The SpoonFull Show- A Chronic Illness Podcast by SpoonFull of Strength

Living with a chronic illness doesn’t just cost energy ...it costs money, stability, and sometimes even the life you once imagined. In this week’s episode, Rachel and Tina open up about the financial burden of chronic illness: the bills no one warns you about, the insurance hoops, the lifestyle changes you never wanted to make, and the emotional weight of feeling like a financial burden on your fa...

What if the answers you’ve been searching for finally arrived after nearly two decades? In this inspiring conversation, Rachel sits down with author Rachel Weaver to explore her eighteen‑year journey of constant dizziness, and the unexpected path that led her toward healing. Together, they talk about the long stretch of uncertainty, the courage it takes to keep trying when nothing makes sense, and...

This week on The SpoonFull Show, Rachel sits down with licensed clinical professional counselor Julsey Roach, founder of Capon Counseling, for a powerful conversation about medical gaslighting, chronic illness, and the toxic pressure to “heal before living.” Drawing from both her professional work and personal experience navigating conditions including EDS, Lyme disease, Crohn’s, POTS, and a brain...

In this heartfelt episode of The SpoonFull Show, Rachel welcomes back former co-host and fellow Spoonie, Tina, for an honest conversation about the connection between pets and healing. Together, they share personal stories about the animals who have supported them through chronic illness, cancer, anxiety, grief, and the emotional ups and downs of daily life. From dogs sensing panic attacks before...

What happens when you finally start getting “better”… but emotionally, you still don’t feel okay? In this episode of The SpoonFull Show, Rachel sits down with patient advocate, health coach, and bestselling author Amy Kurtz to talk about her powerful new book, But You Look Fine: Trapped in the Hell Between Sick and Well and How to Break Free . Amy shares her experience navigating chronic illness,...

In this episode of The SpoonFull Show , Rachel sits down with former teacher, speaker, activist, and The Bachelorette star Michelle Young for an honest conversation about navigating life with chronic illness, including POTS and overlapping health struggles. Michelle opens up about the quiet realities of living with chronic illness, the challenges of trying to understand what was happening in her b...

In this episode, Rachel is joined by Kelly and Avery, hosts of Wheel Talk, a podcast led by two women living with congenital muscular dystrophy. Together, they explore what it really means to live with a rare disease, how their relationship with their diagnosis has evolved over time, and the powerful shift from viewing disability as a limitation to embracing it as identity. We also dive into the b...

In this episode of The SpoonFull Show , Rachel is joined by Kimberley for an honest and empowering conversation about navigating medications while living with chronic illness. From decoding side effects to managing multiple prescriptions, they explore the often invisible mental and emotional load that comes with being a “professional patient.” Together, they discuss the turning point where taking...

Gut health is often talked about in the chronic illness space—but rarely explained in a way that actually connects the dots. In this episode, Rachel is joined by Liz Roman, a Board-Certified Functional Nutritional Practitioner specializing in gut health, hormone balance, and autoimmune conditions. After being told her symptoms were “normal” despite dealing with fatigue, brain fog, skin issues, and...

What does parenting look like when your body doesn’t always cooperate? In this episode, Rachel is joined by Kristina for a real and honest conversation about parenting with chronic illness. Together, they talk about the emotional and physical challenges of raising kids while navigating unpredictable symptoms, low energy, and flare days—and the pressure to still “do it all.” They dive into the invi...

In this episode, Rachel explores what happens when patients are labeled instead of listened to — and why trusting yourself can be one of the most important decisions you make. Rachel is joined by Ali Moresco, Founder of Moresco Public Relations + Communications. She specializes in healthcare PR rooted in lived experience. After navigating her own complex health journey, she now advocates for patie...

What does it really mean to get stronger with chronic illness? In this episode, Rachel is joined by Charu — a mom of two living with autoimmune hepatitis and PBC — to talk about redefining strength in the chronic illness community. Together, they explore: • How the definition of “strength” changes after diagnosis • The balance between pushing forward and knowing when to rest • Starting small with...

What does it mean to become disabled after living as an able-bodied person? In this episode, Rachel is joined by author Jackie Norton to talk about her memoir Burden: A Year of Journals from Someone Living with Chronic Illness. After developing long COVID in 2021, Jackie’s life changed dramatically — leading to diagnoses including POTS, dysautonomia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and mast cell activat...

Uncertainty is one of the most challenging parts of living with chronic illness. The unpredictability of flares. The shifting baseline. The progressive questions about the future. The quiet grief that shows up in waves. In this episode of The Spoonful Show, Rachel is joined by Karen Wagner and Chris Burton from the Invisible Strength Podcast to explore what it really means to live alongside uncert...

When you’re diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, it can feel like your sense of control disappears overnight. In this episode, Rachel is joined by Amy Behimer—Doctor of Pharmacy, nationally board-certified health and wellness coach, and someone living with multiple sclerosis—to talk about how to reclaim agency over your health, even when you can’t control your diagnosis. Together, they explore th...

When chronic illness changes your body, it can also change how you see yourself. In this episode of The SpoonFull of Strength Podcast, Rachel and Kait talk about losing identity after diagnosis — and how meaningful activities can help rebuild purpose, joy, and connection to who you are now. Kait shares how running once defined her identity, how her MMS diagnosis shifted everything, and the grief t...

What happens to your sense of worth when your body, health, or capacity changes? In this episode, I’m joined by Leisa Wallace, author of The Ultimate Act of Being Enough: Your Guide to Remembering Your Worth When Everything Falls Apart, for a deeply grounding conversation about identity, productivity, and what it means to be enough when life falls apart. After an aggressive-onset multiple sclerosi...

This is the first episode of a new season of The SpoonFull Show , and Rachel is joined by author and patient advocate Tilly Rose as a special guest co-host for a powerful conversation about the cost of being a medical mystery . Together, they explore what it truly means to spend years searching for answers—being dismissed, misdiagnosed, and medically gaslit while your body continues to break down....

What if your body isn’t broken — but responding exactly as it was designed to? In this episode of The SpoonFull Show , Rachel is joined by Dana Hargis , a trauma-informed therapist and educator who helps people understand the deep connection between trauma, the nervous system, and chronic illness. Together, they explore why so many spoonies feel stuck in survival mode — and why rest, safety, and s...

Living with chronic or mental illness can feel incredibly isolating — but the truth is, illness doesn’t just affect the person diagnosed. It impacts families, relationships, and the people who love us, often in ways no one is prepared for. In this episode, Rachel is joined by Michelle Sherman, licensed clinical psychologist and expert in family systems and mental illness, for an honest and compass...

In this episode, Rachel sits down with therapist, educator, and author Tammy Gangloff , whose work bridges chronic illness, trauma, eating disorders, and lived experience. Tammy shares her personal story of growing up with scoliosis, undergoing multiple spine surgeries, and navigating years of recovery from an eating disorder, alcoholism, and PTSD. What began as a simple survey on social media bec...

In this episode of The SpoonFull Show , Rachel is joined by Melissa, a registered nurse with over three decades of experience in women’s health and autoimmune conditions. Together, they dive into the often-overlooked relationship between hormones and chronic illness — how stress, cortisol, thyroid function, and even basic nutrient absorption can shift the way Spoonies feel day to day.  Melissa bre...

In this powerful episode of SpoonFull of Strength , Rachel sits down with Dr. Jenny Tufenkian, a naturopathic physician with decades of experience treating complex chronic illness, and someone who has personally survived multiple severe crashes of ME/CFS, long COVID, and hormone-triggered fatigue. Dr. Jenny opens up about her early health struggles, a devastating medical-school crash that left her...

In this Spoonie Chats episode, Rachel is joined by Christina Lisk, one of the top-downloaded guests from episode 6 of the SpoonFull of Strength podcast. Christina shares big updates since her first appearance: her ovarian vein transposition surgery has now been declared a success, and she’s received formal diagnoses of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) and POTS . What once felt like “bad l...

What happens to love when illness enters a relationship? In this episode of The SpoonFull Show , Rachel sits down with Lisa Gray, LMFT , author of Thriving in a Relationship When You Have a Chronic Illness: An ACT-Based Guide for Protecting Your Bond at Each Stage of the Journey . Lisa is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps couples navigate the challenges that come with chronic illn...