Chronic Wellness

Chronic Wellness

By Annette LeonardHealth & Fitness
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Chronic Wellness episodes

  • Episode 036: What Are The Gifts Of Chronic Illness Friendships And My Natural Resources
    In today's episode I'm talking about how chronic illness has offered me many gifts. One of these gifts has been clarifying who are my true friends another has been understanding what are my most precious natural resources -- my time and energy.
    How did being a people-pleaser contribute to having one-sided relationships?
    How did getting sick help cull my friendship circle down to more reciprocal relationships?
    In what ways does understanding the value of my time help me prioritize?
    6 min
  • Episode 034: What Helps You Manage Chronic Pain? Soul Comfort
    In this episode I talk about how to counter act the depleting effects of chronic pain by feeding your spirit. I talk about the questions:
    What brings you genuine comfort?
    Rather than numbing and escaping, what can I do soothe my soul?
    What things, when you do them bring you peace?
    When I am most run down, this is where I turn. This is the way that I can feed and nourish my spirit.
    6 min
  • Episode 034: What Helps You Manage Chronic Pain? The Work
    In this episode I'm considering looking at chronic pain and discussing Byron Katie's "The Work."
    How does anxiety feed chronic pain?
    How is chronic pain related to stressful thoughts?
    How can I get some distance from my stressful thoughts?
    When I remember that I don't have to believe everything that I think, I experience less pain. I also show you my hair do if you're watching this on video.
    How can we learn to love what is?
    4 min
  • Episode 033: How Do You Manage Chronic Pain? The Formula
    In this episode I'm exploring a method of managing periods of extreme chronic pain.
    Talking about my experience with meningitis I explore
    How do you dig into pain rather than avoid it?
    How does our fear of pain actually amplify it?
    When my body feels like a prison, what can I do ease the experience?
    Rather than running from or trying to escape, by stopping, taking a breath and asking a question, I have been able to bear the unbearable. Here are details of my experience.
    6 min
  • Episode 032: How Do You Manage Chronic Pain? Depression
    In this video I'm discussing depression and how it intertwines with the experience of chronic pain. I examine such questions as:
    How does depression manifest?
    What are the hallmarks of depression?
    How can you know if you or someone you love are depressed?
    What are some of the potential benefits for depression of taking pain medications?
    There are no easy solutions to either of these conditions. In this video a few of my thoughts and experiences on the subject.
    4 min
  • 031: How Do You Manage Chronic Pain? Meditation
    In this episode I'm talking about how to manage chronic pain using meditation.
    How can meditation help ease pain?
    What techniques do I use?
    What does "remembered wellness" have to do with the process?
    If our brain is telling us about the pain, isn't it our brain that can help us soothe the pain?
    These are some of the questions I explore in this podcast.
    4 min
  • Episode 030: How Do You Manage Chronic Pain? Loving What Is
    In this podcast I'm looking at the question how do you manage chronic pain?
    What are some ways we make some peace with chronic pain?
    Are you familiar with "the work" by Byron Katie?
    How do stressful thoughts further contribute to my experience of chronic pain?
    What are the ways that acceptance can allow us to ride the waves of pain with less suffering?
    As a person who has migraines and chronic pain, I have a variety of strategies for coping. This video touches on one of them.
    These are some of the questions I explore in this episode.
    4 min
  • Episode 029: How Do People Deal With Chronic Illness? Creativity
    When thinking about ways to deal with having a chronic illness, one of the things that helps me function is creativity.
    How can creative expression help heal the wounds of chronic illness?
    When many things are going wrong, expressing myself creatively can be a path back to myself.
    Brene Brown says that creativity is the opposite of depression. I find this to be true, how about you?
    4 min
  • Episode 028: How Do People Deal With Chronic Illness? Ritual
    In this episode I'm talking about rituals that add meaning and help me deal with having chronic illness.
    How can ritual help me deal with chronic illness?
    What is a grief bowl and how do I use it?
    What are other rituals that might help in managing the losses incurred by chronic illness?
    Here I share some ideas and ways to symbolically lighten the burdens of my heart.
    5 min
  • Episode 027: How Do People Deal With Chronic? Illness Feeling It All
    What are the ways that feelings contribute to the origins of disease? I'm talking about the work of Dr. Gabor Mate and others who examine the mind-body connection in autoimmune disease and cancer.
    What happens when we suppress negative emotions?
    How can we unlearn the habits that don't serve us and our our illnesses?
    How does being congruent in my emotional experience shape my ability to be well?
    Talk through some of my thoughts on the subject of feeling the whole messy array of human emotions.
    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.