She was just 19 when she woke up debilitatingly ill at age 19 and it took 17 years to find a proper diagnosis. Now Joanna Charnas says, "My body may be out of control but I am in control of how I take care of it." Learn tips and tools for living well with chronic illness or how to best care for someone who is from a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who truly gets it. 

In this podversation:

• The day Joanna woke up debilitatingly ill at age 19 which became a 17-year struggle to get properly diagnosed
• Finding relief through meditation and other mindfulness and holistic health and wellness practices
• The importance of maintaining an existential perspective rooted in gratitude
• Learning to temper optimism with reality to best support clients and loved ones who are ill
• Being willing to ask for help when needed
• Check in on your strong friends
• Why Joanna likes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy
• We're all in the closet about something
• Why it's hard for people, especially women, to assert themselves and ask for needs to be met
• Owning your illness and not making others responsible for our needs
• "My body may be out of control but I am in control of how I take care of it."
• "Your pain and suffering are real, but with time, effort, and perseverance, you can still have much happiness in your life."
• "Attitude is the king, queen, and sun god rolled into one. It's the most important thing we bring to the challenges [we face]."

 

Meet Joanna Charnas:

Joanna Charnas has been a clinical social worker for thirty years and holds specialties in group therapy and chronic illness.

She blogged on the HuffPost Blog for two and a half years, and had been published on several other international websites, including Popsugar.com before authoring two books herself: Living Well with Chronic Illness, and 100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness.

Connect with her further at: https://www.joannacharnas.com/