Autoimmune Hope Coach Podcast

Out on a snowy, icy walk I thought of you! I was experiencing something that reminded me of living with flare ups. You will find this very useful. Enjoy!

Just sit back and play this episode in a loop. Rewrite your own thoughts about yourself. You really deserve this praise.

This episode is a CALL to wake up to your stature. All the tears of respect, love, and possibility are here for the taking.

Make the decision. Gather the lights. Illuminate your life-with-illness

Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey as a metaphor for living with autoimmune illness is filling me up! I'm introducing the idea in this episode. Eat it up!! You are amazing!!

This is a strategic call on your part. But in 12 minutes I'm explaining the crux of the strategy and some tips to make your decision more efficient and more self-representative.

I heard something on the radio that got me associating passage of time with the connection to humanity through the lens of our autoimmune sufferings.

OH! From Episode 37, a forgot-to-mention MAIN MESSAGE burst out of my heart (and out of my eyes). Please, please give this a listen.

There are a few things to face when we live with autoimmune symptoms! Some of them are exhausting to think about and others of them we need to remember more often. But if you want day where you feel more whole, listen for 10 min and grab an idea or two.

Reading a book called “A Liberated Mind” by Steven Hays, phD, I have been finding my “Dictator Within” which is part of my brain that is not super useful. And in this particular case, I pushed against my inner “dictator” and had my big cry.

I love Sarah Blondin for her steady, wise, and calming guided meditations I find on an app called Insight Timer. In this podcast, I talk about a guided meditation I heard recently and what resonated and applied to me. I hope you find some “new life” in your own life and health that is faced with inevitable change.

Our bodies!! Our bodies are how we make decisions and express ourselves. Our bodies are also diseased and hurting. How we see this duality is very important.

We are so used to splitting our identities and putting on a brave face. We work to hide the aspects of our life that are marred by our symptoms. Listen to see why we might just want to own it all.

We are wired to think more about what we want than what we have, what we can't do more than what we can. This episode seeks to turn that tendency upside down. The book I reference in the episode is Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.

This episode shares an insight about what happens to our eating goals when we enter into social situations like holiday dinners, baby showers, or any other place where we are enjoying food AND other people.

Due to illness, an accident, or some other unexpected event, if you find yourself needing to change a lot about your life, you’ll want to up-level your resilience by listening to the secret of self-reinvention in this short episode.

It’s a hallmark experience for us with chronic illness to finally reach some momentum with a routine and then lose progress because of a flare up, virus, injury, or other issues. But it’s ALSO a hallmark for us to get back up again and start over. How incredibly powerful.

Can you reinvent yourself and still be happy after your symptoms show up? Today’s interview with Kate Pearce of @katepearcevintage was a lively discussion on the process of shifting mentalities and how to get up from ground zero over and over when you live with chronic illness.

One of the unfortunate byproducts of being dependent on others AND having memories of a life before our symptoms started and then comparing it to our new life is GUILT. Let’s change that, shall we?

Truth: We are sick and we don’t have to hate it. I don’t believe in fake positivity or in being negative ALL the time. So in between those two states, here’s the middle ground where I like to be!

Before and after stories for you! If you can relate, you’ll be excited about your future possibilities.

How experienced are you when it comes to dealing with doctor’s visits that are not satisfying or helpful? How about all the time you spend feeling like you’d rather not be sick? Today’s episode deals with how to feel equipped in situations that are not pleasant but continue to happen in our lives as autoimmune warriors.

You matter to me. Your history and your experience matters. Answer these questions for yourself or share them with me, but either way, answer them! We’ll all be better having taken this opportunity to witness of our own journey with autoimmune symptoms.

Lighthouses are SO beautiful and are/were harbingers of safety, especially back when ships and boats had less technology on board. As you live your life aboard the U.S.S. Autoimmune Illness, what gives you certainty of your aim? What gives you direction as you navigate so much uncertainty in your illness? Listen in for my perspective.

My 11 year old daughter wrote you all a song. I asked her to compose a song on guitar about self-love. The result is so beautiful. Enjoy!

Tune in today to hear about 4 emotions that can get us out-of-whack. We mean well with ourselves, as we slip into feeling these feelings, but if we’re not careful, and if we over-indulge, they drag us into nothingness: no advantage, no growth, no progress.

Have you heard these descriptive stereotypes? Well, toxically positive Polly is one I made up, but I hope it makes for a good podcast episode. Have you heard of this term? I’m guessing even if you haven’t you’ll want to tune in because it will validate some of what you’ve felt if anyone has ever tried to minimize your adversity in living with chronic illness.

Doesn’t it feel so mystical and magical to suddenly land on an insight or deep knowing? Today I share with you about epiphanies in my life that have led to where I am today as well as a unique book all about real life epiphanies that is super inspirational!

Where did chronic illness or chronic pain intercept your life activities? Where is pain as much of the memory as the family or friends you were enjoying at the time? I’ll take you back in time and show what I do with these intersections of pain and my past.

Those gigantic all-or-nothing goals are lofty and tempting, but sometimes just what we need is a small amount of attention on one area to make a big, lifelong difference. Listen in to find out a few 1%-better tips for relating to food!

Once upon a time, a little drawing changed my life! On this episode I describe the little picture and what efforts I have made to make each “tomorrow” in my life a little more do-able! If you want to see the little picture, go to my website at http://www.personalthoughttrainer.com/ and opt-in to my emails and on Jan 19th, you’ll get the email with the little doodle drawing at the very top!

Today I am sharing thoughts on pain because I know we all have that in common. I wanted to share them with you in case the insights also relieve some of your emotional burden as you live with chronic illness. Books I talk about in this episode are: Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff, Ph.D. Finding Freedom in Illness by Peter Fernando Why Is This Happening to Me? by Wayne Monbleau

We are all-or-nothing thinkers! (Hint: this is not helpful!) And, we focus on goals at the start of the year and NOT the middle or end of the year. Lastly, we jump off that goal train when the first few obstacles show up. Let’s turn the tide with 3 small tweaks for a successful goal year. 2021 is our year!

If only we DIDN’T live in a world with people with brains that judge us as lazy or flakey. If only we DID live in a world where everyone just UNDERSTOOD all things autoimmune living, symptoms, and flare ups, we could be happy…yes? In this episode I dive into the 3 reasons it is disempowering to spend so much emotional energy on others who judge us as lazy. And I give suggestions of how to dig a new perspective out of the raw materials we face in our interactions with others. Enjoy!

Do you have a complicated history or relationship with medications? Most of us with autoiummune illness do. We appreciate them and are tormented by them. And sometimes the pesky side effects threaten to do us in! Listen in for some validation!

Enjoy this final interview segment with Hailey. I enjoy how she shares her thoughts on medication vs dietary interventions, gaining compassion, and many other relevant topics. We know your journey is unique, but if you want to feel some solidarity and inspiration, listen in!

We have another guest interview today, and this one is with an entrepreneur and recent collegiate athlete who was diagnosed at age 15. Enjoy Hailey’s buoyant personality and grit as much as you learn from her acceptance and flexibility with her flare ups.

This episode addresses what it’s like to have an illness where sometimes you feel things are going your way and sometimes you are cancelling plans right and left. Navigating this with resilience is a journey; listen to find out more.

Have you considered stepping into your power as someone with illness? Listen to the 5 min inspiration on loving ALL parts of you.

Today I am sharing a scale I learned about that helps me strive to live a well-balanced version of getting things done and practicing self-care. Both are needed, but too much of either could be detrimental as well. Listen in and find your best range of self-care and productivity on the scale!

In this episode I share an analogy about our energy and autoimmune living that will hopefully help you see yourself with clear priorities and self-respect at each day’s end!

This is the conclusion of my interview with Lise, one of our peers with psoriatic arthritis. Thank you, Lise!

It is so lovely to be uplifted and taught by our peers. I hope you enjoy the first half of this interview with Lise as much as I did!

In this episode I tell you my top 10 reasons for eating sugar…and some healthy alternatives since it exacerbates my arthritis symptoms.

Sometimes I just want to tell you all that I know you exist! I want to reach out and encourage you. And I also really appreciate knowing you understand some of the complexities that I face in living with autoimmune illness. You understand having to choose wisely how to spend time and energy and I admire that in you.

Complaints come easy with autoimmune illness (like any other illness) but what we need is empowerment! Here's how complaining can lead to a better life. This is an audio of a facebook live video I did. It is one of my most watched videos.  For the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/personalthoughttrainer/ Personal website: https://personalthoughttrainer.com    

Compare and despair applies here!! This is another audio of a video I made. You're in the club; you know how it feels!

When we feel an ache or pain, when someone says something dismissive or judgmental, when we have to cancel plans due to flare-ups, we need to claim back some power in our lives. Listen in to find out how.

Autoimmune illness means a lot of flare-ups, and flare-ups mean that plans often get made and cancelled. Let's talk about planning for flare-ups. Spread the word or email me your thoughts and questions. We need a strong, validating community; subscribe to the show!