This week, we’re taking a deep dive into “hope” — and it’s quite a journey!

We discuss:

What hope is and whether it’s inherently helpful (you’ll hear Crystal’s thoughts on this change as the conversation unfolds — there’s a lightbulb moment around minute 12).

The difference between feeling hopeful and clinging to hope.

How being fully present right now might provide more freedom and peace than hoping for something different in the future.

We also share personal stories and insights about the role hope has played in our own experiences with gastroparesis, anxiety, and more.

Like all of our conversations, this one is an invitation to get curious and explore what’s true for you. We’d love to hear your thoughts—share your reflections by joining our Substack community.

Episode Links:

* “A Little Hope Goes a Long Way”: Crystal’s article in the American Journal of Gastroenterology

* Contact Samantha about coaching at https://transformative-psych.com

* Find us on Instagram and Facebook

* Join our Substack community

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Join us at livingwellpod.substack.com and be part of the conversation!

This week we’re excited to introduce our new name: The Living Well Pod.

Rest assured, everything you loved about Living Well (When You Don’t Feel Well) remains the same. The new name is simply a better reflection of the diversity of our listeners, the breadth of our conversations around health and wellness, and our commitment to building a community that extends beyond these weekly episodes.

Now on to today’s episode. It’s a good one! We’re joined by Missy Maiorano, a certified Change Coach who helps people struggling with anxiety, fear, and depression related to chronic health challenges. Missy opens up about her personal experience with chronic hives and idiopathic angioedema, and how she moved from fear and desperation to a place of deep peace, love, and freedom.

Missy's story offers profound insights into how we can stop fighting our bodies and start loving them—even when symptoms persist. If you’ve ever struggled to accept your body through illness or discomfort, this conversation is for you.

Find Missy at: https://www.missymaioranocoaching.com/

Learn more about the Little School of Big Change (affiliate link)

Subscribe to our Substack community at https://livingwellpod.substack.com/ for bonus content and community discussion.

Contact Samantha about coaching at: https://transformative-psych.com/

We're @LivingWellPod on Instagram and Facebook. 

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In this episode, we’re discussing our recent experiences with undiagnosed symptoms that left us both without clear answers for quite a while. We talk about what that uncertainty has felt like, but more importantly, we dive into what’s given us peace of mind and a path forward, even when a diagnosis is unclear.

Here are a few things we discuss in this episode:

- The surprising relief that comes from being present in the moment, even when the future is uncertain.

- Why trusting your instincts and inner wisdom can be more powerful than waiting for definitive answers.

- The role of self-compassion and letting go of the pressure to "figure it all out" when living with uncertainty.

We hope this episode resonates with you—whether you're dealing with undiagnosed symptoms or just navigating life’s uncertainties.

If you’re enjoying the podcast, please share it with someone who might also benefit so that we can continue to grow our community. Speaking of which, we’ll have a big announcement for you next week… stay tuned!

Connect with us on instagram, Facebook, or via email. 

Subscribe to our Substack community at https://livingwellpod.substack.com/ to get all future episodes sent directly to your email inbox.

You can learn more about Samantha and inquire about coaching opportunities at: https://transformative-psych.com/

Calling all caregivers! This week, we’re talking about caring for loved ones with health challenges and special needs, while still taking good care of ourselves.

Drawing from our personal experiences — Samantha with her son, Joshua, who was diagnosed with cerebellar hypoplasia at age 2, and Crystal with her daughter, Lily, who was recently diagnosed with Graves' disease — we explore the insights that have helped us the most in letting go of over-doing and learning to navigate caregiving with more ease and compassion for ourselves and our loved ones.

If you’re a caregiver of any kind, there’s something for you in this episode.

Join our community on Substack: https://livingwellpod.substack.com/

Follow along on Instagram or Facebook.

Samantha is now accepting new coaching clients — visit https://www.transformative-psych.com/ to get in touch.

In this episode, we’re joined by Lily Sais, a coach and popular content creator who shares her journey with anxiety, disordered eating, and type 1 diabetes.

Our conversation with Lily centers on how we can take really good care of ourselves without worrying or obsessing about our health. We also talk about the importance of self-compassion, the ways we get caught up in overthinking — sometimes without even realizing it, and how sending our brain on a metaphorical holiday can bring about more clarity and peace.

Whether you’re facing a physical diagnosis or struggling with your mental health, you’ll find this conversation both relatable and inspiring.

If you’re looking for support as you navigate your own diagnosis, Samantha is now available for one-on-one coaching. Visit her website to learn more.

Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, or via email. Or, subscribe to our Substack community at https://livingwellpod.substack.com/ to get all future episodes sent directly to your email inbox and gain access to exclusive bonus content. 

This week, we’re exploring how a chronic illness diagnosis can impact our self-image and challenge our sense of identity — and how understanding what self-image and identity really are can help alleviate the suffering this often causes.

In this episode, we discuss the habitual thoughts that shape how we see ourselves, the stable part of us that remains unchanged despite our circumstances, and the importance of staying curious about the stories we tell ourselves. We also talk about the difference between being impacted by an illness and being defined by it, sharing how our personal experiences have transformed over the years.

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve lost yourself or wished you could get back to who you were before your diagnosis, this episode is for you.

Connect with us on instagram, Facebook, or via email. Or, subscribe to our Substack community at https://livingwellpod.substack.com/ to get all future episodes sent directly to your email inbox and gain access to exclusive bonus content.

You can learn more about Samantha and inquire about coaching opportunities at: https://transformative-psych.com/Crystal's website is https://www.livingwellwithgastroparesis.com/ and she's @csaltrelli on instagram and YouTube.

This week, we sit down with fellow coach Clare Assante who shares her journey with a genetic eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. Clare talks about the moment she was diagnosed, the uncertainty that followed, and how she’s found peace within the unknown. This is an inspiring, reassuring conversation for anyone struggling with the uncertainty of their diagnosis.

You can learn more about Clare at www.blindsidedbythought.com.

Subscribe to our Substack community at https://livingwellpod.substack.com/ to get all future episodes sent directly to your email inbox and gain access to exclusive bonus content.

You can learn more about Samantha and inquire about coaching opportunities at: https://transformative-psych.com/

Crystal's website is https://www.livingwellwithgastroparesis.com/ and she's @csaltrelli on instagram and YouTube.

It’s something most of us with a diagnosis have encountered at some point: other people’s unsolicited opinions, advice, and comments about our health condition. These interactions can feel really challenging, but they also offer valuable insights into what’s actually true about our experience and what is (and isn’t) up to us.

In this episode, we discuss…

* how these comments and our reactions to them, which often feel very personal, aren’t really personal at all.

* the societal belief that there’s always something more or different we could/should be doing and how recognizing this for what it is alleviates a lot of the pressure we tend to feel.

* what happens when the comments we receive don’t match our current experience, like hearing “you look great!” when you’re feeling unwell.

This conversation is short, just 25 minutes, but we cover a lot of ground! We’d love to know what occurs to you as you listen. Please leave a comment on Substack or send an email to [email protected].

You can find Crystal online at www.CrystalSaltrelli.com and Samantha at https://www.transformative-psych.com/.

Welcome to our first full episode of Living Well (When You Don’t Feel Well)!

In this episode…

* We look at how we talk and think about health and illness — and why that matters when it comes to alleviating our suffering around chronic conditions.

* We discuss how to avoid “crowding out” the pleasurable areas of our lives in the name of getting well.

* Samantha shares that she used to feel like she was in a constant boxing match with her illness and explains the shift that simplified her symptom management and made her day-to-day life feel much lighter and more relaxed.

* Crystal talks about why spending a decade coaching others with chronic illness left her absolutely certain that our experience of life isn’t a result of our circumstances.

* We explore the reason why most of us want to be healthy and whether that’s something we can achieve even in the midst of symptoms and diagnoses.

This conversation lays the foundation for everything that’s coming your way over the next several weeks and months. But if this way of talking about health is new to you and it doesn’t quite make sense, no problem! It was new to us once, too. We encourage you to simply be curious. What if things don’t quite work the way we think they do? What if a different experience is possible?

If you have questions, let us know. Leave a comment on this episode or send an email to [email protected] You can also follow us on  Instagram or Facebook.

Thanks again for being here. We’ll talk to you again soon!

Warmly,Crystal & Samantha

Welcome to the launch of Living Well (When You Don’t Feel Well)! We’re so excited to have you with us. In this short introductory episode, we’re sharing our own experiences with chronic illness and letting you know what you can expect from this podcast going forward. We’d love to learn more about your experience, as well. Connect with us on instagram, Facebook, or via email. Or, subscribe to our Substack community at https://livingwellpod.substack.com/ to get all future episodes sent directly to your email inbox and gain access to exclusive bonus content. You can learn more about Samantha and inquire about coaching opportunities at: https://transformative-psych.com/Crystal's website is https://www.livingwellwithgastroparesis.com/ and she's @csaltrelli on instagram and YouTube.