Gin and Chronic, The Podcast

Alaina and Claire are BACK! They talk about their unintentional summer hiatus and why it was so necessary. They remember good things also exist in the world and Alaina reminds everyone what self care is NOT and what resilience is. They reminisce about how the podcast started and how much they've changed, they talk about the hero complex, and they share how hard it is to find balance between feeling effective and feeling constantly negative. They talk about holistic wellness and the importance of finding what works for you - physically, emotionally, spiritually. Hear about what they've been up to these months - solo trips, therapy, art projects, apartment searches, squishing babies, and tears. Get ready for the G&C Comeback!

Claire shares another medical update… or lack of update… and they agree it's a good time for another light-hearted episode! Both Alaina and Claire talk about their current and upcoming travel plans. Claire has decided not to wait any longer to pursue her adventures and Alaina gives a description of hospital visits in Northern Ireland. They end by sharing what they've learned so far about Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Company

More Info:

• Pharma Phorum
• LA Times
• Wikipedia, Alex Oshmyansky
• Daily Mail, "Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli Launches Newsletter Slamming Billionaire Mark Cuban's Online Pharmacy

G&C has a very special guest today: Dr. Apryl Alexander. At the time of this recording, Apryl is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of Denver. She is a clinical psychologist with concentrations in forensic psychology and child and family therapy, and has been widely recognized for her research and advocacy work. Apryl joins the pod this week to discuss health and advoacacy.

Apryl talks about endometriosis, a diagnosis she formally received in college, despite knowledge of it long before. Endometriosis is likely underdiagnosed, due to systems of sexism, racism, colonialism, and privielge in the medical field. She shares a bit more about laproscopic surgery, management of symptoms, and barriers to care. She shares about her professional journey to psychology and her call to advocacy work.

Everyone has the ability to make changes; people often observe inequities and feel angry about them, but don't do more to change them. Apryl shares her advice for how to start advocating: starting locally, finding existing resources and solutions, and staying informed. She talks about giving testimony, proposing new bills, and building relationships with legislators. They end with a conversation about finding balance between advocacy and self care and Apryl brings up the important concept of allyship.

Resources:

• Follow Apryl here: http://www.aprylalexander.com/
• Endometriosis Information
• NPR: Supreme Court Roe v Wade Decisions Overturned
• PNAS: Racial Bias in Pain Assessment and Treatment Recommendations
• Snowball fights in Colorado
• Legislative Sessions Calendar
• Colorado Reproductive Health Equity Act
• Envision You Public Policy Efforts

Alaina and Claire are reunited in this long-distance episode. Claire fills us in on her recent health updates and they discuss the familiar challenges of health insurance and medical supply companies. Claire updates us on how the Insulin 4 All protest went and the challenges she's been facing in work. They talk about the lack of space for mental health considerations in the current medical system. Both agree that the lack of regulation on food and beauty products is susicious and incredibly problematic. With all the news, the awareness of our broken systems, and the exhaustion of work and school, both admit they've felt depressed and have turned to anti-social behaviors and strange coping mechanisms. Claire recommends The Summer I turned Pretty on Amazon Prime, and Shatter Me, a book series by Tahereh Mafi.

Alaina joins from Northern Ireland to discuss what she's learning about trauma-informed practices. She talks about how trauma appears in all levels of society, to various resulting behaviors, and how systems can be build better to support everyone. This is especially true in the medical field and it's important to talk about the trauma that people with chronic illness and pain and disability experience. She discusses some of the myths around intergenerational and transgenerational trauma (check out links below for more). Lastly, she explains that there is still a lot of hope to be found in studying trauma and how we can all make significant changes to re-write our own narratives around trauma. NOTE: Rachel Yehuda, referred to as a biologist, is a doctor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. See her information and a link to her research, below:

• Trauma Summit Conference info
• Trauma Summit Speakers
• Rachel Yehuda Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma Effects: Putative Role of Epigenetic Mechanisms
• Rachel Yehuda Intergenerational Transmission of Stress in Humans

TW: Suicide. We've got another cousin on the G&C pod - this time to share important conversations about gender and mental health! Meet Red, Claire's cousin, a fellow heathcare worker, chronic illness warrior, and a non-binary, trans masc person. Red talks about his journey of self-discovery and how our pronouns are able to keep changing. They discuss how body image and expectations have become too much of a focus and talk about body neutrality as an option instead. Red shares the range in how companies and communies use pronouns and consider gender, and discusses taking an inadequate intake form and improving it to include important identity-based questions. Once again, profit margins seem to control what healthcare companies decide to care about. There's a lot that still needs to change to make healthcare more accessible to queer and trans patients, particularly de-pathologizing gender presentation. Red shares about his mental health journey, as well, which includes discussion of suicide, anxiety, bipolar tendencies/disorder, borderline tendencies/disorder, and ADHD. This brings up concerns about the tendency to over-diagnose or label, genetic mental health trends, over-medication, a pattern of blaming the patient, and the tendency of minoritized groups to people-please towards the majority, oppressive group. Red and Claire end by sharing information about Monkey Pox and the inherent blame and discrimination in the description.

Meet Brittany - Brittany is a Type 1 diabetic advocate and legislative lead with the Massachusetts chapter of T1International. A historian at heart, she loves to talk and write about the discovery of insulin. In her free time, she's just a normal diabetic girl enjoying life with her cat, husband, etsy store, and many piles of books.

Brittany shares her diagnosis story and she and Claire talk about the challenges of learning about diabetes. They share how they got involved in T1International and the movement for Insulin for All. Learn about how easily everyone can get involved in politics, even when it doesn't feel like it. Claire and Brittany then share about a protest they are planning May 31st -- a century after Eli Lilly received exclusive rights to mass-produce insulin in North America and dramatically raised costs. Reminder: people still die from diabetes, despite how accessible insulin could be, and living with diabetes is not easy. It's exhausting to work to stay alive and hide the challenges that come along with that. They discuss bills T1International has worked on, such as the copay cap bill that has still not passed in Massachusetts.

Come join the protest at the Eli Lilly Cambridge Office outside of Boston to on May 31st to protest their price gouging. Remember, you're not helpless. You can make change. Reach out to [email protected] for more information or to get involved!

Additional resources:

• https://www.t1international.com/MA/
• https://definingmomentscanada.ca/insulin100/history/patent-protection/
• https://www.t1international.com/blog/2019/04/11/reminder-eli-lilly-has-been-exploiting-t1ds-1922/
• https://www.t1international.com/blog/2022/04/12/human-rights-watch-insulin-crisis/
• https://www.etsy.com/shop/ScreechingChickenCo?ref=usf_2020

Alaina and Claire wanted to talk about mental health in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, but got side tracked by Monkeypox, babies, racism in the US, abortion rights... and cheese. The truth is, there is a lot going on to disrupt our mental wellness right now. Horrifying acts are become normalized and people feel exhausted and overwhelmed. Their best advice for you is to give yourself rest sometimes and protect your physical health and to listen to your own voice about what "mental health" means to you.

Kicking off Mental Health Month, G&C welcomes Kelsey Griffith to the show. Kelsey is a mental skills specialist at The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention who works with young athletes and teaches about how important mental health is in the context of sports and athletics. Kelsey explains the difference between clinical sports/performance psychology and mental skills specialists and shares the story of her own injury that led her down this path. She discusses clinical versus situational depression and the stigma around mental health. Kelsey focuses a lot on failure and motivation and shares how helpful it is to learn those skills throughout our lives. She gives some of her tips for re-framing failure, easing anxiety, and finding motivation.

• Dan Siegel - "Flipping Your Lid:" A Scientific Explanation

G&C is excited to introduce you to a special guest, Greta Kohl, an inspiring advocate for women's health. She shares about her chronic illnesses: Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Endometriosis, and Interstitial Cystitis and the journey it took for her to get her diagnoses. Particularly with Endometriosis, she acknowledges the privilege she has had; most people with uterises don't get the diagnosis for YEARS! People with uterises get so used to the rhetoric, "It's just your period" and pain is minimized. Irritable Bowel Syndrome often causes Greta the most pain and change in lifestyle. It affects the large intenstine and is managed differently by every individual. Endometriosis is a painful disorder in which the endometrium grows outside the uterus. It is often overlooked or misdiagnosed. Finally, Interstitial Cystitis is a largely unknown condition causing chronic bladder and pelvic pain. They also discuss the temptation to overlook new symptoms, the stigma around STIs, and the frustration that comes from others telling you how to "contol" your chronic pain.

They end with an important discussion of Women's Health Clinics and laws protecting people with uterises. Greta has worked on all sides of reproductive health: in family grief counseling, in abortion clinics, on a post-abortion hotline, with a national abortion funder, and now is getting a certification as a doula. They talk about the misconceptions that people are "pro-abortion" or are making these difficult decisions lightly. They also discuss the importance of having better sex education and women's clinics to meet community health needs. They end with an introduction to doula work and a chat about the current over-medicalization of pregnancy.

Other sources: ROE Act