Healthy Illness

By Kelly Marie

A weekly podcast to help you build healthy relationships while living with mental health conditions. Hosted by Kelly Marie, an advocate and peer who uses her own life experiences with anxiety, depress... more

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FAQs about Healthy Illness:

How many episodes does Healthy Illness have?

The podcast currently has 165 episodes available.

Healthy Illness episodes:

August 02, 2026 How to Find Yourself After Divorce | Grief, Celebrating & Starting Over
Ep. 161 Your story doesn't end because a relationship does. Sometimes the greatest relationship you'll ever build is the one you have with yourself.
Be gentle with yourself. Honor your journey. Celebrate your growth.
Because healing isn't about forgetting who you were.
It's about finally discovering who you've always been.
Hi, I'm your host Kelly Marie and for years, I identified myself by the roles I filled: wife, mother, caregiver, partner. I was so focused on taking care of everyone else that I never stopped to ask one important question:
Who am I?
This week on Healthy Illness podcast, I'm opening up about my divorce—not to relive the pain, assign blame, or celebrate the end of a marriage, but to talk about something we don't discuss nearly enough: finding yourself after it's over.
Healing isn't pretending the relationship didn't matter. It's honoring what was good, grieving what was lost, accepting your own role in the story, and giving yourself permission to grow into the person you're becoming.
Whether you're navigating a divorce, a separation, the end of a long-term relationship, or simply rediscovering yourself after years of putting everyone else first, I hope this conversation reminds you that healing is possible.
Chapters:
00:00 – Can You Celebrate the End of a Marriage?
00:31 – Why I'm Sharing My Divorce Story
01:54 – Six Years of Separation & Finding Myself Again
03:22 – Rediscovering Life After Marriage
04:10 – Holding Space for Your Own Healing
05:06 – Who Am I Outside This Relationship?
06:29 – Owning My Part Without Blame
07:45 – Honoring Marriage While Accepting the Past
08:29 – Healing Instead of Living in Yesterday
09:49 – Choosing Healing Over Hurt
10:31 – It's Okay to Mourn What You Lost
11:50 – Celebrate Your Growth, Not the Divorce
12:32 – You Don't Owe Anyone an Explanation
13:45 – Finding Joy After Heartbreak
14:20 – When Therapy & Support Can Help
15:28 – You Can Heal. You Can Change. You Can Grow.

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18min
July 20, 2026Can You Have PTSD Without Going to War?
Ep. 160 When you hear "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," who comes to mind? For many of us, the first image is a military veteran returning home from combat. But what if your war looked different?
What if your battlefield was an abusive relationship...
a traumatic childhood, a medical emergency, community violence or years spent living in survival mode?
This week, Kelly Marie continues the conversation from "Feeling Triggered? How to Pause, Process & Protect Your Peace" by exploring one powerful question: What does the brain consider war?
Drawing from her own experience living with Complex PTSD, Kelly explains how mental health professionals define trauma, why everyone's nervous system responds differently, and how understanding the difference between everyday emotional activations and clinical PTSD can help us build more compassionate relationships—with ourselves and others.
Want to learn more about soft triggers? Listen to episode 158
Feeling Triggered? How to Pause, Process & Protect your Peace | Podcasts
Key Takeaways:
Why PTSD isn't exclusive to military veterans
How the brain defines traumatic experiences
The difference between activations and true clinical trauma triggers
Why childhood trauma, emotional abuse, medical trauma, workplace trauma, and toxic relationships can contribute to Complex PTSD
How PTSD symptoms often include physical responses like panic attacks, hypervigilance, dissociation, and intrusive memories
Why two people can experience the same event but have completely different trauma responses
Why a licensed mental health professional—not social media—is the right place to seek answers about a diagnosis
💚 Healing begins with understanding.
Sometimes the first step isn't asking, "What's wrong with me?" It's asking, "What has my brain survived?"
Resources:
Dial 988 for immediate mental health support

Register for Mindful AF Free Webinar at www.FrontSeatLife.com/events
Every 1st Monday 7pm - 8pm est

Diagnostic criteria reference: DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition)

Episode mentioned: Feeling Triggered? How to Pause, Process & Protect your Peace | Podcasts
🎙️ Hosted by Coach Kelly Marie, founder of Front Seat Life LLC
📲 Instagram @‌thefrontseatlife
FB @‌thefrontseatlife, Email [email protected]

🎧 Produced & edited by JazzCast Pros
🔗 Click Here to rate & review on Apple Podcasts
🚀 Rate & Share this Podcast from Spotify
🔐 Add this show to your collection on Pandora.
💪 Support the Show with a one-time donation on PayPal

For those eager to gain a deeper understanding of mental health issues such as PTSD, this episode of the "Healthy Illness Podcast" is a must-listen.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:25 What Is War?
02:11 Can You Have PTSD Without Going to War?
03:39 Triggers vs. Activations Explained
05:01 What Causes PTSD?
07:32 Why Everyone Responds to Trauma Differently
08:27 PTSD Beyond the Battlefield
09:06 Everyday Experiences That Can Feel Like War
10:12 How PTSD Is Diagnosed
12:03 Watch the Companion Episode on Triggers
12:40 Coping with PTSD & Finding Support
13:56 Be Careful Who You Take Mental Health Advice From
14:51 Kelly's Mental Health Update
15:34 Congratulations, Calie!
16:08 Final Thoughts

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19min
July 06, 2026Mindfulness + Medication: Choosing Prevention Over Crisis
Ep. 159 Is it time to go back on antidepressants? Kelly Marie gets real about why she made the decision to restart medication after years without it and why choosing support is never a sign of failure.
Key Takeaways:
How to recognize when your mental health is beginning to slip.

Why being proactive is easier than recovering from a crisis.

The role medication can play alongside CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and boundaries.

Why your healing journey doesn't have to look like anyone else's.
If you've been quietly asking yourself, "Should I go back on meds?" this conversation may be exactly what you needed to hear.

Resources:
Register for Mindful AF Free Webinar at www.FrontSeatLife.com/events
Every 1st Monday 7pm - 8pm est
Dial 988 if you’re in a mental health crisis
Use 211 as the helpline for resources

🎙️ Hosted by Coach Kelly Marie, founder of Front Seat Life LLC
📲 Instagram @‌thefrontseatlife
FB @‌thefrontseatlife, Email [email protected]
🎧 Produced & edited by JazzCast Pros
🔗 Click Here to rate & review on Apple Podcasts
🚀 Rate & Share this Podcast from Spotify
🔐 Add this show to your collection on Pandora.
💪 Support the Show with a one-time donation on PayPal

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
19min
June 30, 2026Feeling Triggered? How to Pause, Process & Protect your Peace
Ep. 158 Not every trigger leads to a panic attack. Sometimes it's the tone of someone's voice. Being ignored. A comment that hits a little too close to home. Or that familiar feeling that makes your heart race before your brain has time to catch up.
In this episode of Healthy Illness, we're talking about what I call soft triggers—the everyday emotional reactions that can quietly damage our relationships, careers, and peace of mind if we don't learn how to recognize them.
I'll share some of my own personal triggers and walk you through a simple strategy to pause, process, and protect your peace before your emotions take over.
Because healing isn't about pretending you don't get triggered. It's about making sure your triggers don't make your decisions for you
Resources
Dial 988 for immediate mental health support
Register for Mindful AF Free Webinar at www.FrontSeatLife.com/events
Every 1st Monday 7pm - 8pm est

🎙️ Hosted by Coach Kelly Marie, founder of Front Seat Life LLC
📲 Instagram @‌thefrontseatlife
FB @‌thefrontseatlife, Email [email protected]

🎧 Produced & edited by JazzCast Pros
🔗 Click Here to rate & review on Apple Podcasts
🚀 Rate & Share this Podcast from Spotify
🔐 Add this show to your collection on Pandora.
💪 Support the Show with a one-time donation on PayPal
Tools for Managing Soft Triggers
Name the thing. Identify exactly what triggered your emotional response instead of reacting on autopilot.

Take up space. Use a physical grounding technique—a worry stone, pen, stress ball, fidget tool, or simply rubbing your hands together—to redirect your focus.

Practice deep breathing. A quick inhale followed by a slow, intentional exhale helps calm your nervous system before responding.

Shift your mindset. Move from "Why did they say that?" to "How do I want to respond?" Give yourself permission to pause before speaking.

Respond with intention. You don't have to address everything immediately. Sometimes the healthiest response is to revisit the conversation once you've had time to process.

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21min
June 22, 2026 End of the Soft Girl Era
Ep 257 The Soft Girl Era is over. Now what? Kelly Marie explores what comes after the trend of girlie aesthetics, luxury, or living a carefree life.
For Kelly, the Soft Girl Era became a personal journey of learning how to extend grace to herself in the same way she extends it to everyone else.
Embracing simple acts of self-care, she shares how keeping her nails done became a daily reminder to slow down, be intentional, and move through life with greater mindfulness.
This conversation is for anyone who has been hard on themselves, carrying the weight of impossible expectations, or struggling to celebrate their own progress.
The trend may be fading, but the practice of giving yourself grace is timeless.
Register for Mindful AF Free Webinar at www.FrontSeatLife.com/events
Every 1st Monday of the Month 7pm - 8pm est

Crisis helpline phone numbers:
Dial 988 for immediate assistance or 741741 for text support
Use 211 as the helpline for resources
🎙️ Hosted by Coach Kelly Marie, founder of Front Seat Life LLC
📲 Instagram @‌thefrontseatlife
FB @‌thefrontseatlife, Email [email protected]
🎧 Produced & edited by JazzCast Pros
🔗 Click Here to rate & review on Apple Podcasts
🚀 Rate & Share this Podcast from Spotify
🔐 Add this show to your collection on Pandora.
💪 Support the Show with a one-time donation on PayPal

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
18min
June 01, 2026 What Keeps You Up at Night?
Ep. 156 You have got to clock out, mentally as well as psychically so that you can get back to work the next day refreshed!
Host Kelly Marie explores the power of rest and its critical role in mental health and wellness. She explains why nothing about her work keeps her up at night and discusses the importance of maintaining good sleep hygiene to enhance productivity and health.
Kelly addresses themes of health equity, community empowerment, and navigating personal and professional boundaries. She also reflects on creating new baselines in public health, emphasizing the importance of doing one's part in a larger mission.
Tune in for insights on balancing life's demands while prioritizing rest as a form of resistance and self-care

Register for Mindful AF Free Webinar at www.FrontSeatLife.com/events

Crisis helpline phone numbers:
Dial 988 for immediate assistance or 741741 for text support
Use 211 as the helpline for resources

🎙️ Hosted by Coach Kelly Marie
📲 Instagram @‌thefrontseatlife
FB @‌thefrontseatlife
Email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
26min
May 25, 2026 Safely Share Your Story | 5 Step Framework
Ep. 155 Learn how to share your personal story while maintaining mental well-being in this episode of the Healthy Wellness Podcast with Kelly Marie. Kelly shares a five-step framework, STORY, for crafting personal narratives: keep it Short, make it Trauma-free, ensure it's Ours to tell, keep it Relevant, and check if you're emotionally Ready to share.
Discover techniques for building healthier relationships and the importance of mindful storytelling in various contexts.
Check out
Kelly Marie Featured Story Magazine | Buffalo Healthy Living

Register for Mindful AF Free Webinar at www.FrontSeatLife.com/events

Crisis helpline phone numbers:
Dial 988 for immediate assistance or 741741 for text support
Use 211 as the helpline for resources
🎙️ Hosted by Coach Kelly Marie 📲 Instagram @‌thefrontseatlife
FB @‌thefrontseatlife, Email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
25min
May 18, 2026 Pause Before You Panic | 3 Quick Tips to Manage Anxiety
Ep. 154 Not every problem is yours to solve! Step back, take a breath and let's get Mindful AF with 3 simple, effective techniques to manage stress anxiety and pressure.
From her “Go Slow” breathing technique to a grounding exercise you can literally do in public without anyone noticing, this conversation is designed to help you regulate in real time — not three days after the breakdown.
Because sometimes peace starts with one powerful question:
“Is this even my business to carry?”
And if you’ve been craving a safe space to slow down consistently,
Register for Mindful AF Free Webinar at www.FrontSeatLife.com/events

Crisis helpline phone numbers:
Dial 988 for immediate assistance or 741741 for text support
Use 211 as the helpline for resources
🎙️ Hosted by Coach Kelly Marie 📲 Instagram @‌thefrontseatlife
FB @‌thefrontseatlife, Email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
21min
May 11, 2026 Holding Grief & Gratitude at the Same Time
Ep. 153 As Buffalo approaches the anniversary of the May 14th Tops shooting on the heels of Mother’s Day week, many are carrying grief, gratitude, trauma, and resilience all at once.
In this heartfelt episode of Healthy Illness, Kelly Marie reflects on the emotional weight this season holds for the Black community while exploring mental health, racial trauma, motherhood, healing, and hope.
Through honest conversation and mindfulness-centered encouragement, she reminds listeners that healing isn’t linear — and that more than one emotion can exist at the same time. If you’ve been trying to stay strong while processing heavy emotions, this episode will make you feel seen.

Register for Mindful AF Free Webinar at www.FrontSeatLife.com/events
Crisis helpline phone numbers:
Dial 988 for immediate assistance or 741741 for text support
Use 211 as the helpline for resources
🎙️ Hosted by Coach Kelly Marie, founder of Front Seat Life LLC
📲 Instagram @‌thefrontseatlife
FB @‌thefrontseatlife, Email [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
17min
May 04, 2026 In My Soft Girl Era | Cover Girl Edition
One year ago, I made the decision to get my nails done and today, I'm proud to say they are still manicured and I am still in my soft girl era!
And as of today, I'm officially a Cover Girl!
Check out the May 2026 Issue of Buffalo Healthy Living Magazine available at Wegmans!
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and Mother’s Day, I'm re-releasing an episode that explains how a simple beauty treatment sparked my deeper reflection on mindfulness, self-care, and breaking free from grind culture.
💬 “It’s not about the look—it’s about the healing.”
Tune in for:
🌿 A fresh take on the “soft girl era”
🛑 The importance of boundaries
🧘🏾‍♀️ Mindfulness, meditation & emotional wellness
❤️ How to show up for yourself with compassion

Resources:
Buffalo Healthy Living Magazine
MindfulAF Monthly Free Events — Front Seat Life, LLC
Crisis helpline phone numbers:
Dial 988 for immediate assistance
Use 211 as the helpline for resources

🎙️ Hosted by Coach Kelly Marie, founder of Front Seat Life LLC
📲 Instagram @‌thefrontseatlife
FB @‌thefrontseatlife, Email [email protected]
🎧 Produced & edited by JazzCast Pros
🔗 Click Here to rate & review on Apple Podcasts
🚀 Rate & Share this Podcast from Spotify
🔐 Add this show to your collection on Pandora.
💪 Support the Show with a one-time donation on PayPal
#HealthyIllnessPodcast #SoftGirlEra #MentalHealthAwareness #BlackMentalHealth #SelfCareIsntSelfish #FrontSeatLife #KellyMarie #HealingOutLoud #MindfulLiving #PodcastForHealing #BuffaloHealthyLiving #Magazine

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...more
18min

FAQs about Healthy Illness:

How many episodes does Healthy Illness have?

The podcast currently has 165 episodes available.

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