But You Look So Good

What do you do when you wake up and realise a flare might be starting? When you’re exhausted, overwhelmed or feeling unwell, it can be incredibly difficult to make thoughtful decisions about what you need—and what can wait.

In this episode, we’re talking about creating a flare plan when you’re well enough to make those decisions clearly. We’ll explore how to recognise your early warning signs, who you might need to contact, what you can cancel or postpone, and how to work out what genuinely helps (and what definitely doesn’t!).

We’ll also talk about the practical things that can make a flare easier—from asking for help with the kids to having messages ready for work, friends or family.

Because you don’t need to figure everything out when you’re feeling terrible. Create the plan now, so that when a flare comes along, you can move from “Oh no, what do I do?” to “Okay, I’ve been here before. I know what to do next.”

⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠

⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠

⁠Webinars and Resources⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

When you live with a chronic health condition, paying attention to your body is important. But what happens when paying attention turns into constantly monitoring, checking, Googling and worrying? In this episode, Sally and Seona explore health anxiety and why it can be particularly complicated when you already have a genuine health condition. We talk about the difference between sensible health vigilance and anxiety, why previous medical experiences can make us hyper-aware of symptoms, and how the anxiety–symptom cycle can keep us stuck. We also look at reassurance seeking, Dr Google and the challenge of living with uncertainty. 

Most importantly, we share four practical and psychological strategies to help you manage health anxiety without ignoring your body or allowing worry to take over your life. Because managing a chronic illness is already a lot of work—we don't want worrying about our health to become another full-time job.

⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠

⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠

⁠Webinars and Resources⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

Managing a chronic health condition can sometimes feel like a part-time job — and on bad days, a full-time one! There are appointments to organise, medications to remember, symptoms to monitor, paperwork to complete, decisions to make and endless energy calculations. And that’s before you’ve even started your actual job, looked after your family or tried to have a social life. 

In this episode, Seona and Sally unpack the hidden physical, cognitive and emotional workload of chronic illness management, including the mental load of constantly planning around symptoms and uncertainty. We also talk about why “just resting” isn’t always as simple as it sounds. Finally, we share four practical and psychological strategies to reduce the workload, protect your energy and make sure managing your health doesn’t become your whole life.

Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠

⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠

⁠Webinars and Resources⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

When you live with chronic illness, social media can be a lifeline. Finding people who truly get it, discovering practical tips, feeling validated and connecting with a community can make an enormous difference. But there’s another side to the algorithm. Comparison, doomscrolling, symptom searching, scary stories and the pressure to be “doing illness right” can leave us feeling anxious, overwhelmed or inadequate.

In this episode, Sally and Seona explore both sides of social media and chronic illness, including why diagnosis-specific communities can sometimes become echo chambers. We’ll also share three psychological strategies to help you curate your feed, set information boundaries and protect the parts of your identity that have nothing to do with being unwell.

⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠

⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠

⁠Webinars and Resources⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

What happens when being capable starts being used as evidence that you’re not struggling?

In this episode, we’re talking about weaponising competence—what happens when your ability to work, parent, socialise, achieve, or simply get through the day is mistaken for proof that you’re doing fine. We explore the reality that you can be incredibly capable and completely overwhelmed; strong and exhausted; functioning and struggling.

Because competence tells us what someone accomplished, but it doesn’t tell us what it took to accomplish it.

We’ll unpack the hidden costs of chronic illness, the pressure to keep proving that you’re struggling, and why a good day, or a successful week, doesn’t mean you’re suddenly well. Plus, we share psychological strategies for separating your performance from your wellbeing, recognising the true cost of functioning, and embracing the power of “both/and” thinking.

⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠

⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠

⁠Webinars and Resources⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

 Today you are hearing from Rachel. Rachel was diagnosed with type one diabetes at age 19 in 1998, and after six years of searching for answers, she received a multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2015. She also lives with an undiagnosed muscle condition that has affected her daily life for over a decade. In this episode, Rachel shares her journey through diagnosis, the emotional toll of chronic illness, and the lessons she's learnt about listening to her body, asking for help, and finding gratitude in the present moment. This is her story.

⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠

⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠

⁠Webinars and Resources⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

Join us this week as we revisit a fun, heart-warming dive into the world of pets and the surprising ways they can boost our wellbeing - especially when living with a chronic health condition. From loyal dogs who get us out the door, to snuggly cats who know exactly when we need comfort, to fish, birds, and all the quirky critters in between, this episode explores why animals can make such a big difference to our daily lives.

Sally and Seona chat about the science behind companionship, the gentle motivation pets bring to move our bodies, and the small routines that help us feel grounded. They also keep it real, unpacking the less-fluffy side of pet ownership - the costs, the cleaning, and the challenges of caring for an animal when your own health is unpredictable.

Whether you’re a lifelong animal lover or pet-curious, this one’s for you!

⁠⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠⁠

⁠⁠Webinars and Resources⁠⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠⁠

Today you are hearing from Penny. Penny lives with retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, a genetic eye condition that causes progressive vision loss. She was diagnosed at 16 with the very same condition her mom has lived without-- with the very same condition her mom has lived with throughout her life.

In this conversation, Penny takes us back to the moment she first realized something wasn't quite right and what it was like receiving that diagnosis as a teenager while her twin sister was getting her driver's license and planning for the future. We talk about relationships, motherhood, and the very real decision of whether to have children, knowing they could inherit RP. Penny also shares what living with low vision actually looks like day to day, the constant mental load, and the things that other people often misunderstand. And we talk about Penny's mom and the influence that watching her live with RP had on how Penny came to understand and navigate her own disability. This is Penny's story. We hope you enjoy.

⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠

⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠

⁠Webinars and Resources⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

How do you explain pain when “it hurts” just doesn’t seem to cover it? In this episode, we’re talking about one of the most frustrating parts of living with chronic illness: trying to describe your pain to healthcare professionals. We unpack the difference between acute and chronic pain, why chronic pain can be so complex, and whether a 0–10 pain scale really tells the whole story. 

We also introduce the Mankoski Pain Scale, which takes a different approach by looking at what pain actually stops you from doing. From burning, stabbing and electric pain to the hidden impact on sleep, work, relationships and everyday life, we explore why pain isn’t always visible—and why functioning doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not hurting. Plus, practical tips for communicating your pain more clearly at your next appointment.

⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠

⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠

⁠Webinars and Resources⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

Today you are hearing from Mel. Mel lives with multiple sclerosis, and in this episode, she shares what the experience has looked like for her, particularly the first year after diagnosis, when so much about her life and her body suddenly felt uncertain. She talks about the fear and frustration that came with those early days, the changes that she had to adjust to, and the process of gradually finding her way forward. Mel also reflects on the things that have helped, the small wins that can mean so much when you're living with a chronic condition, and what it has taken to build a life alongside MS. There is so much in Mel's story that will feel familiar to anyone who has had to adjust to a body, a diagnosis, or a life that they didn't expect. This is Mel's voice.

⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠

⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠

⁠Webinars and Resources⁠

If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠