Pregnant with her second child, Angel faced challenges getting a diagnosis and subsequent discrimination as a young woman when receiving healthcare as she suffered debilitating heart symptoms. Presenting to emergency with heart rates well into the 200s and chest pain, Angel was no stranger to being dismissed and invalidated, despite being scared for her life and the baby in her womb. As she wrote goodbye letters to her children and family, she faced a reality of needing to be her own advocate in order to get the medical treatment that she so desperately needed. This is Angel's story.

Content warning: This episode deals with medical themes and may be upsetting. If you find this triggering, please reach out for help. For support please contact a helpline, or in an emergency contact 000 (Australia) - 
Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or visit https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/
 
The Largest Minority appreciates your support - please rate, review and subscribe to our podcast. It is time for the voices of the community of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses to be heard - it starts with us and ends with you.

To show Angel your support, you can follow her journey on instagram - @angelcrowden

We want to hear your stories of chronic illness, disability or (health related) adversity. If you want to share your story, please contact us - [email protected]

If you have any thoughts, questions or want to keep up to date with what we are up to, please follow and DM us on instagram @wellnessempowermentmovement or host Anja @anjajchristoffersen 

Wellness Empowerment Movement website: www.wellnessempowermentmovement.com

Having first experienced mental health challenges at 14 years of age,  Jabe's childhood trauma emerged in full as suicide ideation, auditory hallucinations and psychosis shortly after completing high school. Transforming his challenges into a purpose to help others experiencing mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction as a peer support worker and consumer (patient) representative, he allows himself to be vulnerable with us as he shares his experiences. This is Jabe's story.

Content warning: This episode deals with themes of mental illness and suicide. For support please contact a Helpline or in an emergency contact 000 (Australia) - 
Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or visit https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au

The Largest Minority appreciates your support - please rate,  review and subscribe to our podcast. It is time for the voices of this community to be heard - it starts with us and ends with you.

We want to hear your stories of chronic illness, disability or adversity. If you want to share your story please contact us -  [email protected] 

If you have any thoughts, questions or want to keep up-to-date with what we are up to, please follow and DM us on instagram @wellnessempowermentmovement or Anja @anjajchristoffersen

If you want to show Jabe your support, you can follow his journey on instagram @jabegerring94 

Website: www.wellnessempowermentmovement.com

Settle in with a cup of tea or a wine, because you are in for a snippet of a life story that will make you laugh and reconsider your perspectives on chronic illness - from surgeries to trauma to love stories and all in between. Megan Hackwood is an incredible woman who shares her story with us of her life with many chronic illnesses including SVT (Supraventricular Tachycardia), Fibromyalgia, FND (Functional Neurological Disorder), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Asthma, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), ovarian cysts, anxiety, Melancholia Major Depressive Disorder & PTSD - just to name a few! Megan approaches her challenges with humour and resilience, as she discusses some of the most tricky parts of getting medical help and navigating life, relationships and career will managing illnesses that at times can be debilitating.  

Content warning: This episode deals with sexual assault, medical themes and surgeries, and may be upsetting. If you find this triggering, please reach out for help. For support please contact a Helpline or in an emergency contact 000 (Australia) - 
Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or visit https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au

The Largest Minority appreciates any support we can get - please rate,  review and subscribe to our podcast. It is time for the voices of this community to be heard - it starts with us and ends with you.

We want to hear your stories of chronic illness, disability or adversity. If you want to share your story please contact us -  [email protected] 

If you have any thoughts, questions or want to keep up-to-date with what we are up to, please follow and DM us on instagram @wellnessempowermentmovement or Anja @anjajchristoffersen

If you want to show Megan your support, you can follow her journey at @meganhackwood on instagram.

WEM Website: www.wellnessempowermentmovement.com

From someone who was always healthy and at the top of her game to facing a new reality of chronic pain and insomnia, Naomi's life changed after a car accident. Without any acute injuries requiring emergency care, in the hours after she began experiencing pain, until it reached a debilitating state over the weeks to follow causing her to leave her work and studies.  Fighting for relief she began her search for answers, until a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia was confirmed. This is Naomi's story.

Content warning: This episode deals with a car accident and chronic pain. If this triggers something for you, please seek support. For support please contact a Helpline or in an emergency contact 000 (Australia) - 
Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or visit https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au

The Largest Minority appreciates any support we can get - please rate,  review and subscribe to our podcast. It is time for the voices of this community to be heard - it starts with us and ends with you.

We want to hear your stories of chronic illness, disability or adversity. If you want to share your story please contact us -  [email protected] 

If you have any thoughts, questions or want to keep up-to-date with what we are up to, please follow and DM us on instagram @wellnessempowermentmovement or Anja @anjachristoffersen

If you want to show Naomi your support, you can follow her journey on:
- instagram @body_positive_fitness 
- facebook https://www.facebook.com/Bodypositivefit
- Fibromyalgia blog https://fibrowellbeing.wixsite.com/fibrowellbeing 

WEM Website: www.wellnessempowermentmovement.com

Emily was in her teens when she first began experiencing symptoms of an eating disorder, before onset of additional mental health challenges. No stranger to the mental health system, Emily has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, severe anxiety, borderline personality disorder, sever anorexia and bulimia.  As a result of her eating disorders, Emily was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Anaemia.

In the past 6 months, Emily has had admissions to the Intensive Care Unit, after she was brought into hospital by ambulance following suicide attempts. She shares these experiences with us, as we hold this safe space for her.

To add to what Emily manages, after years of "painful periods", and pain being dismissed due to her mental health history, she fought to have her first laprascopic surgery that diagnosed her with endometriosis.

Emily is truly an incredible woman, with a powerful voice and story - and we are so grateful she chose to share her story through The Largest Minority with you.

Content warning: This episode deals with themes of mental illness and suicide. For support please contact a Helpline or in an emergency contact 000 (Australia) - 
Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or visit https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au

The Largest Minority appreciates any support we can get - please rate,  review and subscribe to our podcast. It is time for the voices of this community to be heard - it starts with us and ends with you.

We want to hear your stories of chronic illness, disability or adversity. If you want to share your story please contact us -  [email protected] 

If you have any thoughts, questions or want to keep up-to-date with what we are up to, please follow and DM us on instagram @wellnessempowermentmovement or Anja @anjachristoffersen

If you want to show Emily your support, you can follow his journey on instagram @dearem98

Website: www.wellnessempowermentmovement.com

In 2016, Dale walked into a BBQ, only to leave intubated and sedated in an ambulance - after suffering burns to 33% of his body. As he was sedated, he did not know if he would ever wake up. Fast-forward to now, and he is using his powerful story to encourage and support other people with chronic illness, especially burn victims. Dale is a big believer in resilience and doing better every day - taking control and responsibility for your own health and wellbeing - and there is no doubt that this has significantly contributed to his positive quality of life despite such a severe accident. 

Content warning: This episode deals with burns, medical themes and surgeries, and may be upsetting. If you find this triggering, please reach out for help. For support please contact a Helpline or in an emergency contact 000 (Australia) - 
Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or visit https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au

The Largest Minority appreciates any support we can get - please rate,  review and subscribe to our podcast. It is time for the voices of this community to be heard - it starts with us and ends with you.

We want to hear your stories of chronic illness, disability or adversity. If you want to share your story please contact us -  [email protected] 

If you have any thoughts, questions or want to keep up-to-date with what we are up to, please follow and DM us on instagram @wellnessempowermentmovement or Anja @anjachristoffersen

WEM Website: www.wellnessempowermentmovement.com

Do you know who the Largest Minority in the world is? Do you know what group of people experience the highest rates of discrimination in Australia?

Presented by the Wellness Empowerment Movement (WEM), with host Anja Christoffersen, we introduce this minority group (spoiler: people with disability and chronic illnesses), and touch on the topic of ableism. This podcast will challenge you to think more deeply about the 1 in 5 with disability, and 1 in 2 with a chronic health condition. Anja shares more about her chronic illness/disability - VACTERL - and how this has made her incredibly passionate about creating a platform for others with chronic illness and disabilities to share their story.

We cannot wait to share the interviews to follow - the moving stories of people within this minority group - as we strap in for a journey that is bound to have us all laughing, crying, ranting, cheering and beginning conversations on how we can make the world a more friendly, accepting, understanding and accommodating place for those with chronic illnesses/disabilities.

Please subscribe - it would mean the absolute world to us. Our first interview is coming very soon, and it is one you will not want to miss.

To connect with us in the meantime, this is how:
- Wellness Empowerment Movement website: www.wellnessempowermentmovement.com
- Want to share your story? email [email protected]
- Connect on instagram @wellnessempowermentmovement
- Like on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wellnessempowermentmovement
- Chronic illness support group www.facebook.com/groups/chronicillnesssupportwem/
- Chat or connect with our host Anja on instagram @anjachristoffersen
- More info on host Anja www.vacterl.com.au 

Savannah, like host Anja, was born with VACTERL Association - that created malformations throughout the body, including vertebrae, anal, cardiac, tracheal oesophageal (air pipe/food pipe) and renal (kidney). When she was born, there was no way to get food or water into her body or out of it, requiring reconstructions. Savannah is going in for Open Heart Surgery TODAY (24/05/21 - USA), and we discuss this in the episode. Having had more surgeries and hospital admissions than one could count,  Savannah shares her insights and experiences with us. From experiences in the health system to how she came to accept and share her medical condition with others, this is an episode you do not want to miss.

Content warning: This episode deals with medical themes and surgeries, and may be upsetting. If you find this triggering, please reach out for help. For support please contact a Helpline or in an emergency contact 000 (Australia) - 
Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or visit https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au

The Largest Minority appreciates any support we can get - please rate,  review and subscribe to our podcast. It is time for the voices of this community to be heard - it starts with us and ends with you.

We want to hear your stories of chronic illness, disability or adversity. If you want to share your story please contact us -  [email protected] 

If you have any thoughts, questions or want to keep up-to-date with what we are up to, please follow and DM us on instagram @wellnessempowermentmovement or Anja @anjachristoffersen

If you want to show Savannah your support, you can follow her journey at @savvyhottel on instagram.


WEM Website: www.wellnessempowermentmovement.com