Reframing Chronic Illness

Learning the same lessons over and over again is all a part of this journey we call life, so why does it feel so new and surprising when it happens?!An update on my Year of Adventure, and why it's SO OK that it's not going to plan.Plus, an invitation to sign up to Lizzy's Christmas Party; "an annual goody bag bonanza full of generous gifts & Christmas cheer". Aka, loads and loads of really wonderful courses, workshops & self/life/business-development stuff (from ALL walks of life) for FREE. You can sign up here https://www.lcp2023.com/alana *this is an affiliate link, meaning if you sign up to the paid tier (where there are even more wonderful things to access for a complete steal), I'll receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do I have a problem with productivity, what is ‘productivity' anyway and why have I applied it to a part of my life that doesn't need it? In today's episode,I explore how a dormant belief about needing to be productive has thwarted my Year of Adventure, and what I'm going to do about it.LINKS: Soulful Sales Summit: https://soulfulsalessummit.com/alana - *affiliate link. The Soulful Sales Summit is completely free to sign up to, but if you decide to upgrade to the VIP bundle, I'll receive a commission at no extra cost to you.New 1:1 package - 3 months, flexible 1:1 coaching that's entered around supporting you in the current phase of your life and chronic illness. https://www.alanaholloway.com/work-with-me/1-1A link to my Substack https://onfiguringitout.substack.com - I'd love to say hello to you over there! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Month 1 into my year of adventure - what lessons have I learned? This is how our dreams, goals and ambitions can be healing by nature. There's so much we can learn from going for them, but much less to learn by being afraid to try.Subscribe to my Substack On Figuring It Out - https://onfiguringitout.substack.comTake my quiz to find out what kind of support best suits you and your needs - https://www.alanaholloway.com/quiz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do we do when the dreams, goals and ambitions we've been building up in our head for SO LONG, underwhelm us in reality? What does the chronic illness experience have to do with that, and how do we pick ourselves back up...again?Your Chronic Illness Ally - https://www.alanaholloway.com/work-with-me/chronic-illness-allyThe funnest chronic illness support quiz ever - https://www.alanaholloway.com/quizMy new Substack - On figuring it out - https://onfiguringitout.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you step into your purpose, dreams and ambitions whilst living with chronic illness, in a way that heals rather than harms? Is it possible to achieve what you want in life, without having to push yourself beyond what's 'good' for you? You bet that's what I'm discussing this season, and I can't wait to get into it.If you want to hear more about Your Chronic Illness Ally or any other programme launches, join my mailing list. The best way to do that is by taking my (really great) quiz and opting in at the end. https://www.alanaholloway.com/quiz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen in as I explore the concept of recognising and celebrating the progress and achievements we've made in our lives, even when it feels like we're not where we want to be yet. Sharing my personal experience with chronic illness and how it taught me the importance of acceptance and surrender, I highlight that the difference in my mindset and approach to life came not from the manifestation of my illness but from changing the way I thought about, felt about, and treated myself.Check out Your Chronic Illness Ally hereWant to know what your support style is? Take my quiz here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It can be really easy to see chronic illness as a ‘but' in your relationship, something without which your relationship would be much better. But, as my view stands on most things chronic illness, there's space to see things another way.I think chronic illness in relationships has the power to be a really positive force in your relationships, and today, I'm discussing why.Have you taken my quiz yet? Figure out what your support archetype is - https://www.alanaholloway.com/quiz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So you've heard about chronic illness coaching, but you're not sure what it is, whether you want or need it, or how it will actually help you.One thing you've likely realised as you're here, is that living with chronic illness changes you and you want help, guidance and support with navigating your way through that.Do you know what kind of support is the right kind for you? Take my quiz to find out Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I recently met Emma in Ruth Poundwhite's membership, The Soulful Sales Society*. In her intro post she mentioned about having recently been awarded Access to Work. In short, Access to Work is a UK government grant, designed to help those with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or neuro-divergence either get or stay in work by providing the funding you need to access support.In this episode, I talk to Emma Cossey about her Access to Work application and how this support has helped her in running a business.If you want to find out more about Emma, check out her links below;Website - freelancelifestyle.co.ukInstagram - @emmacossey The Freelance Lifestyle facebook group*A quick heads up that this post might contain affiliate links, meaning I'll receive a small commission on anything you buy through those links, at no extra cost to you. All affiliate links will be marked with an asterisk*. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pleasure as a pathway to healing - can it be? Yes. Is it important that it is? Most definitely yes.In this episode, I explore pleasure as your basic human right, and why it's so important you don't put it on hold for when you feel up to it.Psst - are you more Michelle, Gaga or Mindy? And what would their support squad unleash in you? Take the quiz to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm finally here with the season 4 finale. I wanted it to be really conclusive but honestly, that's just fuelling my procrastination. So now I am going to close out the season with a stream of consciousness, what's on my mind, what's next, 4 semi-unrelated thoughts that I can't shake so need to talk about, kind of episode!I'll be back with season 5 sometime later this year, so for now, the best place to connect with me is via my newsletter.Pssst...Are you more Michelle, Gaga or Mindy? And what would their support squad unleash in you? Take the quiz to find out! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My friends, today is the final guest episode of S4! I will be brining you some kind of season finale next week, but I just want to take a moment today to celebrate and thank all the guests who I've chatted to this season…there's been something of a shift that's happened, that I'll talk more about next week. But for sure, that shift has been hugely facilitated by this group of wonderful humans.So, for this last episode, I'm talking to Caitlin Gwynn; a friend and fellow small business owner who is so full of colour in every possible way. Caitlin is a creativity coach and small business cheerleader and she believes creativity makes the world go round. Caitlin sincerely believes that creativity makes her a better business owner and prioritising her own creative needs and play time during a period of burnout whilst running her online business has lead to her helping others do the same! Caitlin creates experiences to help you bring the fun back to freelancing and, to help you unleash your own unique creative self expression… and rumour has it she is about to launch a podcast of her own.LINKS:Caitlin's webiste - https://caitlinthecreative.co.uk/- https://www.instagram.com/caitlin_makes_stuff/?hl=enMY LINKS: Your Chronic Illness AllyPssst...Are you more Michelle, Gaga or Mindy? And what would their support squad unleash in you? Take the quiz to find out!Creativity, or creative self-expression, for me, has always been an outlet during my journey with my health, and in life in general.What I didn't expect, however, was to discover how so much of the creative process, how so much of learning to express yourself, can be used as a metaphor and as a training ground for healing and learning to live at peace with your chronic illness.She's a beam of light and her creative superhero ways are infectious. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm chatting with a long time coach of mine, Ray Dodd.Ray is a Money Coach who helps those who have traditionally been excluded from making money, to make life-changing amounts of money. All without compromising who they are. Ray is a money coach with a difference. You won't hear ‘just think good thoughts and watch the money come rolling in' from her. Ray believes that money, business and intersectional feminism are inextricably linked and that there's a lot more to making money than just trying to manifesting it.I wanted to bring the subject of money to the podcast because I think - I know - it's something that can feel sticky for chronic illness folk. I'm not just talking about the very silent shame-filled reality that so many - including me at points in my life - have to step away from work - and therefore money making in the traditional sense - due to chronic illness.I'm also referring to the link between self-worth and belief and money (which Ray is a wondermind on - and how when our sense of self or self concept is low, along with ourselves we can fall into the pattern of assign a lower monetary value to what we have to offer to the world in terms of our expertise, skills and loved experience.There's loads more we talk about, but I'll leave that to the actual episode! I know you're going to love it.Pssst...Are you more Michelle, Gaga or Mindy? And what would their support squad unleash in you? Take the quiz to find out!LINKS:My affiliate link to Plenty - https://www.alanaholloway.com/affiliate-servicesYour Chronic Illness Ally - https://www.alanaholloway.com/work-with-me/chronic-illness-allyRay's website - https://www.raydodd.co.uk/Ray's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ray_dodd/?hl=en Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm speaking with Shana Pareira, and it's conversation that has the most wonderful underlying message. Born in Australia and an immigrant to the US, Shana is what you call a thieving double organ recipient, having had a Heart and Kidney transplant during Christmas of 2020. She is described as a walking miracle, an answered prayer and has spread inspiration and hope, particularly with the way in which she handled her illness and physical struggles.The underlying message came from Shana's story, is something that's present in us all, even if you don't yet realise it. We don't often connect living with chronic illness with having big dreams, and yet it's something most of us do daily. All the time we're on that path, working towards a life that feels better, more easeful, more joyful - we're building a skill that we can then go on to use throughout the rest of life. Shana mentions a few times that she is ‘nothing special'. That she wasn't born stronger or more determined or more resilient, and that what she has been able to do, anyone can. And it's true, none of us is more special than the next person, and yet we are all completely special. We all have that inner strength, resilience, determination and desire and we are already using it every day.What I'd love you to think about sometime is, how else could you use all of that?I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I did. All of Shana's links are below.Shana's website - https://shanapereira.com/Shana's Instagram - @shana_pereiraPssst...Are you more Michelle, Gaga or Mindy? And what would their support squad unleash in you? Take the quiz to find out!Episode notes:3:00 - Shana's story. Curating a medical team & getting curious, tuning into yourself, your senses, your body, to help you do that.9:00 - On finding the strength to advocate for yourself, to ask for what you need and want, when you're in crisis mode, at a really low ebb.10:45 - On breaking things into small, actionable steps. Taking action no matter how you feel, by finding out how you CAN, and what you need to do, to tweak, to design, to make that possible.13:45 - On not attaching yourself to labels and descriptions - removing descriptors whilst also validating and embracing your experience.16:00 - The mastery of being present, making the things you *have* to do, easier to do with fun and joy, and rituals that make you feel good.28:00 - Working in partnership with your medical team, dismantling the hierarchy that exists and bringing only the people who align with you into your healing team.35:00 - Being tuned in; is it something you innately have or is it something you develop?38:45 - Faith, what that looks like, how it looks different for all of us, and why it's important when living with chronic illness. Shana's near death experience.58:00 - How do we deal with situations outside of our control? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I'm talking with Ruth Poundwhite, an aligned business coach and mentor who has been claiming and redefining the word ambitious for herself, over the years she's been running her business, making it work for her in a way that feels good.She helps fellow humans build businesses that are ambitious and intuitive, and that allows them to honour their whole selves, unapologetically.She's author of the book Quietly Ambitious and host of a podcast of the same name. You can find her @ruthpoundwhite on Instagram.There's so much to be talked about around being a person who lives with chronic illness, and also being a person who is ambitious, who has big dreams and desires, and who wants to live an incredible life. I myself, in the past, have asked whether I had what it took to hold all these things at once, and saw myself looking down the barrel of a life consumed by chronic illness. I now know and believe that we can use our dreams and ambitions to help us out of the chronic illness struggle, and we can use our chronic illness to guide us in our dreams and ambitions.Psst...Are you more Michelle, Gaga or Mindy? And what would their support squad unleash in you? Take the quiz to find out!We also talked about;- (Over) identifying with labels and struggles vs. allowing yourself to see them as gifts.- Not allowing the fear of judgement - around the way you choose to live your life (with chronic illness) - to stop you.- The visibility and vulnerability that comes with claiming your dreams and ambitions, and supporting yourself to 'go there'.Episode notes:2:45 - Ambition and chronic illness - can they work together? How do the two relate?5:30 - Labels and how they affect the way we view ambition. When ambition feels like something that isn't for you. Being excluded from being ambitious, having big dreams and wanting to make big things happen.8:45 - How Ruth started claiming and reshaping ambition into something that worked for her.13:00 - Does everyone have ambition within them, or is it something only some people have?16:30 - Ruth's journey with chronic fatigue and holding her ambition17:45 - The conversation around being worthy of, or having ‘permission' to, following your dreams when you live with chronic illness22:45- Fear of judgement around chronic illness and how you choose to live with your chronic illness.28:30 - How does ambition feed us?28:45 - When we over identify with the struggles of our ‘labels', and when struggles can become gifts.31:45 - When all your ambition is used up on the ‘goal' of becoming ‘healed'34:00 - Being seen, visibility, vulnerability and ambition and allowing yourself to ‘go there' in a way that feels safe. The desire for invisibility when you live with chronic illness.43:00 - How do we expand our identity and self concept when we feel attached to invisibility or labels, or conditioned to feel a certain way about ourselves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Agnes is an artist, science communicator and creator of We Are Stardust - a place where art and science collide to enrich your experience of and relationship with our messy, beautiful universe.She creates artwork that inspires connection with the more-than-human world and online adventures that encourage you to rewild your soul.Based in Bedfordshire, UK, she works from a little office-studio in her home filled with sketches and books and sticks and pine cones and plants.We talk about the synergies between the night sky and our bodies - We Are Stardust after all, but also knowledge vs. experience, information vs. understanding of this whole world - both human and planetary - we live in.I see many similarities between climate change and chronic illness, especially in how we, as a society, believe we should ‘deal with them'. Agnes has a beautiful perspective on how to live in harmony with this planet, this universe, we are a part of, how to see beauty in the darkness and how, ultimately, this can all help with the way we approach things like winter and climate change, and in my mind, the relationship we have with our bodies and our chronic illnesses.Other things we covered;Resisting winter when it's exactly what we need to feel and be in, in order to know what we need to know.Healing productivity and eternal summer - always being ‘on'. Fertile void and allowing yourself to stop.Stargazing.LINKS:We Are Stardust - Agnes' website - https://wearestardust.myshopify.com/We Are Stardust InstagramSign up to my newsletter to be notified of the Christmas work with me 'selection box' - https://www.alanaholloway.com/newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does sex show up in your life with chronic illness, whether you're in a relationship or not?Is it something that's changed over the time you've lived with chronic illness and if so, have you ever made that connection?Is it something you'd like to improve your relationship with, your feelings about… would you like to know how to talk about it more openly and honestly, but don't know where to start?If we want it to, sex gets to feel fun, loving, pleasurable and enjoyable. We get to have it in our lives as something we do to connect with our bodies and desire, and with that of others, if we choose to. It gets to be really positive thing, not only in our lives, but for our health, too. But to do that, we need to start thinking differently about it; about how we approach it, how we talk about it and how we understand it.Today, I'm discussing all of that and more with Kate Moyle, a Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist, Psycho-sexologist and host of The Sexual Wellness Sessions Podcast. She works in talking therapy to help people to address the challenges they are facing in their sex lives and relationships, and to help people to get to a place of sexual health, wellbeing and happiness whatever that looks like for them.Kate has also just worked on The Women's Collection with the meditation app Headspace, so defo go and check that out.You can find Kate on her own podcast, The Sexual Wellness Sessions, and on Instagram @katemoyletherapy She also brilliantly recommended a whole host of sexual wellness brands who have created products, tools and resources to add to our sex lives, from apps to stackable buffer rings. I've linked them all in the show notes, go and have a gander.Reminder - today (Nov 25th 2022) is the last day for early bird enrolment for Your Chronic Illness Ally. If you want to be supported in your chronic illness journey, reconnect with the wisdom of your chronic illness and rise to the fullness of your imagination, then I'd love to welcome you in. Click here to sign up.LINKS:Bang on - sex cushions and sex wedgesLelo - sex toys & massage products (available most places)Vulval pain societyFerly - audio guide to mindful sexOhnut - stackable buffer ringsDr Lori Brotto - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/defining-mindful-sex-with-dr-lori-brotto/id1527311547?i=1000493430593 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The enrolment window for Your Chronic Illness Ally is now OPEN until November 30th 2022. Early bird offer (10% discount) ends on 25th November. Click here to sign up.What do dreams and ambitions mean and look like in the context of living with chronic illness and how can we hold them in a way that fosters all of that nourishment and nurturing and softeners that feels so good?I deeply believe that holding dreams and ambitions are a key part of our chronic illness journey and life and healing journey as a whole. The can exist in symbiosis with the wisdom and intelligence of our bodies and chronic illness, and actually it's beneficial that they do.Dreams and ambitions are relative and unique to each one of us and however small or big, they have the potential to affect this world in a really positive way. It's the ACT of big dreaming. It's the ACT of having ambition - however gentle or slow or big or inspiring. It's the EXPERIENCE of awe.The enrolment window for Your Chronic Illness Ally is now OPEN until November 30th 2022. Early bird offer (10% discount) ends on 25th November. Click here to sign up.Email me at hello[at]alanaholloway.com if you have any questions or just want to say hi! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm talking with Tina Clarke, who is 43 years old. Whilst age is not something I usually mention, you'll understand why when you listen to this episode, because Tina was born with the genetic disease cystic fibrosis and received a double lung transplant in 2014. Along with talking about how her diagnosis has changed meanings, how the very information and prognosis surrounding her diagnosis has changed in her lifetime, and how that relates so much to how many of us experience chronic illness, we also talk about Tina's work and passion in body-mind health and wellness, a field she's worked in for over 20 years helping hundreds of people with various conditions. She specialises now in Somatic Movement and Embodiment for trauma, anxiety and stress due to living with chronic illness, cancer or organ transplant, which is something we go on to talk about in detail.Through her work, Tina empowers individuals to understand how their body-mind is affected by their health and medical experiences, and how they can improve their resilience, emotional balance, anxiety and traumatic stress symptoms through a body based approach, whilst incrementally improving their relationship with their body, whatever their physical condition.Be sure to check her out on Instagram and Facebook @tinaclarkewellness - or her website www.tinaclarkewellness.com and keep an eye out for her online courses.Speaking of which, the enrolment window for Your Chronic Illness Ally opens to the waitlist next week, so that's November 21st. It'll be open to those not on the waitlist from the 25th-30th November. It's so worth you joining the waitlist, as you get a 5-day early access period, which is great because there are only 20 spaces available AND it gives you 10% off. Details and waitlist sign up here. https://www.alanaholloway.com/work-with-me/chronic-illness-ally Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all know exercise is good for us, but have you ever felt that actually, something about the way you're exercising and moving your body isn't feeling good for you?The whole premise behind exercise is that it's a stress that we put on our bodies, and it's that stress and consequent recovery that goes on to build strength and fitness.But in a body where chronic illness or auto immune disease exists, stress, in the very broad and multi-layered sense of the term, is something that's already very present, both as a pre-cursor to illness and disease, and as a result of it.So what does that say for the way we move our bodies and exercise, and how can we make sure that we're not overloading our systems, triggering flares or deeper or more recurrent illness, and how can we, in fact, do it in a way that feels good and supports our body's ability to heal?Today I'm speaking with Andrea Wool, personal trainer and founder of Autoimmune Strong; the first exercise program designed specifically for people living with autoimmune disease. Her exercise program has now supported thousands of people who love learning how to exercise safely, effectively and in a way that makes their body feel good.LINKS:Get Autoimmune Strong - Website - https://www.getautoimmunestrong.com/Get Autoimmune Strong - InstagramMY LINKS:Click here to sign up to the Your Chronic Illness Ally waitlistJoin the Reframing Chronic Illness newsletter here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Background & context are so important, so they will never not be talked about. Importantly because it's new information to so many, and it really helps in understanding why you might be feeling the way you're feeling, and therefore the first steps you can take towards feeling the way you want to feel, being the way you want to be and living the way you want to live.There's a whole unlearning and reconditioning piece in there that's so important to this work.But I also don't want 'moving away from the status quo' - aka the fix, fight, resist, reject narrative - to be the main driver or focus. I want it to provide context, but I want the volume of what's on the other side of that to be turned up to the max. For you to see the full technicolour of life when your chronic illness is embraced as your ally, guide and superpower.That's what season 4 is going to explore and I'm thrilled to be sharing what I've got lined up with you.LINKS:Your Chronic Illness Ally waitlistFreebie - My Inner Healing Wisdom Experience Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past two months or so, I've been planning this episode as the season finale, and, along with the launch, it's really encouraged me to think about what I envisage as the future of chronic illness, or more specifically, the future of how chronic illness is seen, understood and experienced.But, whilst this episode was going to be all about how I see the future of chronic illness, I've realised it's actually not about the future. It is, in fact, a slightly belated, welcome. A welcome to the chronic illness revolution that's already in motion, albeit in a really gentle and compassionate way.A revolution that you're already a part of, in varied capacities; through listening to these episodes, through my newsletters and blog posts, through my coaching, and through everyone else out there doing this work.A change that's already happening within you.LINKS:Join the Your Chronic Illness Ally waitlistSign up to the Reframing Chronic Illness newsletterFind out more about working with me 1:1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beyond using your chronic illness as a guide and Ally and superpower, have you ever considered that it's the exact thing you need to help you heal… not only in terms of your chronic illness becoming soothed and less active over time, but in terms of nourishing and rebuilding - on multi-levels - and supporting deep growth in your life.Your chronic illness is the key that fits your unique lock, and as a part of yourSelf, holds the exact wisdom and information you need.I talk a lot about the wisdom of chronic illness, and how when we tune into it, we can allow it to guide us in life, and this is another avenue of that philosophy.LINKS:Click here to join the Your Chronic Illness Ally waitlistClick here to listen to my podcast episode with Ruth Poundwhite on the Quiet Ambition podcastClick here to sign up to the Reframing Chronic Illness newsletterClick here to find out more about working with me 1:1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does it feel so alien to talk about your *full* chronic illness experience, and how does your body respond when you do? Have we edited the mere acknowledgement of the full experience out of our consciousness, because it feels too hard, painful and uncomfortable to explore?To acknowledge - and talk about - everything that's experienced under The Chronic Illness Struggle is a pinnacle point in being able to work with your chronic illness as your guide, Ally and superpower, so how can we do so in a way that's conducive to moving in that direction, and doesn't compound what you're already holding within your body.We need to normalise and celebrate the safe, supportive spaces in which this release can be made possible.LINKS:Click here to join the Your Chronic Illness Ally waitlistClick here to find out more about working with me 1:1Click here to sign up to the Reframing Chronic Illness newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a big difference in wanting to fix yourself or your chronic illness - other words used can be things like heal, cure, manage & control, and wanting your chronic illness, or at least the symptomatic manifestation of your chronic illness, to get better.Links:Your Chronic Illness Ally: Your supportive home as you reconnect with your brilliance, tap into the wisdom of your chronic illness and rise to the fullness of your imagination. Join the waitlist here.Sign up to my Reframing Chronic Illness newsletter here.Find out more about working with me 1:1 as your Chronic Illness Coach here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 tell you why that's true, what it looks like in practice, and how you can even use the wisdom of your chronic illness to improve your ‘success rate', i.e. whether you achieve those goals, ambitions and dreams, and the tricks that will help you keep the ‘cost' of that process at below zero (we hang out at the benefit end of the scale here!)LINKS:Join the Your Chronic Illness Ally Waitlist (and read all about it) hereSign up to my newsletter here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 makes you, you.These bonus episodes are where, to be honest, I'll deliver brain dumps of things I want to talk about, that will be really helpful resources and will provide context to the longer episodes and my Coaching work as a whole. I've got a whole series of them planned as part of the YCIA launch… did I mention that's now live?!LINKS:Join the Your Chronic Illness Ally waitlist here - https://www.alanaholloway.com/work-with-me/chronic-illness-allySubscribe to the Reframing Chronic Illness newsletter here - https://www.alanaholloway.com/newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 couldn't be further from the truth. There is so much growth that happens, but it's more beneath the surface. It's at a core, foundational level and provides such a well-established springboard come late spring/summer.Planning for the winter of your cycle gets to flip the way you experience winter on its head; you get to look forward to it as time when you regenerate and recuperate and when you pay into the bank of yourself and your body.Although our history tells us a lot about what we might expect in any season, it's important to keep a beginners mindset. No two seasons are the same and the way I work with my chronic illness has resulted in it being calmed and soothed gradually over time, which looks like a reduction in symptoms. And so whilst those things that I've experienced in the past might be true, they also might happen to a lesser degree, or barely at all. LINKS:Sign up to my newsletterFind out more about working with me 1:1Free thing - My Inner Healing Wisdom Experience Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 guide, just one way will look different from the other, and each way will determine how much you can use your seasons to your advantage, to help you grow, evolve and heal in a deep, whole sense.When we lean into the different seasons, we can use them to help us plan and prepare, and to work towards how we want to feel, what we want our lives to look like, and how we want to show up in this world, in a chronic illness infomed way.LINKS:Sign up to my mailing list here to get word of when the Your Chronic Illness Ally waitlist opens. Thinking about working with me 1:1? Find out more here.Check out the full Your Chronic Illness Ally details here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 more is that embracing your chronic illness as your ally, guide and superpower not only makes everything about living with chronic illness better, it's also 'on-the-job' training for when your chronic illness is less active or in remission, and it makes everything you experience in that space that much sweeter.Links:Work with me 1:1Check out Your Chronic Illness AllySubscribe to my newsletterSend me an email - hello[at]alanaholloway.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 about how the status quo of chronic illness - aka the fix, fight, reject, resist struggle - is keeping you stuck and anchored in non-acceptance, and how to get really honest with yourself as a starting point in moving through that.Links:Find out more about working with me 1:1Find out more about Your Chronic Illness AllySign up to My Inner Healing Wisdom Experience (free)Subscribe to my newsletterLink to write-in submission for season 3Highlights:I'd love for you to get really clear on where you're at with that right now. Tune into your body, take some quiet time, notice what words come into your head when you think of accepting your chronic illness, and notice what happens in your body. It'll help to do a bit of journaling on this, and if there's anything else that you know helps you unlock some of your deeper feelings, thoughts, beliefs, do that.Figure out what you want acceptance to mean to you. Because you get to decide. How can you allow it to show up in your life and support you?Compassionately challenge all the ‘why's' behind the idea that because you live with chronic illness, you just have to struggle on. Are they aligned? Are they serving you?Much like the tale of The Struggle, the chronic illness rollercoaster does not have to be a way of life for you. Life off the rollercoaster is more about flow, steadiness, ‘slow-living', calm, deep joy and happiness, not the saccharine sweet candy floss that's handed to you as you whizz around at the funfair.Without addressing the way we live with - and the beliefs we carry about - chronic illness, as a collective and individually, a gradual worsening of symptoms, or a dis-ease of living, will be many people's experience. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 about how the status quo of chronic illness - aka the fix, fight, reject, resist struggle - is keeping you stuck and anchored in non-acceptance, and how to get really honest with yourself as a starting point in moving through that.Links:Find out more about working with me 1:1Find out more about Your Chronic Illness AllySign up to My Inner Healing Wisdom Experience (free)Subscribe to my newsletterLink to write-in submission for season 3Highlights:I'd love for you to get really clear on where you're at with that right now. Tune into your body, take some quiet time, notice what words come into your head when you think of accepting your chronic illness, and notice what happens in your body. It'll help to do a bit of journaling on this, and if there's anything else that you know helps you unlock some of your deeper feelings, thoughts, beliefs, do that.Figure out what you want acceptance to mean to you. Because you get to decide. How can you allow it to show up in your life and support you?Compassionately challenge all the ‘why's' behind the idea that because you live with chronic illness, you just have to struggle on. Are they aligned? Are they serving you?Much like the tale of The Struggle, the chronic illness rollercoaster does not have to be a way of life for you. Life off the rollercoaster is more about flow, steadiness, ‘slow-living', calm, deep joy and happiness, not the saccharine sweet candy floss that's handed to you as you whizz around at the funfair.Without addressing the way we live with - and the beliefs we carry about - chronic illness, as a collective and individually, a gradual worsening of symptoms, or a dis-ease of living, will be many people's experience. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 areas of your life, such as friendships and family-ships, Getting curious about what your chronic illness is asking of you, Your chronic illness is not something to hide and be ashamed of.Links:Click here to find out more about working with me 1:1Click here to find out more about joining Your Chronic Illness AllyClick here to subscribe to my Reframing Chronic Illness newsletterEpisode highlights: There aren't really any quantifiable milestones that everyone can relate or aspire to in terms of balance (a. because everybody's idea of balance is different and b. because its' a moveable thing), so maybe we move the goalposts? Aim for being OK with wherever that balance point lies. To feel safe and grounded, and at home within your body and life. To not abandon yourself. Where does the desire for your illness to be in the background is coming from. What's your why? Your motivation? Think about what your life looks like as your illness moves through different phases and cycles, and ask yourself how you can bring that safety and sense of home that I talked about earlier, into each of those phases. How can you honour not only your chronic illness, but more importantly yourself, throughout every phase? How do you want your chronic illness to feature in your life? Beyond whether it's a background or foreground element, you get to decide how you relate to it. What is your chronic illness asking of you? Celebrate having really open, vulnerable, honest conversations with yourself and your close and supportive people. Focus on what your life get to look like moving forward, with the new level of information you have about how your body works, how your body needs to be supported, and how you want your life to look. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 experience your chronic illness. You've probably guessed it by now, but it doesn't have to be this way! Of course I don't leave you in the lurch - I also discuss my three pronged process to help you work through any part of the chronic illness experience that might not be the best. I'm not suggesting that all the 'unspoken' information is given at at once - that would be the most daunting thing ever. But there has to be a space where this stuff is discussed in peer groups, with guidance, boundaries and mutual respect. Knowledge and information = choices. It's why Your Chronic Illness Ally exists! We need to revolutionise the way chronic illness is viewed, talked about and lived with... are you in?! LINKS: Click here to find out more about Your Chronic Illness Ally Click here to find out more about working with me 1:1 Click here to subscribe to the Reframing Chronic Illness newsletter EPISODE NOTES 2:10 - Navigating a relationship in which both of you live with chronic illness. 3:30 - ‘Surprise' situations that can happen when living with chronic illness. 4:50 - The unknown of what life is actually like living with chronic illness 6:20 - How the ‘status quo' of living with chronic illness places a heavy load on the nervous system. 8:00 - How do we decondition from this status quo? 9:20 - Why having the information around how chronic illness actually shows up in your life, how it's actually experienced, is SO KEY to learning how to support yourself and your body. 10:00 - How my three pronged approach helps you work through this, helps you support yourself, and helps with that de-conditioning. Finding the things that help you swing out of chronically living within the sympathetic branch of your nervous system, and reconnect with the parasympathetic branch of your nervous system. 12:00 - How all of this makes your chronic illness your ally. 17:00 - Flares and symptoms as checkpoints and nudges. 18:50 - Revolutionising the way we view and live with chronic illness.

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 positivity alone won't give you want you might believe it will. So what do you call on, if positivity isn't all it's cracked up to be? Listen on to find out. Links: Click here to send me your story for a future episode! Click here to find out more about working with me 1:1 Click here to find out more about Your Chronic Illness Ally Click here to sign up tp my newsletter Points of reflection: Think about how you generally feel about your chronic illness, on the scale of positive, through neutral, to negative? What's behind those feelings? Why do you feel you need to be positive about your illness at all? How do you think it will serve you, and where do you think the aim for positivity in this part of your life has come from? Staying positive isn't the thing that allows progression, growth and healing to become truths. Allowing yourself to experience and work through your full spectrum of feelings and emotions, in a held and supported way, is. If you find yourself resisting the full spectrum of your feelings, get curious about why. What support do you need, what do you need to give yourself, in order to feel comfortable about being uncomfortable? Lastly, a reframe. Move away from positivity as an anchor point or an aim and consider what peace has to offer you.

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: Click here to join the waiting list for the "What Does Better Mean to You?" download. Click here to find out more about Your Chronic Illness Ally Click here to find out more about working with me 1:1 Click here to subscribe to my Reframing Chronic Illness newsletter Episode highlights: What does acceptance mean to you? Acceptance doesn't have to mean any one thing, but I do think that whatever your definition, it needs to allow you to feel free, held and supported. Acceptance needs to be somatically assimilated as well as cognitively understood. To understand where you're at with this, connect with yourself and your body and ask the questions. Is your acceptance selective? And in contrast, is your rejection, or non-acceptance, selective? You can't select what you reject. What you need to work on is the belief that you get to feel better now, with your chronic illness as it is. Not on the other side of anything, not then or when. What does ‘better' actually mean to you/anyone listening? What would it look like in your life? Looking at your expectations of ‘better' or ‘amazing', can that include being able to stay with yourself - i.e. not abandon yourself - throughout all that comes your way in life. How can you invite that full variety of feelings into your lived experience and not segment them into ‘bad' or ‘good' camps, but see them all as equally valid? Life gets to be rich in many ways; not just in the ones you already know, or see as being the ‘typical human experience'.

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 witnessed, you can do so here. I'll be answering them for as long as it feels good! Other links: Interested in working with me 1:1? Click here. Check out Your Chronic Illness Ally Subscribe to my newsletter Episode headlines/main points of reflection: Take some time to really tune into what you're hoping to receive from a diagnosis. Do you have to wait for one to receive those things, or can you receive some of them elsewhere (from within, from community, from a coaching or therapeutic relationship?) What thoughts and feelings do you have towards the way your symptoms show up in your life? Do you notice any physical reactions either when they're present, or when you think about them? This is gold and will give an insight into how you're cognitively behaving towards your symptoms/chronic illness; i.e I'm want to honour and embrace and think I am most of the time, and how you're somatically responding, which could be bracing, contracting, etc. which spells rejection, othering, etc.. The way you think and believe is not always the same as the way you feel and act, even if you think you're totally on board. Forget honouring it, how can you honour yourself? ‘It' is a part of you. You know your body. You know the way you're feeling. Better than anyone else. Deeply connecting with and having a dialogue with your whole self (which includes any symptoms you're experiencing) is one of the most responsible things you can do. Would you do anything differently knowing it is CFS, or knowing it's something else, if the symptoms remain the same? How would it look for you to remove the power from a diagnosis, altogether? And finally, because it bares repeating, Do you want to be a part of that conversation as it's happening right here, right now, or will you remain on the outskirts, only picking up on snippets here and there, because you're tied to the idea of a diagnosis and what you believe that might bring you? Don't allow non-diagnosis to lead to you on some level denying your reality.

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 getting to talk about your experience as it is; to create a space where you'll be witnessed, heard and understood; to receive the energy from a community of people get it; and in listening to others' stories, to know you're not alone. It's not just about having a question answered; it's about allowing yourself to be seen and acknowledged, it's about giving a voice to your hope and knowing that there's another way to live with chronic illness, it's about putting another log on the fire of your healing journey. And whilst all of that is bloody wonderful, I also know it takes energy - the preciousness of which varies depending on where you're at right now - and therefore time. So I've decided to remove the deadline and will be taking submissions thought the season. Here's the link if you want to send me something. I invite you to take 5-10 minutes to yourself, with a blanket and cup of something delicious, and let the words that come, soothe you. I've created a form with some prompts to make it that bit easier. It's important that you're heard. It's important you acknowledge you're worthy of the time it takes to share your experience. This is going to be truly special. OTHER LINKS: Newsletter Email me your question/experience.

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 the beginning of the downwards slope. Becca, aka The Rebel Hypnotist, is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist and Positive Psychology Coach and if nothing else, she hopes she's proof that you get to create a life you love; at any age and with any history. Becca helps her clients break the 'rules' and live life on their terms, by shifting their perspective on the things that are keeping them stuck. Reprogramming their limiting beliefs to a more supportive internal narrative and highlighting their values, strengths and abilities to move forward and create lasting change. LINKS: Becca's website Becca's Instagram - @iambeccamcleish Values in Action Survey Dr Emoto's water experiment Book: The Obstacle is the Way MY LINKS: Your Chronic Illness Ally Sign up to my Reframing Chronic Illness newsletter EPISODE NOTES: 4:55 - About Becca, what rebellion means to her, how it shows up in her life and how she came to be The Rebel Hypnotist. 5:45 - Rebellion to Becca doesn't mean being a troublemaker, it means doing the opposite of what everyone expects you to do. 7:00 - Mid-life being the start of rebellion, not the downward slope that's expected and portrayed by society! 8:45 - How you can change your thoughts and feelings when you have zero motivation to, by repurposing old feelings (genius)! 12:05 - Becca's response to growing up witnessing loved ones ‘deep in it' when the relationship between thoughts and reality didn't serve them. 13:15 - How we can navigate 'manifestation fear'; aka being afraid to think ‘negative' thoughts in case you undo all your ‘good work'. 17:05 - Values in action - knowing and embracing what makes you, you, and feeding into your values and what makes you feel good, as a tool to help you through tough times. 23:15 - Bringing breathwork to your toolbox and how it's a fantastic practice for those living with chronic illness and inflammation. How that goes hand in hand with hypnotherapy. 28:45 - The potential to re-traumatise yourself when you're repeatedly reliving the past, and how that can become your identity. 30:45 - Getting creative with rebellion. 34:45 - Dr Emoto's water experiment - vibrations and energy. Being able to notice and change your energy in the moment. Tuning in, exploring, investigating and working through feelings & emotions. 39:45 - The way we're made to feel (&believe) about our feelings and using rebellion as an act of self-care in doing what's best for us, not what's expected of us. 46:00 - The obstacle is the way; adversity into advantage (book ref). 50:35 - Changing your perception and changing your sense of self-worth. Becca's ‘top tips'. Ref work of Byron Katie. 52:30 - The life-changing impact of inner child work. 54:45 - Details about Becca's new course: Brave.

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 can get on board with them. Chatting with Reena was like connecting with an old friend. She's a warm soul, and we totally get each other. She's an inspiring and passionate Speaker, Mindfulness Guide and Skin Positivity Champion, and on a mission to show people it's possible to transform their lives through radical acceptance and unconditional self-love. She's the voice behind the Insta community @psoriasis_thoughts and has been featured in Women's Health, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Dove Derma Series & more. Links: Insta: @psoriasis_thoughts Website - reenarup.com My Links: The Inner Healing Wisdom Experience Episode Notes: 5:30 - Intro to Reena & @psoriasis_thoughts 6:40 Reena's story - through denial, surrender, desperation & acceptance 16:30 - Healing in community - not doing it alone. 17:45 - Reena's first experience of showing her skin in public and leaning on her community to help her through it. How she prepared fro such an event with ‘cushioning'. 19:00 - Being honest with yourself about why you choose to do - or not do - something. The changes experienced as a result of that honesty. 20:30 - The shift from wanting to hide away, to wanting to be seen & express oneself…who am I as a result of that? What in my life does that open up? 25:00 - Challenging your assumptions of others thoughts about you & challenging your own thoughts about yourself. 27:45 - The habit of excusing yourself & what that says about how you feel about yourself. 29:00 - How lack of love, compassion & acceptance cause you to pull back on life ‘because of your chronic illness', when really your chronic illness isn't the thing getting in the way. 29:30 - Pinning everything on becoming ‘healed' & the freedom that comes when you take that option off the table. 31:00 - The process of moving from feeling betrayed by your body to hearing & understanding the conversation it's having with you. 32.50 - The shift from being treatment free to having treatment - why Reena made that decision and what it's done for her. 36:40 - Mindful conversation, sweet language and talking to yourself with compassion. 39:50 - With the cards you've been dealt, how do you show up in the best way possible for yourself? 39:30 - Reframing the same experience to mean to completely different things. How you can go from feeling victimised to empowered. The power of a change in perspective. 42:00 - Acceptance & complacency are not the same thing. Life goal: to be satisfied, content, happy, at peace and to inhabit ones life as it is. 43:30 - Approaching life & health with a curious and expansive mind. 51:00 - Cancelling, expectations, validation, acceptance, rejection & choosing yourself. 55:00 - The people you choose to have in your life & only being able to give what you first give to yourself (understanding, compassion, acceptance). 59:30 - Making yourself a priority & how you communicate that. 60:00 - The discovery of self through chronic illness, the lessons learned through choosing yourself. 01:04:00 - Finding the right exercise for auto-immune conditions & chronic illness. 01:09:00 - The development of chronic illness & the effect on how you present yourself to ‘make up for it'.

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 the space for play, stillness, self-reflection, self-discovery, empowerment, transformation and healing. Lesley's beautiful description of how we can approach the journey of self discovery and exploration is an example of how we can move through the healing journey from many different angles, not always needing to do something with the learnings but feeling comfortable with simply being able to sit with the wisdom of our bodies. It's such a comforting episode, like a big warm hug. Lesley's story about ancestral and familial wisdom, and how her exploration of her body inspired change… it brought a tear to my eye! Towards the end of the episode, you'll also be able to join in on a short and sweet guided mindfulness practice that Lesley dropped in! There was unfortunately a bit of a connection glitch and at times, the sound goes a bit funny. But you can understand everything that's said and what Lesley has to offer in this episode makes the glitch fade into the background! LINKS: Instagram - @layasland Movement and Mindfulness workshop in conjunction with Heather Agyepong's “The Body Remembers” performance at Brixton House on Saturday 19th March 2022. MY LINKS: The Magic of Chronic Illness Informed Planning & co-planning session Episode notes: 07:06 - Lesley's journey through creativity and the arts into somatic movement, Body Arcana & using art as a tool for healing. 11:33 - Tamalpa - what it is and how it works 14:20 - What is somatic movement, and how Lesley relates to it in her work. 16:08 - life art process. What we explore creatively can be used as transformational tools in our life. 20:50 - Do people find there's a block in being able to express themselves creatively? 23:15 - On working through the fear of finding out what's held within our bodies. 27:30 - The structure of society and our lives, making everything about what you have to show for things rather than the experience that took you there. 29:15 - Do we over-identify with the journey we're on? 34:15 - The Body Remembers - what it is and what it means. 39:50 - Ancestral trauma and wisdom and how that can play out in our lives. 45:15 - Lesley's story about ancestral and familial wisdom, and how her exploration of her body inspired change… it brought a tear to my eye! 50:15 - A short and sweet guided mindfulness practice that Lesley dropped in! 54:35 - The more we're able to anchor ourselves in our inner eden, the more tangible it becomes in our imagination, and the more we're able to take that out into the world. 55:15 - Growth from love and compassion. 58:15 - We are evolutionary beings, here to learn a particular lesson at a particular time. We never need to be the ‘finished product'!

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. Your Chronic Illness Ally is a chance to take back the experience of healing, and the experience of living, without feeling like you're letting go of results, feeling better and becoming healthier. In guiding and supporting you as you rebuild and reconnect to yourSelf, it shows you how you can have both experience and results. It helps you believe, once again, that you are already worthy of that. Sign up to Your Chronic Illness Ally here

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 continuing to show up in the world in the way I want to. What are the symptoms of your chronic illness asking of you? Psssst…The early bird offer ends tonight at 9pm. If you sign up to Your Chronic Illness Ally today, you'll receive a bonus week; Week 13 - Alignment, which is all about helping you put your discoveries, learnings and realisations into practice in real time. Sign up to my newsletter here Want to work with me 1:1? Find out more here.

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 mildly active, to start feeling good about yourself and your life. 2. In actual fact, approaching it from the reverse angle - whereby you prioritise working on feeling good about yourself and living fully (acknowledging all the things that go into that) - will soothe your chronic illness. 3. The absence of chronic illness is not the thing that will make you feel good, happy, content, or even any healthier.I know you know that you can't - and don't want to - continue to put your life, happiness and joy on hold for when you feel better; whether that be the few days you get here and there, or the idea of longer term remission. So, where do you go from here? Your Chronic Illness Ally Subscribe to my Newsletter

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 head-against-a-brick-wall version of what we've all been conditioned to see healing as - the kind that has you on a conveyor belt of trying one thing after another - and the kind of healing that results in you being able to rise to the fullness of your imagination. 8 months ago, I had the idea to create a programme that would help you move from equating chronic illness to you being broken and in need of fixing, to being able to see it as your ally and guide, and in this mini-series, I'm going to be telling you all about it and how it can support you. Find our more about Your Chronic Illness Ally here. Subscribe to my newsletter here.

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 true for me. As we approached winter last year, and I hadn't experienced a flare in close to 10 months (I said 12 in the podcast, sorry, I miscalculated!). I became a bit apprehensive as to whether I would flare because historically, winter = prime flaring ground for me (atopic skin friends, hello!) In this episode, I talk about the fact that yes, I am flaring (albeit mildly), but mainly about how the work I've been doing over the past 18months/two years has completely changed my experience of what flaring means, or shall we say doesn't mean, and why staying in a place of fixing, abandoning and measuring ourselves up against the societal expectations of a human being (which are a load of tosh!) means that we will always be controlled by chronic illness. LINKS: Your Chronic Illness Ally The Inner Healing Wisdom Experience (freebie!) Work With Me 1:1 Sign Up to the Reframing Chronic Illness Newsletter

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 = broken and needs fixing be thrown out completely (I'm already campaigning for that to happen!!) What else would that foundational need for safety lead to? We discuss all - or most - of that in this episode! Leah is an accredited somatic life coach. She prefers dogs to humans, and lives with her two favourite creatures - Rich (her human partner) and their chocolate Labrador Quincy, in Cardiff. Leah's work is about creating experiences that bring people's minds, hearts and bodies into the here and now so that they can enjoy a full-bodied life. She likes to work with quietly brave folk, who have been incredibly resilient, and now they know it's their time to shine. LEAH'S LINKS Instagram @leahsiandavies Website : www.leahsiandavies.co.uk MY LINKS Your Chronic Illness Ally - be added to the interest list Work with me 1:1 Subscribe to my newsletter - Reframing Chronic Illness EPISODE NOTES 4:53 - Leah's ‘flair' to add humour and lightness as a way of connecting with, normalising and working through tough situations 11:00 - Why experiencing joy can be harder than we expect. 16:00 - Finding joy in the simple stuff. 18:00 - Joy as a nervous system regulator. 19:14 - Somatic coaching. What is it and why is it so beneficial? 23:07 - “Safety is the foundation of everything. We're not going to be able to heal or change anything unless we feel safe on a biological level.” 27:00 - Tapping into your inner healing wisdom and you being the only expert on yourself and your body… sometimes we need help in bringing that information to the surface. 27:50 - Best self vs. whole self. In a world of ‘becoming your best self', is self-acceptance being pushed to the side? 30:23 - The common disconnect from our bodies and what we lose in the process of disconnection. 35:03 - Allowing yourself to shine after resilience. Allowing the ease, joy and playfulness to come into your life. 41:50 - Anxiety and struggle as a distraction from feeling your feelings…do we sometimes seek it? 43:14 - What's underneath our ‘headline' experiences? What is beneath anxiety? 45:04 - Hiding our ‘less acceptable' emotions and feeling as if we always have to present as coping, or positive.

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 business coach and mentor who specialises in helping chronic illness CEOs build 6 figure+ online businesses without sacrificing their health. As someone who has built a multiple six-figure business and lives with chronic illness herself, she believes that your chronic illness can be seen as your superpower inside of your business and life. Now, whilst the talk of making six-figures may not be you jam, I think it's so important to share that part of Tati's story. When living with chronic illness, it's easy to think that your life will be limited and that you won't be able to reach the heights that people who don't live with chronic illness, can. Tati is proof that that just isn't true, and I love that she's a living, breathing, healthy example of the kind of life you can create when you create your own narrative around how you want to live with your chronic illness. TATI'S LINKS Instagram - @thetatiskomski MY LINKS Work with me 1:1 Reframing Chronic Illness Newsletter EPISODE NOTES 5:50 - Our shared philosophy around how our chronic illness can be our superpower by working with them, not against. 7:43 - Tati's journey to becoming a chronic illness business coach 18:15 - the difference in being called to self-employment by your chronic illness, and being forced to become self-employed because of your chronic illness 18:51 - The change in mindset of pushing through your chroinc illness to not pushing through, and the short/long term impact of the ‘push mentality' 19:32 - Being mindful not to repeat working patterns from ‘employed' work when you're self-employed, and prioritising your health 26:53 - The foundations of running a business when you have a chronic illness (and for anyone else!) needs to be fundamentally taking care of your health. 28:17 - Are we - as people who live with chronic illness - at a higher risk of falling into hustle mode because we feel like we have something to prove? …The importance of rewiring our brains away from that way of thinking. 33:30 - The self-fulfilling prophecy/validation of unhealthy narrative towards your chronic illness. 34:45 - Don't let thinking you're not ‘normal' be the thing that stops you accepting who you are and what your unique makeup is. Normal doesn't exist! 37:55 - The design of social media and how it can remove us from our truth. 40:58 - Feeling confident in telling your story. 42:15 - Finding yourself after diagnosis 47:45 - Having a choice over how we view our chronic illness. 52:15 - Giving up the fight against your chronic illness to regain your energy, power and life. 55:15 - It's not your chronic illness that's holding you back, it's the fear of giving up the fight. 58:01 - How Tati views her chronic illness as her superpower

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 towards ourselves is the missing piece in making our new, experimental and against the grain lifestyles work? Sophie is a trained life coach who helps kindhearted, creative humans believe in themselves so they can live the life they truly want. She also runs a successful personal branding photography business, alongside mentoring fellow photographers to build a business that works for them. She splits her year between her two passions and it totally fascinates and inspires me, watching her make this unconventional business model a complete success. Oh, and listen out for the little hello from her sweet rescue dog! SOPHIE'S LINKS: Website - sophiecarefull.co.uk Instagram - coaching page - photography page MY LINKS: 1:1 Coaching Newsletter EPISODE NOTES: 5:00 - How Sophie schedules her working year in a way that works for her and connects with the seasons, but goes against the status-quo. 11:05 - Empathy and chronic illness, and how we can take inspiration from Sophie's way of working and apply it to life in general. 14:45 - Listening to your body and taking action. 17:15 - Models of possibility. 18:07 - Identifying the voice of your inner critic and actively seeking examples that positively reinforce your true beliefs. 19:42 - “We don't know the full story of what everyone else is doing…” - Questioning the beliefs that support you not going for what you want. 20:58 - Sharing your story creates space for others to feel more comfortable in living their reality, or the reality they'd like to be living, and showing what's possible. 21:26 - Sense of self and self-belief - a long term project! 22:00 - The problem with the phrase ‘unshakeable confidence'. 23:20 - The evolution of identity and past identities pulling you back to somewhere you've outgrown. 25:30 - Giving yourself enough credit for what you're already doing. 26:25 - The importance of compassion in growth and self-development. 29:47 - Risk taking in building confidence. 33:30 - Laying the foundation and preparing your brain to try something different. 35:30 - Knowledge and understanding paving the way for compassion. Knowing yourself well enough to know when you're being empowered by that knowledge, and when you're using it as a crutch. 42:49 - Unlearning conditioning. 43:00 - You can't do self compassion ‘wrong'. 45:20 - How our needs, abilities and preferences change with the seasons. 47:40 - Creating the conditions that allow you to question the status-quo that isn't working for you.

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 and - something I still struggle with even though I've been working on for what feels like forever! - didn't feel compelled to fill space with words! It came as no surprise, then, when she told me she's all about sitting in discomfort, and that there's no need for ‘positive thinking' when you're around her. How refreshing is that! KATHRYN'S LINKS Website Instagram OTHER LINKS Depression as an adaptive response: The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic, by Jonathan Rottenberg Terror Mangement Theory (Managing Death Anxiety):The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life, by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski Water turns to steam:Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living, by Pema Chödrön That culture is the air we breathe: Untamed, by Glennon Doyle Holding our fears behind our back: Already Free: Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy on the Path of Liberation, by Bruce Tift Your early thirties as a period of settling + community finding: Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes by William Bridges EPISODE NOTES 4:32 - Getting comfortable with discomfort 5:51 - Journey with depression - value, curiosity and lessons 7:39 - Depression as a biological and adaptive response. Book ref, The Depths by Jonathan Rotenburg. What does depression tell us? 9:44 - How depression goes against the grain of societal expectations of a human, and the result of that. 12:21 - Personal significance, belonging/not belonging, feeling special. 14:44 - Terror management theory - humans are the only beings who are aware of their own death, and how we manage that by living beyond ourselves through culture, society and the greater good. 19:32 - Navigating significance, purpose, community, connection and contribution in the face of depression, disconnection, existentialism, removal of cultural meaning. 23:17 - Not fighting; taking a moment to experience, sit in discomfort and learn from your experience. Making sense and exploring the ‘why'. Finding comfort in the knowledge that your experience is a totally understandable and natural response. 23:59 - The cost/benefit of adaptive responses in different/changing environments. 31:23 - The anti-climax that comes from expecting there to be ‘a moment' “when water turns into steam” and how healing has evolved to mean almost nothing about the direct symptoms of my chronic illness. 34:31 - Do we substitute the word ‘healed' for ‘perfect'. Healing doesn't = a lack or an absence. It's a deepening understanding of yourself, how you want to be and ultimately, living. 40:22 - communication, understanding, meaning 42:38 - Communicating a ‘non-mainstream' way of living with your chronic illness with those around you, feeling shame around your chronic illness, and not piling shame upon shame. 49:24 - Depression as an amplifier and playing with integration.

The relationship between trauma, PTSD and chronic illness is one that lives in a cycle. Whilst many who have experienced trauma/who experience PTSD will also go on to develop chronic illness, the very living with a chronic illness can be traumatic. It's an aspect that's perhaps not very well acknowledged, and therefore not addressed and often I see the two existing in a bit of a feedback loop. Sarah and I met around 10 years ago, when we both worked at a design company. Throughout the years, we've kept in touch and, thanks to the power of the internet, I've watched, fascinated, as she works through, understands and processes her C-PTSD using her skills as a designer and artist to support her. She's now in a place where she can approach what once felt too much, with curiosity, and is open to discovering what her findings are here to show or teach her. She's recently been experimenting with her dreams, and talks about how she's doing it in some really cool ways. SARAH'S LINKS: The Bungaloo website The Bungaloo Instagram OTHER LINKS: Tree Carr - Dream Guide Carl Jung - A Very Short Introduction by Anthony Stevens MY LINKS: Newsletter Work with me EPISODE NOTES 4:26 - Receiving a C-PTSD ‘diagnosis'. 10:47 - Expressing & processing through creativity - understanding signals. 16:27 - Viewing C-PTSD with curiosity and seeing it as a superpower. 17:10 - The opportunity to use an external motivator/external accountability to process night terrors and create art from it, without the expectation of it being ‘good art'. 20:44 - Paying more attention to dreams as information. Using dream herbs to access deeper levels of the subconscious. 21:04 - Book ref; a short introduction to Carl Jung - analysing your dreams and checking in with yourself. 26:58 - Tree Carr, dream herbs and lucid dreaming. 33:57 - Approaching with curiosity, letting go of the sh*t and allowing yourself to be who you are. 38:07 - Being triggered and working through what follows. 36:01 - Bringing fun into the healing journey with herbal and floral cocktails.