Chronic Wellness

Chronic Wellness

By Annette LeonardHealth & Fitness
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Chronic Wellness episodes

  • Episode 075: How Do You Cope With Disappointment? Part 2
    Disappointments rock our lives with chronic illness.
    What can the writing of Viktor Frankl teach us about surviving chronic illness?
    How can our search for meaning pull us out of disappointment?
    Unable to control so much of my circumstances, I can control my response. The power to choose is mine.
    5 min
  • Episode 074: How Do You Cope With Disappointment?
    What happens when we do all the right things; we manage our time, energy, diet, inputs, and outputs, and yet we still don't feel well enough to do that thing we were hoping and looking forward to doing?
    When disappointments happen -- how do we roll with them?
    When we don't get to attend the weddings, the holiday gatherings, when we don't get to say goodbye to a loved one? What then?
    In order to protect myself, I want to limit the impact of the pain. And yet, if we numb the pain, we also numb our capacity for joy. And in comes the FOMO, and sadness, and jealousy.
    How do I make space for myself in the sad, lonely, and the sorry? What do you do?
    5 min
  • Episode 073: How Do You Cultivate A Rich Inner Life? Chapter 6
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    Today I'm wrapping up this series on cultivating an inner life.
    Do you have a contemplative practice?
    Do you have a gratitude practice?
    Does music ignite your spirit?
    How are you creating?
    When we are questioning our worth, when we are stuck, creativity can jump us out of some of these dark places. As Brene Brown says, "creativity is the opposite of depression."
    These are some of the ways I work to cultivate a rich inner life to compensate for the life that I don't have courtesy of chronic illness.
    5 min
  • Episode 072: How Do You Cultivate A Rich Inner Life? Chapter 5
    How can Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" be instructive in cultivating an inner life?
    What might a virtual artist date look like?
    What sources of online inspiration can I find to feed me?
    How do I use magazines and periodicals to seed and feed my inner life?
    I can visit the MOMA from my couch, which is a fortunate thing about being sick in the digital age.
    6 min
  • Episode 071: How Do You Cultivate A Rich Inner Life? Chapter 4
    When external markers of worth, as well as the difficulties of living with chronic illness are pulling at our spirit, some of the way to restore ourselves is by developing a rich inner life.
    Whether or not you are an artist, Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way," can feed our creator-selves.
    What are you doing to feed your creative-self?
    How can morning pages unlock our inner life?
    What possibilities can arise when we clear out the mental clutter in such a way?
    6 min
  • Episode 070: How Do You Cultivate A Rich Inner Life? Chapter 3
    As my energy and capacity are decreased, developing a rich inner life has become much more important.
    What role can podcasts and audio books play in seeding my imagination?
    What ideas excite you?
    How can you tap into resources that will spark inspiration in you?
    *RadioLab is the podcast name I couldn't remember in the video*
    6 min
  • Episode 069: How Do You Cultivate A Rich Inner Life? Chapter 2
    How do we more actively engage our mind, spirit, and heart space?
    If this is all I have to look forward to -- do I want to keep living?
    These are some of the questions I'm examining today as I start to consider the question: How do we cultivate a rich inner life?
    How does our life pre-illness impact our ability to re-define ourselves in chronic illness?
    These are among the questions I'm looking at as I discuss the question: How do we cultivate a rich inner life?
    6 min
  • Episode 068: How Do You Cultivate A Rich Inner Life? Chapter 1
    Do you feel trapped in a prison of your own body?
    How do you find something rich and meaningful in the midst of your suffering?
    What is the "life of the mind?" and how do we generate that?
    Can I generate a place that provides me refuge and solace?
    With so much that is out of my control -- what is under my control?
    These are some of the questions I'm examining today as I start to consider the question: How do we cultivate a rich inner life?
    6 min
  • Episode 067: How Did You Get Your Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diagnosis? Chapter 5
    Today I'm concluding my look at how I got diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). After taking short-term disability and staying home for more than a month to try and recover I was ill equipped to be still sick and returning to work full-time.
    Thus began my quest to find bodily healing. The idea that something could transform my disease state kept me fueled initially and led me to big questions like:
    What's the difference between accepting my illness and giving up?
    5 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.