Chronic Wellness

Today, 7/10 is Chronic Disease Awareness Day

7 of 10 deaths can be attributed to chronic disease – 7 in 10!

The CDC says that 6 in 10 of us have a chronic condition in 4 in 10 of us have two or more.

These are staggering statistics. Many of our conditions can be improved or prevented with lifestyle changes. We can shift our quality of life by: stop smoking, reducing alcohol, cleaning up our diet, getting better sleep, and exercising.

What are you committed to doing for your health?

Today is a great opportunity to initiate conversations and begin making changes to improve your health.

When there are a number of things that are feeling raw and exposed, where to start?

We have conflict in my marriage over where I spend my time and energy when I have some to give.

If I think about my energy like the bars in a battery, I have to be judicious about how to use my energy bars.

The decisions I make about my energy, have impacts on and implications for my wife.

Should I use my energy helping around the house? Being intimate with her?

When I make decisions about my energy without including her, I take those decisions away from her.

Communicating together rather than unilaterally deciding is part of our "bare root" work.

What happens when re-potting a plant and you go to expose the roots?

What happens when roots are unearthed?

What tender, raw, exposed parts of myself are showing right now?

My marriage is suffering right now.

Whether it's our sex life, how I prioritize what energy I have, how we relate to one another as partners vs. sick person and care giver, how to maximize my time each day without setting myself back by overdoing it, and a host of other concerns. These are my tender "bare roots."

Like my houseplants, these things have been overlooked for a long time.

chronic illness,quality of life,autoimmune disease,immunosuppressed,chronic wellness,I am enough,chronic illness and marriage,chronic illness and relationships,chronic illness and quality of life,chronic illness and isolation,chronic illness and depression,chronic illness and tips for managing isolation,pets and chronic illness,creature comforts and chronic illness,mental health and chronic illness,disability and illness,caring for houseplants and illness

Have you noticed this plant before?

How did meningitis impact our houseplants?

What makes a house feel like a home?

In re-potting our houseplants, it got me thinking about myself. How have I been tending to my roots? What makes for a healthy, nourished, fertile soil?

These are the questions I'll be considering in the next couple of days.

Welcome back.

Thank you for tuning in for season two of the Chronic Wellness podcast!

This season I'll be interviewing the Creator of The Mighty, I'll also interview the founder of HowStuffWorks.co. I'll also be talking about

- mental health and chronic illness

- how and when to apply for disability

- how to feed our minds and spirits when our world is so small or locked down

- what does it take to be a care giver for those of us with chronic illness

What do you want to discuss?!

What is the history of Juneteenth?

How might that relate to us today?

What are we not free of?

What habits do not serve me?

Are there people, habits, behaviors I should let go of?

Acknowledging that there is a lot of privilege in asking these questions.

With these thoughts and questions to think about. With today as my one year anniversary I will be taking the next two weeks off. Please check out my back catalog while you're waiting for me to kick off season two.

Lis wondered, "how can I support others with chronic illness to survive and thrive?" Living with illness for a long time, challenges remained: connecting, creating, finding community with limited energy. Having persevered through darkness (in part, because of creativity), Lis wanted to be a muse, a light for others. With that in mind, she thought, how can I inspire others to survive and thrive? With a number of creative projects in the works, she had a relapse and a wake up call about prioritizing self-care. Giving up on creativity was not the answer. How do we create sustainably? The summit, How to Thrive With Chronic Illness and Limited Energy, is part of that answer. Lis was clear she wanted the summit to have broad accessibility. When our dreams seem out of reach, how do we re-imagine them so they remain possible? In her summit interviews Lis worked to tap the expert's wisdom, tips, and ideas about how we thrive.

Connecting with Lis

1-To sign up for the VIRTUAL SUMMIT:

https://how-to-thrive-with-chronic-illness.heysummit.com/

2-To join Virtual Summit FACEBOOK COMMUNITY GROUP:

How to Thrive With Chronic Illness and Limited Energy

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2521920814702414/

3-To learn more about/order her BOOK:

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Darkness-Lisa-Sniderman/dp/1681605570/

https://alightinthedarkness.info

4-To connect with Lis:

Social networks:

facebook.com/aoedemusemusic

twitter.com/aoedemuse

Websites:

alightinthedarkness.info

aoedemuse.com

Lis published "A Light In The Darkness," in 2018 as a way to share her story and give back. Through writing, she acknowledged the need for support as well as how her attitude impacts her wellness. In a marriage or partnership, how does she contribute to the health of the relationship? When we realize that we are not our disease, how do we transcend? This journey is not liner. What she can now look back and see is that she didn’t process her grief. Immersing herself in creativity became a sort of escape keeping her from facing the darkness. Grief is a strategy for coping with our chronic conditions. Why do we avoid seeing this?

Connecting with Lis

1-To sign up for the VIRTUAL SUMMIT:

https://how-to-thrive-with-chronic-illness.heysummit.com/

2-To join Virtual Summit FACEBOOK COMMUNITY GROUP:

How to Thrive With Chronic Illness and Limited Energy

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2521920814702414/

3-To learn more about/order her BOOK:

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Darkness-Lisa-Sniderman/dp/1681605570/

https://alightinthedarkness.info

4-To connect with Lis:

Social networks:

facebook.com/aoedemusemusic

twitter.com/aoedemuse

Websites:

alightinthedarkness.info

aoedemuse.com

What was it like to leave the working world? Who am I without work? How can I effect change? These are questions Lis was asking. As an environmental scientist, her impact was concrete. Leaving the working world, she threw herself into creativity and struggled to feel like that was “enough.” Creative outlets predate her illness, but her focus on creativity has intensified since being sick. When visiting a craniosacral therapist she had guidance that she should not separate her artistic leanings from her desire to heal. For Lis, the bridge for surviving to thriving is “wellness," and wellness is means attending to something bigger than just the physical self.

Connecting with Lis

1-To sign up for the VIRTUAL SUMMIT:

https://how-to-thrive-with-chronic-illness.heysummit.com/

2-To join Virtual Summit FACEBOOK COMMUNITY GROUP:

How to Thrive With Chronic Illness and Limited Energy

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2521920814702414/

3-To learn more about/order her BOOK:

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Darkness-Lisa-Sniderman/dp/1681605570/

https://alightinthedarkness.info

4-To connect with Lis:

Social networks:

facebook.com/aoedemusemusic

twitter.com/aoedemuse

Websites:

alightinthedarkness.info

aoedemuse.com

Author, singer/songwriter, muse, Lis Sniderman is my guest today. We talk about her journey with the onset of dermatomyositis. At the precipice of being married and going on tour, she became critically ill. Beginning with a rash, this progressive muscle wasting disease changed the course of her future. She was fortunate to get a relatively rapid diagnosis (in the world of autoimmune disease). Her life was further disrupted when her disease took a dramatic turn leaving her hospitalized and needing rehabilitation in order to relearn basic life functions. We talk about surrender, survival, and what it takes to move from acute to chronic phases of illness.

Connecting with Lis

1-To sign up for the VIRTUAL SUMMIT:

https://how-to-thrive-with-chronic-illness.heysummit.com/

2-To join Virtual Summit FACEBOOK COMMUNITY GROUP:

How to Thrive With Chronic Illness and Limited Energy

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2521920814702414/

3-To learn more about/order her BOOK:

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Darkness-Lisa-Sniderman/dp/1681605570/

https://alightinthedarkness.info

4-To connect with Lis:

Social networks:

facebook.com/aoedemusemusic

twitter.com/aoedemuse

Websites:

alightinthedarkness.info

aoedemuse.com