Reframing Chronic Illness

Do you need to wait until your chronic illness is better, less active, or in remission before you start working towards your goals, ambitions and dreams, or can you actually use the process of working towards your goals, ambitions and dreams to support your body and health and chronic illness? If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll know it’s the latter! In today’s episode, I’m going to te...

If you approached life - and life with chronic illness - in a way that was led by supportive, joyful, aligned, nourishing & feels good intention and energy, how would things be different for you? A Chronic Illness Informed approach puts two fingers up to the suggestion that your every move should be geared towards getting rid of, controlling, managing, fixing and stripping yourself of what mak...

How can you really lean into this winter and allow it to support you? So much growth happens - and is totally possible - during the winter of your chronic illness, but when you look at your body and see that your chronic illness is more active (which is a characteristic of winter), it can be really easy to think of stagnation, degradation and feel like you’re taking steps backwards. But that...

I believe, like in many other parts of nature and our bodies, we have the ability to experience chronic illness as part of a cycle, with a spring, summer, autumn and winter. A chronic illness cycle can be experienced wherever you’re at with your chronic illness; whether you’re still living within the chronic illness struggle, or whether you’re living with your chronic illness as your ally and guid...

Does the status-quo of living with chronic illness prepare us for a life in which we thrive, or does it condition us to get comfortable with a life of struggle?  It’s a question I came to when my partner and I were giving our relationship a little MOT, and I realised it translates to so many other areas in life… so that’s what’s todays episode is all about. What I come to understand more and...

Do you experience guilt when it comes to choosing yourself?  Are you torn between expectations and ‘the way things are done’, and what you actually need?  Do you feel that living your life and avoiding flares is an either/or situation? Are you confused by how acceptance will help you and feel resistance towards going there? This week’s listener write-in is all about that. I talk abo...

Do you experience guilt when it comes to choosing yourself?  Are you torn between expectations and ‘the way things are done’, and what you actually need?  Do you feel that living your life and avoiding flares is an either/or situation? Are you confused by how acceptance will help you and feel resistance towards going there? This week’s listener write-in is all about that. I talk abo...

Do you want to honour your chronic illness but as a background element in your life, rather than living with it the foreground? This week's listener write-in episode explores: The concept of balance between life:chronic illness, whether it exists and how we can reframe it to be more conducive to health & happiness, How the way you feel about your chronic illness will be reflected in other area...

What is it actually like to live with chronic illness, and why does almost nobody prepare you for anything that you're likely to experience outside the main symptoms? Living with chronic illness anxiety, or the feeling of being on edge over what might happen, is one such thing. In this episode I talk about the toll that takes on your body, your life, and eventually the severity of how you experien...

How do you stay positive about your chronic illness? Even on your worst days? What are your thoughts on positivity, and how it affects the way you experience your chronic illness? Do you believe a positive mindset will bring you the joy, happiness, health and healing you're after? In today's episode, I talk about why positivity isn't the thing we should all be aiming for, because positiv...

When you believe you accept your situation, when you believe you accept your chronic illness, but something doesn't quite click with it all, where do you go from there and what can you do to move the needle more towards acceptance? Links: Your Chronic Illness Superpower: click here to tap into the wisdom of your chronic illness and start living in the way you truly want to be living, from the day-...

What do you do when you’re waiting for a diagnosis? How do you get on with your life - a life that now includes what you believe is chronic illness - when you’re waiting for answers, validation and reassurance?  In today’s episode, I’ll be answering that very question, submitted by a listener.  If you want to send me a question, your journey or experience, a call to be seen, heard and wi...

Season 3 is here, and I want to hear from you! Think of it as a blend between a q&a and an ‘agony aunt’ column, where you send me what’s going on for you and your chronic illness right now, and I offer reflections, shared experiences, guidance and a different perspective (as well as just being here to listen & witness). The idea behind this pod-project is for you to feel the power of getti...

If ever I’ve met a person so inspirational in their approach to creating a life they love against a backdrop that would challenge anyone’s resilience, Becca is she. A high school dropout and a late bloomer, Becca qualified in her late 40s and said reaching midlife was the point her life opened up as she tuned into her inner rebel and lived for her , when society would have had her believe it was t...

When I first came across Reena on Instagram, I wasn’t ready to hear her message. Our chat was really grounding for me, it reminded me how hard it can be to hear the message of self-love, acceptance and compassion in the face of chronic illness, especially when we’re always being persuaded to believe in the opposite. It also confirmed how bloody powerful and transformative those things are, if we c...

Lesley Asare is a British Ghanaian Artist, Somatic Coach, Mentor and Tamalpa Teacher Training Graduate based in Milton Keynes, UK. She creates solo and collaborative work and wholeheartedly believes in the healing power of the creative process. Her work explores identity, personal histories and the experiences of Black People. Through her work and through the spaces she holds she aims to create th...

When you live with chronic illness, the desire to heal makes sense. Of course it does! But in today’s mainstream society - where we’ve been tricked into believing we’re broken, less than and need fixing - healing has become a goal; a result we need to achieve in order to become worthy humans. The experience of healing has been lost, and for so many, the experience of life along with it....

What started with symptoms of my chronic illness - the need to scratch an itch, both literally and metaphorically - has become about so much more than my chronic illness in isolation. It’s become about my chronic illness encouraging and guiding me to strengthen the fibres of my being. To sculpt a more peaceful, grounded, fulfilling existence. To create life conditions that will support me in conti...

We’re conditioned to believe that in order to feel good about ourselves and our lives, in order to be truly happy, we need to completely free of chronic illness. Is that not the most backwards sentiment ever? Although it goes against everything we see, hear and believe to be true, I want you to know three things; 1 . You do not need to wait until your chronic illness is in remission, or even only...

I know how radical it is to think of chronic illness as a force for good in your life. I know it goes against what we’re constantly being told, shown and conditioned to believe. I also know that the quest to feel better by doing only the things that address the physiological manifestation of your chronic illness, and supposed physiological root causes, is futile. There’s a huge gap between this he...

YOUR CHRONIC ILLNESS ALLY Limited MINI SERIES So much of the time spent living with chronic illness is spent in fear - actually, I once read (can’t remember where, sorry!) that living with chronic illness means you’re living in a constant state of fight or flight; your nervous system is constantly in a sympathetic state. Whilst I don’t know how scientifically accurate that is, it was certainly tru...

If we considered that, before approaching any kind of healing practice or regimen, that we first needed to feel deeply safe within our bodies, how do you think that would change the landscape of the healing, wellness and self-development worlds? Would the focus change? Would all the quick fixes and magic cures no longer be a thing? Would the common belief that chronic illness = brok...

It’s no secret that I choose to embrace my chronic illness as my ally and superpower, rather than think of it as something I need to fight, and this is where Tati and I meet minds. The way we approach life when we allow ourselves to work with our chronic illness rather than against it, is the difference between freedom and empowerment, and restriction and control. Tati is a chronic illness bu...

Self-compassion isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you consider living or working in a way that questions the status quo, and yet throughout this conversation, Sophie and I kept coming back to that very idea. More and more, we’re being given examples that living by what’s already been written, might not actually be the best way for us. But how often do we consider that compassion toward...

Kathryn is a life coach who helps over-thinkers, self-critics, and deeply thoughtful humans to let go of self-judgement without bypassing their feelings or current reality, and helps them to live life more on their own terms.  I met Kathryn in a group coaching programme and was drawn to how comfortable she seemed with sitting in discomfort… I watched as she took the space and time she needed...