Dominique Toney, actor, recording artist, healthy food-lover

The autoimmune version of hyperthyroidism, Graves’ disease affects mostly women and many people go misdiagnosed. For Dominique, a stressful event in her junior year of college marked the beginning of Graves’ symptoms—she was plagued by heat intolerance, weight loss, insomnia, tremors, and anxiety. Because Graves’ is often genetic and Dominique’s mother also suffered from the disease, it was fairly easy to get a diagnosis. But that was just the beginning of the journey. In this episode we discuss how Dominque has managed the highs and the lows of Graves’ disease for the last decade, and how she manages a big, full life with self-care!

Contact Dominque:

IG/FB/Twitter: @domtoney. Website: www.dominiquetoney.com

MAKE ENOUGH FOOD TO HAVE LEFTOVERS

This seems simple enough, I know, but it is a game changer! I absolutely love this weekly challenge. Each week, I try to make a healthy soup or stew and have enough for multiple meals OR put some in the freezer. This way, I always have a healthy meal available when I don’t have time to cook. Once you try this, you will use this self-care tactic again and again. It can truly save the day! Dominique suggests you research a delicious recipe (with foods that make you feel good), then do your shopping, then cook your meal and freeze a serving! I do this in mason jars with plastic lids. Link here.

Don’t forget to follow my IG stories @sheajackie for my weekly challenge updates #tsanweeklychallenge

Happy Listening, beautiful friends,

Lauren Kennedy, soon-to-be nurse, Hawaiian paddler, lover and badass

At 29 years old, Lauren Kennedy was thriving. She had finally found some peace and healing after her boyfriend’s suicide five years earlier, and she was living an abundant, hopeful life filled with activity. When she started experiencing spotting between periods, a friend suggested she go to the doctor just to be safe. She never imagined she would have ovarian cancer as a young woman. The next many months were unexpectedly grueling, from the discovery of the tumors to grieving her great dream of having children. She showed up, put one foot in front of the other and today Lauren is thriving again, her eggs are frozen and she’s at peace with her new body.

Contact Lauren

@lolomaui

THE FIVE MINUTE JOURNAL 

My friends, journaling is really really dope. There are so many studies on the positive effects of therapeutic writing for people with chronic illness. Research has shown that writing can reduce symptoms, help you sleep better, and help generate an overall better outlook on life. And then there are the wondrous benefits of gratitude (which the five-minute journal utilizes).  Gratitude is shown to significantly improve your coping and general happiness on a day-to-day basis. For some people this is a hard habit to get into—maybe you don’t like journaling or you just can’t find the time, or you’re a judgey judge and think it’s SO lame. Lauren suggested a great place to start. The five-minute journal (an app or paperback) makes it really easy and fun to use these tools. If you are already a seasoned journaler (like myself) then simply add these segments into your routine:

That’s it. So simple. Seven days of journaling. Follow me on IG @sheajackie for my own gratitude list and “amazing things” updates.

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Thank you and happy listening, loved ones!

Katayoun and Marcello Marciano, mother and child

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, I had Katayoun Marciano on to speak about her experience parenting her beautiful, non-verbal, 17 year-old autistic son, Marcello. Autism is a bio-neurological development disability that usually appears within the first stages of life. How autism presents differs greatly from patient to patient— the spectrum is wide  (to put it mildly). Little else is known about autism—the most controversial and mysterious piece being the cause—making it an upsetting and disorienting process for parents. In this episode, Katayoun tells all about raising Marcello, from getting his diagnosis to tantrums that take the whole family hostage. She gives parents new to this journey a lightly sketched road map and a hand to hold.

To contact Katayoun:

IG: @katswrite

DO ONE NEW AND FUN ACTIVITY AND SEE IF IT CHANGES YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO YOUR REALITY.

This is a FUN one! Around minute 45 we begin discussing this challenge, and we throw out tons of ideas to people who are active and to those who are bed bound. There are endless possibilities. Katayoun suggests making a list of 25 things that you could do for fun (that you’ve NEVER done) and then pick one for this week and give it a shot! This is a way to beat martyrdom and self-pity, my friends. You create the world you live in…create a fun one! Follow me on IG @sheajackie to find out what I do this week!

Happy Listening!

Emily Maloney, holistic health coach, endometriosis warrior, fellow matcha lover

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue (similar to the lining of the uterus) forms outside of the uterus inducing inflammation and scar tissue. This tissue is can also grow on ovaries, the bladder, and the bowel. And did you know that endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women? With numbers like that why is there so little discussion of the disease? Why did I (a middle class girl from NYC) have no idea what endometriosis was until I began my health journey at 26 years old?? If this is the first you’re hearing of it then this is a great introduction to the signs, testing, and treatment availability. If this is long into your own endo journey then this is a great place to pick up some new tools and relate to a comrade.

Emily Maloney intuitively knew that her periods were different from her girlfriends. Her pain was so intense during her period that she often wondered whether or not she’d wake up in the morning. Emily frequented the ER, and she’d have to miss school or work every month. Armed with a strong intuition and tons of research, Emily demanded the surgery that is needed to diagnose endometriosis and that is where her journey into wellness began. Today, she thrives 🙂

Contact Emily here

Or follow Emily on IG @wholehealth_emily

DITCH REFINED SUGAR FOR ONE WEEK.

Yikes! I know—this one is a little scary, but remember it’s just ONE WEEK. You can do anything for one little week. Refined sugar is a sneaky little shit. You may think you don’t eat any because you don’t eat cookies and candy but, trust me, if you’re buying any packaged or canned foods chances are it’s getting in there. We challenge you to read ingredient labels closely and spend one week not taking any of that nasty bait. Here is list of how added sugars show up on ingredient labels.  We discuss why sugar sucks for your bod and what to do when you get those sugar cravings!

If you’re like me then you’re a person who is 95% free of any of that crap, allowing it to sneak in only every once in a while. The challenge stands! It will be good for me to skip the piece of dark chocolate and the GF treat that I think I need. Besides, I love a challenge.

Remember to follow me on IG @sheajackie and get some updates on how the challenge is going for me. wheeeee!

Happy listening!

Sascha Alexander, Life and Health Coach, Actress, Activist, Awesome Self-Advocate

Sascha has one of those all-too-common stories: Her symptoms began at eight years old and diagnoses only began trickling in 12 years later.  Migraines, sinus infections, and chronic yeast infections were just some of her complaints. Like many of us, she was over-treated with antibiotics and, quickly, her health started to unravel. With the onset of her period came a host of new symptoms which later led to a Hashimoto’s diagnosis. However, getting Hashimoto’s under control did not fix everything else. By 28, Sascha was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and her big five symptoms (as she calls them) were Migraines, intense fatigue, bladder and urinary pain, air hunger, bloating and abdominal dissension. Armed with self-advocacy and research, Sascha got to the bottom of her issues and began solving them herself. You know how I love people who take their health into their own hands! Today, two years after seeing the full scope of her health issues, Sascha has successfully lowered her autoimmunity by 80%. Yes, 80%! Find out how she discovered the root causes and cures for herself with her Jedi research skills.

Sascha’s coaching practice:

www.saschaalexander.com

IG: @saschface

I’m gonna lay down some behind-the-scenes dirt: For this episode, Sascha gave me multiple weekly challenge options and I was pretty dead-set on one (because it was the easiest for me. Yikes!). But I always try to let the weekly challenge reveal itself in our conversation and—much to my dismay— the one I was set on just DID NOT reveal itself! So, this week we are gonna get way vulnerable—naked, you might say :). This IS a scary one guys, but I urge you to try.  The challenge is to share on social media once a day about your illness—how you feel, something you learned, maybe just an article that you relate to. Remember that it’s not just for you, it actually helps other people—it inspires our friends to take better care of themselves, or to be honest about their own afflictions. My whole Instagram is dedicated to this. Let. People. In. You just might be surprised at how much love is thrown your way. Love on top of love on top of love. And when the haters reveal themselves, then you’re just weeding out the people that you do not need to be “friends” with. Get on it and follow me @sheajackie to see how I do this!! Also please tag me in your adventures so I can love on you!

Happy Listening, friends!