Chronic Life Podcast

Men don’t do well at being “sick.” So what happens when we’re stuck with a chronic illness that won’t go away? These are the challenges (that we don’t want to talk about) arising from the collision between sickness and manhood. More important, these are some suggestions to help you live well, in spite of those challenges. Listen to this one with someone in your life who needs to understand. https://yourlifelivedwell.co/ https://patreon.com/YourLLWell/

In recognition of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, I shed some light on what Multiple Sclerosis is and the surprising ways it affects our lives — especially my own. https://yourlifelivedwell.co https://patreon.com/yourllwell

This episode digs into the words surrounding health, illness, and disability. We look at how words shape our thoughts, the surprising meanings of some common medical words, and how words can both tear us down and lift us up. Your words matter and this is why.

Why do we have such a difficult time accepting the reality of mental illness? In this episode, we’ll talk about the reasons why many are uncomfortable with mental illness, and we’ll suggest some better ways to think about what mental illnesses are are. We’ll also introduce some steps we can all take to improve our support and acceptance of mental health conditions.

Everyone thinks they should relax more, but we can’t make ourselves relax. It doesn’t work that way. Here’s why relaxation is important, what’s getting in our way, and how we can really get to it.

96% of us with lasting health conditions are largely or completely “invisible.” We don’t have any external signals that remind others of the battles we are fighting inside. That’s confusing to others and they don’t understand. Here’s why we’re confusing, what’s really happening, and how we can help one another appreciate what invisible illness does to our lives. Listen to this one with someone in your life who needs to understand.

Pain is sending you a message, but we tend to misinterpret what it’s trying to tell us. Our pain systems also get confused and overwrought. Chronic pain also easily becomes “noise,” and not a meaningful signal. In this episode, we’ll dive into the weird world of chronic pain and discuss some research-backed strategies you can implement to improve your life.

Stress is a part of life. Sometimes, it’s even a good part of life. It’s always there, so we must learn better strategies to cope. In this episode, we’ll discover what stress really is, distinguish between its helpful and harmful forms, and learn so better ways for dealing with it.

Fear is part of being human. We’ve all experienced it — whether we admit it or not. But for such a common experience, we misunderstand it far more than we realize. This episode is a deep dive into what fear really is and what it’s doing for us. It’s also about how to make fear your friend.

“Burnout” is rampant in the healthcare and caregiving professions. “Compassion fatigue” strikes even the most devoted loved ones and caregivers. These can leave us feeling angry, guilty, confused…or just empty. But they are natural, understandable reactions to the lasting and repeated trauma of supporting others through the worst moments of their lives. Here’s how to recognize their effects early and some things to do when they strike.

Staying hopeful is a real challenge with chronic illness — for those diagnosed and for their closest loved ones. In this episode, I invite you into a raw conversation about becoming hopeless and finding hope again in your own life. Hope is a precious resource for life with a chronic illness. It can become stretched too thin by our challenges, but we can renew and restore it with patience and support. Hope is a skill that can be learned and must be practiced.

Most of us aren’t very kind to ourselves, but we need to be. This episode dives into what it really means to be kind to yourself, as opposed to just occasionally “nice.” Along the way, we understand what self-esteem and self-compassion are doing in your life, how they can become challenged by the ongoing distress of life with chronic illness, and what we can do to improve self-esteem and (more important) bolster self-compassion.

We all need better sleep. Better sleep is a necessary key to a better life. But good sleep seems to be in short supply. In this episode we talk about why so many of us sleep so poorly, and we suggest the most important things research says we can do to insure the good night’s sleep we all crave.

We know we’re supposed to exercise. So why is it so hard? What should we do? Why should I care, especially when I already have a chronic health condition? How can we get started and keep going? We’ll answer these questions and more as we talk about how to get moving.

In this second episode on meditation, we discuss research supporting its benefits (and its limitations). Dr. Payne also introduces you to several kinds of meditation that can be useful for improving quality of life with chronic illness. And we discuss tools and communities that can help you with your journey.

There’s a lot about life with a chronic health condition that rightly gets us down. When we’re feeling bad, those around us often resort to advising that we need to “look on the bright side” — as if that were the actual problem. However, our mindset does have a huge impact on our quality of life. It’s not simply a matter of “choice,” but there are tactics that really can help us brighten our outlooks and improve our experiences, even under the most difficult circumstances.

Grief is not what we expect. It’s messy. It doesn’t follow a neat path. And it’s not always neatly resolved. Yet loss is a necessary part of living — and it’s something that a life touched by chronic illness must navigate. Here’s a better way to think about grief and some strategies for accommodating the real demands of loss.

Meditation isn’t what you probably think it is. We dive in to meditation as exercise for the parts of our mind we want to be strong, a way to become more aware and forgiving of ourselves, and an indispensable tools for improving your quality of life when faced by the distress of life with a chronic health condition.

I’m happy to welcome Joe Mays, former NFL player (and Kansas City Chief) and co-owner of Kansas City’s Laya Center, a holistic wellness spa. We share a wide-ranging conversation about everything from holistic healing, the lasting health consequences of a life in football, vegetarianism, adapting to health traumas, and the role of risk in a fulfilling life.

You, or someone you love, has just been diagnosed with a life changing — maybe life threatening — medical condition. It’s big. It’s scary. It’s overwhelming. And life won’t be the same. Here’s how not to lose yourself or the things you love about your life. Learn the three most important things you need to do first.

It’s an innocent little question, and maybe the most difficult one we face with a chronic illness. We’ll unpack the minefield of, “how are you feeling today?” Do we tell the truth? A casual lie? Where do we draw the boundary of disclosure and how do we handle the consequences of this common, well-intentioned social inquiry?

Join us for a wide-ranging conversation with veteran and VA Social Worker, Jason Dye. How to encourage veterans to get help. Handling Post Traumatic Distress and supporting your loved one’s battle with PTSD. Better transitions from military service back into society. Masculinity and acknowledging health issues. The importance of caring for yourself. The political fight over medical marijuana. And a frank discussion of how our illnesses can attack our masculinity and self worth. (recorded last year)

Why does a guy with multiple sclerosis jump from a perfectly good plane…a lot? Probably not why you think. It’s about fear and dreams. In this episode, we talk about how to face your fears and reclaim your dreams stolen by time and chronic illness.

Dr. April Seifert is a social cognitive psychologist, data scientist, entrepreneur, wife, mother, thriving with MS — and skydiver. She is the co-founder of Peak Mind: The Center for Psychological Strength. (https://www.peakmindpsychology.com/) She joins us for an informed and inspiring discussion about navigating family life, growing up with rare illness, and learning to succeed beyond your fear. (Recorded in 2020.)

The rest of the world has learned what life with a longterm health condition is like. We dive into why we're not handling this well, what this means for the next few months, and how you can use it to educate those around you about life with your chronic health condition.

It’s that time of year when we all want to turn over a new leaf and change for the better. It’s also that time when we set ourselves up for crushing failure! Most resolutions fail a few weeks into a new year. Here’s why you fail and what to do to succeed instead.

It’s that time of year when we all want to turn over a new leaf and change for the better. It’s also that time when we set ourselves up for crushing failure! Most resolutions fail a few weeks into a new year. Here’s why you fail and what to do to succeed instead.

In a special episode, we'll talk about living well through the COVID-19 outbreak with an already existing medical condition. Here are the medical, emotional, social, and practical tips you need. And share your questions to @chroniclifepod on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram so Dr. Payne can provide more answers.

Chronic illness changes our identity. Sometimes we feel like we’re losing ourselves, but we don’t have to.

Chronic illness changes our identity. Sometimes we feel like we’re losing ourselves, but we don’t have to. We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Danielle Ripley Burgess was a two-time cancer survivor before 25 — and she's devoted her life to making lives better. Join us on your favorite podcast app!

Danielle Ripley Burgess was a two-time cancer survivor before 25 — and she's devoted her life to making lives better. Join us on your favorite podcast app! We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Chronic illness is no joke, but a sense of humor does help! We all need a little grace and a bit of fun in the face of something awful. Join us on your favorite podcast app!

Chronic illness is no joke, but a sense of humor does help! We all need a little grace and a bit of fun in the face of something awful. Join us on your favorite podcast app! We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Caring for one another needs planning and conversation. It requires rethinking and renegotiating the relationships we value most. Here's how. Join us on your favorite podcast app!

Caring for one another needs planning and conversation. It requires rethinking and renegotiating the relationships we value most. Here's how. Join us on your favorite podcast app! We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Fatigue is not just being tired. We need to recognize what's happening and use different tools. Here’s the difference and what to do so that fatigue doesn't always get the best of you.

Fatigue is not just being tired. We need to recognize what's happening and use different tools. Here’s the difference and what to do so that fatigue doesn't always get the best of you. We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Kevin & Don discuss care giving and making sense of a confusing healthcare system with CaRessa Hutchinson, RN, Founder and CEO of ModRN Health. Discover some resources you can use to get the best from your healthcare.

Don & Kevin discuss care giving and making sense of a confusing healthcare system with CaRessa Hutchinson, RN, Founder and CEO of ModRN Health. Discover some resources you can use to get the best from your healthcare. We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

The ongoing distress of chronic illness and caregiving erodes the foundations of our most important relationships: trust, respect, and hope. We must learn to recognize these effects and work together to preserve the relationships that give our lives joy and meaning. We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Self-advocacy is part of life with a chronic condition. We find ourselves against a healthcare system that doesn’t have our full interests in mind. It can leave us feeling like a victim, and it’s exhausting to battle as a warrior. But there may be some better options. We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Don and Kevin open a discussion about coping with chronic conditions. It’s surprising and overwhelming. There’s a lot more to cope with than you ever imagined there will be. This is where you start. We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Don & Kevin introduce themselves, talk about their journeys with chronic illness, and discuss where this podcast is heading. They also get into the tricky balance between the need of the healthcare system for us to be "good patients" and our need to be seen first as real people with concerns that go far beyond our medical care. We invite you to get involved, so visit us at our website, email us, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.