Self-Love is Blind

Everything kind of feels like humpty dumpty right now, just trying to put the impossible pieces back together again, sort of like my most recent recording that I'm still attempting to glue it back together. In this host episode I discuss the roller coaster that was May, which was also mental heath awareness month and how I used it to explore resources. Some exciting things and some stressful things going on recently. I also try opening up conversation about the tragic discovery of 215 indigenous children's bodies at a residential school in BC. IRSSS (Indian Residential School Survivors Society) Emergency Crisis Line is available 24/7 for those that may need counselling support 1-800-721-0066 or 24hr Crisis Line 1-866-925-4419 https://reconciliationcanada.ca/about/history-and-background/background/

Episode ten, double digits, I am so impressed with myself! Some quick updates and check in with me on what's happening and what's to come. Motivation and morale are low for a lot of us right now with the third wave kicking our butts but we are trying! If each day feels a bit like a drag you're not alone. 6 ways to overcome pandemic fatigue - https://www.heartandstroke.ca/articles/covid-fatigue-here-are-6-ways-to-overcome-it AMI on YouTube - In Focus with Laura Bain Visit AMI website https://www.ami.ca/new_ami You can access mental health help and resources at https://wellnesstogether.ca/en-CA I did the mental health check in to keep an eye on my personal wellbeing.

I chat with my friend David Light about his work in acting and how it has been impacted by the pandemic, the tragic disappearance and loss of his twin brother, mental heath and suicide. We discuss breaking down stigmas as well as ways to both ask for help and offer help to those in need. www.instagram.com/daviddelight/ Note: This episode discusses suicide. If you are having thoughts of suicide and require help please dial: 833-456-4566 or visit https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/ Canada Suicide Prevention Service | Crisis Services Canada 211 Nova Scotia You can call this 24 hours a day for health and social service info. Nova Scotia Mental Health and Addictions (nshealth.ca) Mobile crisis line 1 888-429-8167 Self Help Connection – Shaping Healthy Communities If it is an immediate emergency call 911 or proceed to local emergency dept. Kids help phone https://kidshelpphone.ca/ call 1-800-668-6868 text 686868 Visit www.Selfloveisblind.com Support the show on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some awesome perks ;) @selfloveisblind on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/selfloveisblind/ on Twitter https://twitter.com/selfloveisblind on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/selfloveisblind Self love is blind podcast is created, produced and sound designed by me Jillian Gillis Intro beat sounds by Skosha Muzik www.soundcloud.com/skoshamuzik Logo design by Brandon Mosher Website powered by Christopher Oxner https://christopheroxner.com/ Warning Signs of Suicide https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/hw29139

On this episode I chat with Leanne McLaren, my friend and on air broadcaster for Move 103.5 in Vancouver. Leanne tells us about her self love journey, living with ADHD, battling depression and anxiety, her identity as a biracial indigenous woman, and the turning point when she decided to love herself. I talk about a recent panic attack I had after an emergency situation and also a fan girl moment I had that was a small victory for me. Support me on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some sweet perks ;) Visit www.Selfloveisblind.com designed by Jillian Gillis How to Help Someone Having a Panic Attack - https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-help-someone-having-a-panic-attack#stay-calm https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/hw53602 @selfloveisblind on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/selfloveisblind/ on Twitter https://twitter.com/selfloveisblind on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/selfloveisblind Download, subscribe or follow self-love is blind on Spotify, apple podcasts, google podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts this will make it easier for people to find my podcast. Leave a 5 star rating and review OR email selfloveisblind@gmail.com with your comments on how I can make it a five-star rating Please share on your social media or tell 5 friends about the show! Self love is blind podcast is created, produced and sound designed by me Jillian Gillis Intro beat sounds by Skosha Muzik www.soundcloud.com/skoshamuzik Logo design by Brandon Mosher Website powered by Christopher Oxner https://christopheroxner.com/

I sit down with Kenn to discuss everything from how to manage with a parent suffering from dementia, to growing up and coming out in a conservative family in the USA, to how he embraces nature for healing. Kenn Orphan is a wonderful artist, writer, radical nature lover, antiwar and anti-capitalist activist, sociologist, spiritualist and hospice social worker. https://kennorphan.com/ Support me on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some sweet perks ;)   Visit www.Selfloveisblind.com designed by Jillian Gillis 13 Hours Inside the Nova Scotia Massacre https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Q1W8I4h7T8Xc7xRhXyWoM?si=QThdLYaQR7yDHpX562AJ3g @selfloveisblind on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/selfloveisblind/  on Twitter https://twitter.com/selfloveisblind on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/selfloveisblind Download, subscribe or follow self-love is blind on Spotify, apple podcasts, google podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts this will make it easier for people to find my podcast. Leave a 5 star rating and review OR email selfloveisblind@gmail.com with your comments on how I can make it a five-star rating    Please share on your social media or tell 5 friends about the show! Self love is blind podcast is created, produced and sound designed by me Jillian Gillis Intro beat sounds by Skosha Muzik www.soundcloud.com/skoshamuzik Logo design by Brandon Mosher  Website powered by Christopher Oxner https://christopheroxner.com/

Visit www.Selfloveisblind.com designed by Jillian Gillis Support me on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some perks ;) Did you know that two super common reasons for visits to the ER for chest pains (aside from the serious stuff) are indigestion and pulled chest muscles? Yep I found out about that last week when I made a visit, don't worry I'm all good nothing serious but my anxiety had fun with it. I talk with female entrepreneur AnneMarie she's an ADHD coach and we discuss how she's made it work for her. She has embraced her struggles and used them to help her through her journey. Listen along as she shares strategies that she uses that help her manage her days. She also explains what the heck squirrel brain is. You can find AnneMarie on Insta @ https://instagram.com/adhd_strategist?igshid=1vx9l63dymkb2 or Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemarie-vaughan-transformative-mindset-coach-713226a8 Here is a resource for further details on ADHD @selfloveisblind on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/selfloveisblind/ on Twitter https://twitter.com/selfloveisblind on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/selfloveisblind subscribe or follow self-love is blind on Spotify, apple podcasts, google podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts this will make it easier for people to find my podcast. Leave a 5 star rating and review OR email selfloveisblind@gmail.com with your comments on how I can make it a five-star rating Please share on your social media or tell 5 friends about the show! Self love is blind podcast is created, produced and sound designed by me Jillian Gillis Intro beat sounds by Skosha Muzik www.soundcloud.com/skoshamuzik Logo design by Brandon Mosher Website powered by Christopher Oxner https://christopheroxner.com/ It took me a long time to realize that not everything in life is meant to be a beautiful story. Not every person we feel something deep and moving with is meant to make a home within us, is meant to be a forever. Sometimes, people come into our lives to teach us how to love; and sometimes, people come into our lives to teach us how not to love. How not to settle, how not to shrink ourselves ever again. Yes, sometimes people leave but that's okay, because - their lessons always stay, and that is what matters. That is what remains. - Bianca Sparacino "It's ok not to know. It's ok to rest through in betweens, Until you don't need the breaks. Until the view unfolds. Until resistance gives way. Until the road is clear, The road will clear." - Victoria Erickson Author, Rhythms & Roads

Visit www.Selfloveisblind.com Support me on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some perks ;) This past week was the one year anniversary of the beginning of the Covid-19 virus shutdowns. its pretty wild to think of how much has happened this year. Last week we saw Oprah's interview with Meghan and Prince Harry. A quote that really stuck out for me was "life is about story telling, about the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we're told, what we buy into. and for us to be able to have story telling through a truthful lens, that hopefully is uplifting. its going to be great knowing how many people that can land with and be able to give a voice to a lot of people that are under represented and aren't really heard." - Meghan MarkleThe more people that reach out to me the more I am seeing that people are struggling and we did need something like this. I think story telling is really the key to bringing people together and initiating healing. I feel so lucky to have so many people reaching out to say they found comfort in hearing the show. I was also super lucky to have a my friend Leanne write a lovely podcast review on the iHeartradio site and mentioned me on the air with Vancouver's Move iHeartradio station. How cool! https://www.iheartradio.ca/move/vancouver/trending/podcast-review-self-love-is-blind-1.14639083?fbclid=IwAR1M26eN94egQp4vS-0EEqp12L2RtICqkcH5AoPq1tHDlx3RTR_k4XmXVnY Find Trevor and his magnificent beard @trevlon https://www.instagram.com/trevlon/ 100% circus if you'd like to see the eclectic unicycle! We talk normalizing therapy and how its important to just talk to someone. but it also needs to become more affordable, if not free. Far too many people can't or don't seek help due to financial constraints. Visits with a therapist cost hundreds of dollars per session. Mental health shouldn't be a luxury item. We also get into pronouns. inclusion. toxic masculinity, body positivity and so much more. It gets better project https://linktr.ee/ItGetsBetterProject Kids help phone https://kidshelpphone.ca/ call 1-800-668-6868 text 686868 @selfloveisblind on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/selfloveisblind/  on Twitter https://twitter.com/selfloveisblind on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/selfloveisblind subscribe or follow self-love is blind on Spotify, apple podcasts, google podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts this will make it easier for people to find my podcast. Leave a 5 star rating and review OR email selfloveisblind@gmail.com with your comments on how I can make it a five-star rating    Please share on your social media or tell 5 friends about the show! Self love is blind podcast is created, produced and sound designed by me Jillian Gillis Intro beat sounds by Skosha Muzik www.soundcloud.com/skoshamuzik Logo design by Brandon Mosher Website powered by Christopher Oxner https://christopheroxner.com/

Support the show on Patreon patreon.com/selfloveisblind This is the second episode of my two part conversation with Claudette so if you haven't heard the first part I suggest going back to episode 3 called queen of quotes part 1, https://selfloveisblind.com/podcast/003-the-queen-of-quotes-part-1/ March 8th was International womans day and I wanted to highlight Catherine O'Hara's interview on the CBC podcast More with Anna Maria Tremoni. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/catherine-ohara-has-never-had-a-plan/id1494930679?i=1000463821836 How to recognize anxiety in yourself and others https://www.anchortherapy.org/blog/2018/3/18/-anxiety-counseling-hoboken-newjersey-therapist Me and Claudette continue our conversation about depression, the relationships in our lives and the boundaries we need to hold. Encouragement, removing negativity, suggestions for how to empower yourself and others and lots more quotes from the queen of quotes. Please Subscribe and leave me a rating!! https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/self-love-is-blind/id1553559830 https://www.instagram.com/selfloveisblind/ https://www.facebook.com/selfloveisblind http://twitter.com/selfloveisblind

Hi Friends! You're listening to Self-Love is Blind I'm your host Jillian and I'm legally blind. Self-Love is Blind is a podcast where we discuss all things self love related, the challenges, the self doubt that can get in the way and sharing suggestions on ways to overcome those challenges. I don't think of myself as being disabled and my friends don't really think of me as being disabled either, everyone has challenges, some more than others. - shout out Hadley for being my first patron, thank you! It's be almost two weeks now since the podcast was live and I am absolutely overwhelmed by the fantastic response I've received so far, thank you to everyone who reached out, subscribed, and rated the podcast on iTunes. It is so cool to watch the number of listeners grow, and I can also see there are people listening all over the place, in Ireland, Romania and the US. I'm also a bit overwhelmed in general, I'm driving this bus by myself and it's kind of like if I was actually driving a bus, I'm blind, that's scary for everyone. I actually have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm doing it, I'm a little behind only because I just realized I was doing something manually when I didn't need to. So, I should be able to get on track with my weekly Tuesday releases. it's all a learning experience for me at this point. I've been told I sound confident, let's just say I know how to put on a show, I'm not nearly as confident as I sound. Fake it till you make it. Self-Love tips for the week- Music is everything, if I put on something that I know that will make me dance a little it will make me feel better. When I was in school a couple years ago and just totally drowning, I would play 3 little birds by Bob Marley on repeat. every little thing will be okay.- When I started to get anxious, I just remind myself it's a temporary feeling. I also had to step away from editing because I was feeling overwhelmed it was taking me so long. This actually helped because I was able to stop and think there had to be an easier way. Turns out there was and I was doing something manually that I didn't need to Every storm runs out of rain, there is a quote for my next guest who I've dubbed the queen of quotes. I know she is a super busy woman so I am grateful Claudette donated her time to have this amazing conversation with me. I swear she is like superwoman or something. I met Claudette through her son Matt who is one of my close friends. He is one of the sweetest and most considerate guys, he always offers his help to guide me if I have trouble seeing, although there may have been a time or two I've had to guide him in a straight line. Another quote for the queen, Martin Luther King Jr said "Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase." I resonate a lot with Claudette as she talks about taking leaps in life. - We untangle some of her fascinating life story, dig into the different awakenings she's had and talked a lot about empowering ourselves and other woman, although the reality is its valuable information for just about anyone. - Her job titles. She was a Municipal Councillor and Deputy Mayor, Dental assistant, Former Commissioner of Oaths at Nova Scotia Supreme Court, to name a few- some of her biggest accomplishments are her work having a council recognize Lyme disease as a priority and participation with the first Lyme conference held in Bridgewater. - with the empowering women theme in mind for today's episode and it is black history month I wanted to highlight a local resource that I came across recently. - Mentorship program for Black women in business starts during pandemic https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mentorshop-program-tia-upshaw-black-women-in-excellence-1.5879370?fbclid=IwAR2Eb5pbVcq3UDVZLsOITwkUq3G7uJtBpwiP_5xQ6-MEdOc9BbYDkNs6mzE Black excellence is all around us it's about time everyone's recognizing it. I genuinely love hearing your feedback please keep it coming head over to my website there is a form on the contact page to message me. Subscribe rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts it really does help! Visit Selfloveisblind.com Subscribe to my patreon for exclusive content at patreon.com/selfloveisblind it would mean the world to me since I've literally put everything I have into this podcast check out selfloveisblind on Instagram selfloveisblind on Twitter Self love is blind on Facebook subscribe or follow selfloveisblind on spotify, apple podcasts, google podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts this will make it easier for people to find my podcast. Leave a 5 star rating and review OR email selfloveisblind@gmail.com with your comments on how I can make it a five star rating :D please share on your social media or tell 5 friends about the show!~ Self love is blind podcast is created, produced and sound design by me Jillian Gillis Intro beat sounds by Skosha Musik Logo design by Brandon Mosher Website powered by Christopher Oxner studio We also discuss depression I mentioned I didn't know enough about it to recognize the signs even in myself so, I wanted to take a second to list a few things and I am going to put some resources in the show notes. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20356007 https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/recognizing-symptoms If you are struggling reach out to someone you trust, will listen to you and won't judge you. if you are in crisis Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. Find a therapist. Find support groups. Find a hospital. on the other hand if you want to know more about empaths I'll put some a link about highly sensitive people in the show notes. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-an-empath#easily-overloaded https://highlysensitiverefuge.com/empath-signs/ https://highlysensitiverefuge.com/do-you-cry-easily/ I'm Jillian, thank you for listening to self love is blind and I'll C U Next Time

I am so pumped to be doing this! I combined all my skills together to make this happen. my IT diploma taught me how to teach myself how to learn and use the editing software and putting my website together. It's almost complete! My Marketing diploma I thought had gone to waste will help me to promote the podcast and deal with advertising, which is what would have done if there had of been opportunities here in Halifax, Nova Scot​ia. My ten plus years of customer service in various roles helped me to develop my communication skills. My social personality allowed me to build my network. Once I started my self-love journey, I really started believing in myself, when you believe in yourself so deeply that's all that seems to matters. After finishing the first episode I was proud of myself, no one had even heard it yet but I felt incredible. I will admit though there were a few moments I had to talk myself down when self-doubt pops up and I start having negative self-talk and thinking like will anyone really actually care? but then when I seen the finished product it made me so proud. In the name of Self-love I will start trying to give examples of how I show myself self love each week. I am starting to identify my inner saboteur faster and shut it down more quickly now that I realize that's what's happening. To be honest I almost recorded the intro to the first episode a 3rd time because I was being nit-picky and thought it felt a bit scripty but then I heard one of my fav podcast hosts say it is normal to be nervous when you first start doing something. So, I was like no I'm fucking doing this and I am so proud of what I have accomplished. I went for a couple walks, and smiled at some people out walking but mostly just their dogs. I also Decided to unfollow the news pages that I follow on FB because I find all the negative comments just really disappointing. If I want to look at the news I will download the apps for them or go to their website. No one is ever happy in the comments, just stay away from there. I wish those pages were just able to shut down the comments section all together, do we really all need that commentary? I think when things are going well in your life it's easier to let things roll off your back. So when things aren't great just remind yourself that its only temporary. Self-love and self-care is more than taking a bath and lighting a candle, that is one small piece of the puzzle. It's hard work examining yourself and finding your voice. I recently seen a really cool clip last week of a blind contestant on MasterChef spoiler alert coming up. I have personally never seen the show but I wanted to mention it because it was so inspirational to me. I Shared the link on my fb page self-love is blind if you'd like to see it. The contestant, Christine Ha, had a really interesting story and she spoke very powerfully. Super incredible and happy to see that she won. A couple things that she said stuck out to me, she said "everyone is more capable than they think they are. Don't be afraid to dream big, your chances of attaining something are 0% if you don't try. The greatest rewards come at the biggest risks. I think I am a good example of what someone who has faced issues with disability and mental health can accomplish if given the chance to properly heal. I realized I don't need to have perfect eye sight to have a vision. My next guest Norbert is a great friend of mine who I met working at the call center that I spoke about in the first episode with Steph. Before throwing to today's conversation, I wanted to add onto the story from episode one, I think I was so nervous my first time recording that I totally blanked on some of the details. I couldn't remember what had led me to take my issue to the HR department. My manager had pulled me in to try to address the issue of me not taking on as much as my teammates were because I read considerably slower due to my low vision. That manager said to me that maybe if I practiced reading at home, I might be able to read faster. Right. that's not how that works. Now I am not trying to shame this person or cancel the company I simply want to share my experience to educate others. In today's conversation with Norbert, we discuss how he moved to Canada from Brazil to peruse his education and Canadian life. He talks about the challenges he faced as an immigrant who didn't speak much English. Find out how he managed to live his whole life in Brazil, speaking no English but had a Canadian passport all along. We had such a fun conversation and I hope you can find some value in it. Norbert mentioned an organization that he utilized when he first moved to Vancouver that he found very helpful. Mosaic is one of the largest settlement non-profit organizations in Canada. they serve immigrant, and refugees in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley as well as throughout the province of BC and overseas via online programs. I will have a link to their site in the show notes.https://www.mosaicbc.org/ I asked another friend of mine where someone can find assistance like this in Nova Scotia, she recommended isans. ISANS stands for the immigrant services association of NS, they help people to get settled, learn English, business and employment services, community connection and more. I will have the link for them in the show notes as well.https://www.isans.ca/ I launched the podcast on Valentine's day because this project has stolen my heart. I have decided Tuesdays will be my release day. Visit www.Selfloveisblind.com Subscribe to my Patreon for exclusive content at www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind like monthly bonus host episode, discord community and bi-weekly zoom hang outs with me. check out selfloveisblind on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/selfloveisblind/ selfloveisblind on Twitter https://twitter.com/selfloveisblindSelf love is blind on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/selfloveisblind subscribe or follow self-love is blind on Spotify, apple podcasts, google podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts this will make it easier for people to find my podcast. Leave a 5 star rating and review OR email selfloveisblind@gmail.com with your comments on how I can make it a five-star rating :D please share on your social media or tell 5 friends about the show!~ Self love is blind podcast is created, produced and sound design by me Jillian Gillis Intro beat sounds by Skosha Muzik www.soundcloud.com/skoshamuzik Logo design by Brandon Mosher Website powered by Christopher Oxner studios https://christopheroxner.com/

In this episode I discuss my rare eye condition that causes me to only have 10% of my eyesight, the challenges that come with that and how I've made it work for me. The mission of Self-Love is Blind podcast is to facilitate conversations where people share their unique journeys with self love. My best friend Steph and I break down the symptoms of the eye condition and what I experience living with a disability. We also touched on my experience with depression and anxiety, and how it has ultimately led me here delivering my podcast baby.

The foundation of the podcast will be around me sharing my story living with a disability and other challenges that life has thrown my way. I was born with a rare eye condition that leaves me with only 10% of my eye sight, making me legally blind. you might not realize it if you met me on the street though because I see well enough that I don't need a guide dog or a white cane to get around. you won't find me walking into things or getting lost but there are ways that it impacts my day-to-day life and I'll be diving into those. I will be bringing on a new guest each week to discuss their unique journey with self-love and the difficulties they have faced along the way. I have a dream guest list of over 80 people I know personally that I would love to have on the show some day. Self-love is a lifelong journey and we constantly have to work at it. Your relationship within yourself is the most important one you have, you will always be the one constant in your life so nurture and be kind to yourself. We all have that negative self-talk and we are all our own worst critics. I want to Help to remind people they aren't alone by having conversations, sharing knowledge and strategies. I don't want to be too serious though so I want to add a bit of comic relief. Self-love is blind and so am I. Join me by listening to self-love is blind podcast on Spotify or apple podcast, Lets break the stigmas surrounding mental health, disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, body positivity, you name it I want to talk about it! Learn more about the podcast at selfloveisblind.com