getting worse as I adjust to meds :(  → On the IG, not wanting to be JUST a chronic illness influencer. But, what kin...

I'm back, baby! Part of the reason I publish so seldom, is that podcasting requires quite a bit of effort, and with my chronic illness I have very little capacity. Taking out the editing really helps. So hopefully, you like this unedited, unfiltered version of me!  Today I don't share too much about chronic illness! I share my thoughts on watching the Olympics, from Ilona Maher to Noah L...

Today I would like to talk about Little Actions, and the big differences they can make in our lives.  Sharing a short and sweet story from my life. Keeping it simple, no special links today!  💌 Stay in touch with me at  @indoorcathy on Instagram. Make sure you leave a rating and a review!  Thanks a bunch. <3  Follow the show on your fave podcast app to be notified of new episodes. "Glitte...

Surprise! It's a Holiday Episode! ❄️  It can be hard to accept that chronic illness doesn’t take a break for the holidays. Let's chat about 5 Low Energy Ways to Make your Holidays Sparkle... Mentioned in this episode: Card Making App: →  Felt App, Apple App Store Link ,  https://www.feltapp.com Music: → Barenaked for the Holidays;  Link to Apple Music Book:  → The Matzah Ball by Jean Mel...

Life with chronic illness can be really tough. We have to figure out meds, go to the doc, cope with symptoms, rinse and repeat. So when we find tips and tricks, or what we often call hacks, to make things easier, it sometimes makes a world of a difference. So today we’re going to talk about some of our favorite tips, tricks, and hacks, that may better your life if you have chronic illness. I’ll sh...

Erika Joy Sneath didn’t start out as a children’s book author, but decided to become one when she didn’t see representation of aunts and uncles and… chronic pain. I mean, think about it, you probably haven’t seen it either! Erika’s life started out a bit different, but as so many of us listening to this podcast, sometimes things take a turn. In Erika’s case, she ended up with a great deal of chron...

The irony of having a podcast about chronic illness is that I think I would be much better at it if I didn’t have chronic illness. Having one really gets in the way of consistently writing content and getting this podcast out in the world! So for today, I’m going to give you some updates on what has been going on in my world. Here’s what’s up with me…  → First up… I have depression. Here is a litt...

Today’s bonus episode features Fran Haddock, who lives with Severe ME/CFS. I’d like to give Fran a voice today, by, with her permission, sharing one of her recent Instagram posts.  Just 3 min long. Follow Fran: → Fran Haddock Support ME/CFS organizations: → #MEAction Maryland → Solve M.E. → The Bateman Horne Center   💌 Stay in touch with me at  @indoorcathy on Instagram. Make sure you leave a rat...

I’m back today with my friend Whitney, who just like me, has ME/CFS. Today we talk about our fear of COVID, with the context that we’re already ill. We chat about… → Whitney’s arrest story?! → What happens when you get COVID plus ME/CFS? → Going out in a COVID world when you have ME/CFS… → and more! Follow Whitney on Instagram ! Mentioned Instagram accounts... → Fran Haddock → The Physics Girl Che...

This week I have my friend Whitney Fox joining us! Just like me, Whitney has ME/CFS. That’s right folks — we’re continuing our discussion of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis in honor of ME/CFS Awareness month. We’ll start with a quick nod to our beloved chronic illness Instagram community, and then you’ll hear all about Whitney’s diagnosis journey. We talk all about patient-led research, including the fo...

In this episode, I'm sharing a bit more about my story, along with some information about this debilitating, devastating disease. May is ME/CFS awareness month, and we have a ways to go in raising awareness and working towards a cure! → Revisiting when I went out on my leave from work and saw my first ME/CFS specialist → Discussing Post Exertional Malaise (PEM)... what is it? And why is it su...

Today we have Kristine Eckart joining us! Kristine is the host of the Chronicon book club, has a blog and book club called the Gilmore Book Club, and focuses on how books can help others transform their lives! We also talk about TV and movies, and how all media can help support those with chronic illness. Whether you read a page, listen to an audio book, or watch a movie, you have the opportunity...

Today's guest is Stacey Ballard, the author of The Fine Art of Waiting. Stacey had chronic illness for the majority of her life, dealing with multiple illnesses and an organ transplant. Stacey uses art and creativity to help her deal with stress, loss, and changes that we experience, teaching people to bring more compassion to their experiences and themselves. The most beautiful takeaway I ha...

Recently someone pulled an oracle card for me that said "Education." Her goal with this card was to inspire me to tell a story. But what story should I tell about Education? I pondered multiple possibilities, and settled on the story that led to my career, abruptly ending with my chronic illness. So was my Education... 1) the start of my career 2) my career development, itself, or 3) the...

Today’s guest is Sam, a No BS Chronic Illness Coach and Content Creator. I found Sam on Instagram and immediately fell in love with her content. Like she says, it is straight to the point with zero BS. In today’s episode, Sam is going to introduce herself and discuss her first relapse of MS symptoms. There she’ll dive into her tips for someone who is newly diagnosed. From there we discuss communit...

I developed these three easy tasks when I was in a horrible flare a couple months ago. They became My Three Things, which is now evolving into That Chronic Thing 3. This simple formula has greatly helped me end my day with reflection and positivity, as well as a look forward at things to come. Today’s episode covers…  → Discussing Gratitude → Discussing "Something for you," plus some ite...

Life Hacks…. specifically for hair! Why? Because mine is currently a rats nest! Eek! It’s hard to take care of your care when you’re sick. If you’re sick, this may sound familiar to you.  Today’s episode covers…  → My daily fix… the messy top knot. → My monthly-ish fix… The salon! *Budgeted, Self-Care* → Grief, still. Thinking about my former life. → Tips & Tricks for taking care of your hair...

Content Warning: Depression, Suicidal Ideation This Part 2 episode (Part 1 was previous episode), features my close friend Alison, who I have known for over a decade! Like all friends, our friendship has changed quite a bit over this time... But with me becoming very sick a few years back, it has changed in some more serious and unexpected ways!  Today we discuss:  → Ask for Help with Tasks. Talki...

This episode features my close friend Alison, who I have known for over a decade! Like all friends, our friendship has changed quite a bit over this time... But with me becoming very sick a few years back, it has changed in some more serious and unexpected ways!  Today we discuss:  → A quick intro to Alison! More specifically... How Alison’s brain helps out mine! Which includes some background on...

Welcome to our first guest, Nitika Chropra!  Nitika is a chronic illness advocate and so much more… including the founder of Chronicon, my beloved platform and group of people coming together to discuss our chronic illnesses and support each other.  Today we discuss:  → All about Chronicon → Coping with Grief →  Current fave books (see below!) →  Nitika’s new podcast! → 3 Random Things… including...