Chronic Wellness

Because chronic illness shifts identity and how I move through the world, that has implications for me and my experience of guilt. In this video I examine these questions and more: When I feel unreliable, how does that impact me and my loved ones? What's it like to not be able to show up for our friends and family? How has my unreliability manifest as guilt?

In this episode I'm addressing the question "do you have a lot of guilt with chronic illness?" I'm looking at these questions: How do my limitations impact others? How do the little things, the minutiae add up? In what ways do others have to carry the burdens because of my illnesses? I have guilt about how much others -- specifically my wife, have to pick up the slack because of my inability to co...

In today's episode I'm talking about the gifts chronic illness has offered me. One of these gifts has been cultivating better connections to my physical self. How does illness push me to shift into my physical experience? What opportunities do I have to attend to myself differently? How am I often paying so much attention to others' needs that I don't notice my own? Learning how to attune and list...

In this episode I'm discussing the ways in which chronic illness has brought me different gifts, today's gift: learning how to get my needs met. I'm the expert on me. While I have LOTS of good help, I have to drive that help. If I'm at the doctor, or need care, I'm the one who knows what it feels like in my body or what care is most needed. I have to verbalize that to make things known. I study ho...

In today's episode I'm talking about some of the gifts of chronic illness and exploring the gift of permission. How did I use sick as an out when I wasn't strong enough to say "no" when I needed to? How can I hold boundaries without using my illness as the reason? What is the difference between relying on "sick" as the reason and my needs being reason enough? The gift of permission is knowing that...

In today's episode I'm talking about how chronic illness has offered me many gifts. One of these gifts has been clarifying who are my true friends another has been understanding what are my most precious natural resources -- my time and energy. How did being a people-pleaser contribute to having one-sided relationships? How did getting sick help cull my friendship circle down to more reciprocal re...

In this episode I talk about how to counter act the depleting effects of chronic pain by feeding your spirit. I talk about the questions: What brings you genuine comfort? Rather than numbing and escaping, what can I do soothe my soul? What things, when you do them bring you peace? When I am most run down, this is where I turn. This is the way that I can feed and nourish my spirit.

In this episode I'm considering looking at chronic pain and discussing Byron Katie's "The Work." How does anxiety feed chronic pain? How is chronic pain related to stressful thoughts? How can I get some distance from my stressful thoughts? When I remember that I don't have to believe everything that I think, I experience less pain. I also show you my hair do if you're watching this on video. How c...

In this episode I'm exploring a method of managing periods of extreme chronic pain. Talking about my experience with meningitis I explore How do you dig into pain rather than avoid it? How does our fear of pain actually amplify it? When my body feels like a prison, what can I do ease the experience? Rather than running from or trying to escape, by stopping, taking a breath and asking a question, I...

In this video I'm discussing depression and how it intertwines with the experience of chronic pain. I examine such questions as: How does depression manifest? What are the hallmarks of depression? How can you know if you or someone you love are depressed? What are some of the potential benefits for depression of taking pain medications? There are no easy solutions to either of these conditions. In...

In this episode I'm talking about how to manage chronic pain using meditation. How can meditation help ease pain? What techniques do I use? What does "remembered wellness" have to do with the process? If our brain is telling us about the pain, isn't it our brain that can help us soothe the pain? These are some of the questions I explore in this podcast.

In this podcast I'm looking at the question how do you manage chronic pain? What are some ways we make some peace with chronic pain? Are you familiar with "the work" by Byron Katie? How do stressful thoughts further contribute to my experience of chronic pain? What are the ways that acceptance can allow us to ride the waves of pain with less suffering? As a person who has migraines and chronic pai...

When thinking about ways to deal with having a chronic illness, one of the things that helps me function is creativity. How can creative expression help heal the wounds of chronic illness? When many things are going wrong, expressing myself creatively can be a path back to myself. Brene Brown says that creativity is the opposite of depression. I find this to be true, how about you?

In this episode I'm talking about rituals that add meaning and help me deal with having chronic illness. How can ritual help me deal with chronic illness? What is a grief bowl and how do I use it? What are other rituals that might help in managing the losses incurred by chronic illness? Here I share some ideas and ways to symbolically lighten the burdens of my heart.

What are the ways that feelings contribute to the origins of disease? I'm talking about the work of Dr. Gabor Mate and others who examine the mind-body connection in autoimmune disease and cancer. What happens when we suppress negative emotions? How can we unlearn the habits that don't serve us and our our illnesses? How does being congruent in my emotional experience shape my ability to be well?...

In this podcast I'm considering the question: How do people deal with having chronic illness? Today I'm talking about my journey toward self-compassion. How are you depriving the world of your gifts? When you aren't showing up because of your inner critic we all loose. Do you know about the work of Kristin Neff? Would you say it to your kid or your best friend, if not, why would you say it to your...

In this episode I'm considering the question: How do people deal with having chronic illness? Today I'm talking about what acceptance my orientation towards my own sickness. Did it take you a long time to get your diagnosis? Was there relief when you got answers? Have you ever grown tired of seeking out solutions? How is acceptance different than "giving up?" What can I find in myself and the pres...

In this episode I'm considering the question: How do people deal with having chronic illness? Today I'm talking about my mother's radical stoicism and how that influenced my orientation towards my own sickness. Were you conditioned not to talk about sickness? Did the maxim "if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing," apply to you and extend to your body and your experience of illness? Ho...

In this episode I'm considering the question: How do people deal with having chronic illness? Today I'm talking about what it means to be doing the "best" that I can. Are people doing the best they can? What if that means numbing out or ignoring what's happening that day? How do my thoughts influence my reality? I explore these and other questions today.

In this episode I talk again about what it's like to have chronic illness. What is it that disease subtracts? What images or metaphors resonate for me around living with chronic illness? What considerations have to be balanced to get some things accomplished and to maintain some quality of life?

In this episode I'm considering the question: What are your tips for managing doctors' visits with chronic illness? Today I'm talking about how I manage my medical information. How do I log of all my vital health stats? How do I track conversations and progress between appointments? What do I do to be best prepared for my visits with individual doctors and among all of my care providers? I talk ab...

In this episode I'm considering the question: What are your tips for managing doctors' visits with chronic illness? Today I'm looking at what a difference the right doctor makes. Who is the right doctor for my illness? How do I determine who the right doctor is? What criteria should I use to evaluate doctors? I help you think through this important question -- the critical factors in selecting who...

In this episode I'm considering the question: What are your tips for managing doctors' visits with chronic illness? Today I'm looking at what can I do to make a visit to the doctor more manageable. When the typical drain of a doctor's visit is too much, what can be done? How can my energy and time be best managed if I'm having a hard day? I help you think through one crucial thing you can ask for...

In this episode I'm considering the question: What are your tips for managing doctors' visits with chronic illness? Today I'm looking at what can be done in advance of your doctor's visit. I answer your burning question: How do you do your hair? What can be done before your doctor's visit? I help you think through what prep might needed? What can you bring or plan to make it easier?

In this episode I'm discussing the question: how do you find fulfillment with chronic illness? Today I'm talking about cultivating a contemplative practice. How meditation or prayer can help me quiet my mind. How can a contemplative practice shift our experience of pain? What other activities can be meditative?