Chronic Wellness

Chronic Wellness

By Annette LeonardHealth & Fitness
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Chronic Wellness episodes

  • Episode 096: Chronic Illness And Sex, Pain
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    How does sex set my relationship apart from other relationships in my life?
    How does chronic pain impact my sex life?
    How can I reduce or manage the pain brought on my sex?
    When sex means recovery and rebound how does that further complicate my willingness to have sex?
    These are some of the questions I'm examining in today's episode of Chronic Wellness.
    4 min
  • Episode 095: Chronic Illness And Sex, But I Don't Feel Sexy
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    How do we approach sex in the context of chronic illness?
    How can we improve our sex lives?
    What about the fact that I don't feel sexy?
    The deterioration of my body from illness, the pain and fatigue I struggle against leaves me feeling profoundly unsexy. These are part of the uphill climb I associate with cultivating a sex-life with chronic illness.
    4 min
  • Episode 094: Chronic Illness And LTR, The Pain Of Living
    Stuck in the reality of chronic illness and blessed to be in a healthy and loving long-term relationship.
    What do we do when the circumstances of our lives mean that we want out?
    Have you wished for death or pursued suicide because of your chronic conditions?
    Do you wonder if your spouse would be better off without you?
    These and other questions, along with the burdens of grief and sorrow are some of the things I'm unpacking on this episode of Chronic Wellness.
    5 min
  • Episode 093: Chronic Illness And LTR, Showing Appreciation
    Those of us who are lucky enough to be blessed with supportive partners, how can we find new and creative ways to show our appreciation in our relationships.
    With chronic illness and chronic pain wearing us down how can we find new ways show up for our partners?
    What are the ways we can turn this into a game?
    In this episode I talk about two ways that my wife and I support one another and find ways to delight in the ordinary and try to demonstrate to one another our gratitude in concrete and playful ways that make the days a bit brighter.
    5 min
  • Episode 092: Chronic Illness And LTR, What's Shared And What's Unique?
    What does it take to continue to shed layers of heartache and grief about the limitations of our illness and the implications those have on our relationships?
    What grief and loss do our partners carry?
    Here we are having these experiences of illness, and our partners are living it alongside us, but they are not having this experience. It impacts their experience, but it is not theirs. How do we share in the experience and support one another?
    How do we figure out if being in partnership is still sustainable and worth doing?
    5 min
  • Episode 091: Chronic Illness And LTR, How To Prioritize
    How do we navigate chronic illness and long-term relationships?
    If I am well enough to do *something,* how do I decide how to spend that time?
    My formula: prioritizing myself, prioritizing her, prioritizing others.
    What are the ways those can overlap and intertwine?
    How do I plan for this? By staying in the moment -- by avoiding my desire to disconnect, by checking in with body scan.
    I cannot capitalize on my good times if I'm always disassociating!
    6 min
  • Episode 089: Chronic Illness And LTR, Communication
    Those of us fortunate enough to be in long term relationships are blessed to be saddled with the question - "how do you manage your chronic illness your long term relationship?" Having been with my wife for almost 24 years, I consider myself unbelievably blessed and fortunate to have her on my side.
    What does "in sickness and in health" mean when it comes early in life?
    What does that promise mean when it comes to brass tacks?
    How do we find ways to make it work?
    For us, that key ingredient is honest, open, transparent communication. It is radical and what has kept us afloat through these hardest times.
    If I'm willing to tell my best friend but not my partner, why is that? Does that serve me/us?
    6 min

About Chronic Wellness

From the publisher's feed

Are you one of the millions living with a chronic illness or pain? Our diseases may be very different, but we have many of the same experiences, obstacles and frustrations. We are all working for a better quality of life knowing that pain and limitations will be our traveling companions. My name is Annette and I'm the host of Chronic Wellness, a brief, weekly, podcast where we talk about it all: sex, self-care, mental heath, loss of identity, anger, how to navigate health care and have less days that suck so hard.