Living life with a chronic illness can feel very lonely. Each month on my substack, I write a letter from my heart to yours on a specific topic connected to living life with a chronic illness or complex condition. In today’s letter, I discuss the shifts and changes that our bodies experience as we navigate life with a chronic illness. I talk about how these shifts and changes can lead to self-criticism, and how a practice of self-compassion can be important as we navigate these changes. I discuss our sense of worth, and the fact that nothing about the shape or ability of our body, nor what we can do or accomplish, can ever change our worth.

In this episode you will find:

* An explanation of my series of “Letters from Your Chronic Illness Companion”

* Me reading this letter to you

* A discussion about grief and the emotional impacts of living in a body that has shifted and changed

* A discussion of small steps moving forward, including self-compassion

You can find a written version of this letter here.

Stay connected:

* Subscribe to the podcast so new episodes come straight to you. You can find my podcast here on substack, as well as on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

* Subscribe to my Substack, where I write most weeks of the month on these same topics: Your Chronic Illness Companion Substack

* Follow along on Instagram: @chronicillnesscompanion Instagram

* Share this episode with a friend who lives with chronic illness too

You are welcome here.

Disclaimer: This substack and podcast, and the posts herein, provide general information and is not meant to be specific advice to any individual situation. These posts and podcast episodes should not be taken as specific medical, psychological, legal, or mental health advice, nor should this be construed as the initiation of a therapeutic client relationship. Though I am a mental health counselor, I am not acting in that capacity here. The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition, and it is not a substitute for mental health, physician, or other medical services or counseling.

Today’s podcast is based on my best performing Instagram carousel, which focused on ways that people could provide support to their loved one with chronic illness. This podcast gives an array of ideas to family and friends of those who have a chronic illness of ways to support or walk alongside their loved one. I end by reminding the listeners of the wisdom shared by Henri Nouwen in his book Out of Solitude: “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives meant the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

In this episode you will find:

* Ways that family and friends can support individuals with chronic illness

* A conversation about individuals expanding their capacity to sit in uncertainty and pain

* How to “build your muscle” of support

Articles mentioned in this podcast:

* The Psychological Cost of Not Being Believed

* When You Cancel Plans (Again)

* When the Response is ‘At Least’

* Same Diagnosis, Different Story: Why Chronic Illness Looks Different in Every Body

* Learn about Ableism here

* What People Need from the People Who Love Them (Instagram post part 1)

* What People Need from the People Who Love Them (Instagram post part 2)

Stay connected:

* Subscribe to the podcast so new episodes come straight to you. You can find my podcast here on substack, as well as on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

* Subscribe to my Substack, where I write most weeks of the month on these same topics: Your Chronic Illness Companion Substack

* Follow along on Instagram: @chronicillnesscompanion Instagram

* Share this episode with a friend who lives with chronic illness too

You are welcome here.

Thanks for listening to Your Chronic Illness Companion Podcast! This is public so feel free to share it.

Disclaimer: This substack and podcast, and the posts herein, provide general information and is not meant to be specific advice to any individual situation. These posts and podcast episodes should not be taken as specific medical, psychological, legal, or mental health advice, nor should this be construed as the initiation of a therapeutic client relationship. Though I am a mental health counselor, I am not acting in that capacity here. The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition, and it is not a substitute for mental health, physician, or other medical services or counseling.

Living life with a chronic illness can feel very lonely. Each month on my substack, I write a letter from my heart to yours on a specific topic connected to living life with a chronic illness or complex condition. In today’s letter, I discuss patterns of self-abandonment, fawning, and people-pleasing. I talk about how these serve as protection for ourselves, and how they impact life with a chronic illness. I discuss small steps forward in overcoming fawning patterns, and remind you what your responsibilities and areas of ownership are as you navigate relationships.

In this episode you will find:

* An explanation of my series of “Letters from Your Chronic Illness Companion”

* Me reading this letter to you

* Questions for you to ponder

* A discussion of small steps forward in beginning to break the fawning and self-abandonment patterns

You can find a written version of this letter here.

Stay connected:

* Subscribe to the podcast so new episodes come straight to you. You can find my podcast here on substack, as well as on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

* Subscribe to my Substack, where I write most weeks of the month on these same topics: Your Chronic Illness Companion Substack

* Follow along on Instagram: @chronicillnesscompanion Instagram

* Share this episode with a friend who lives with chronic illness too

You are welcome here.

Disclaimer: This substack and podcast, and the posts herein, provide general information and is not meant to be specific advice to any individual situation. These posts and podcast episodes should not be taken as specific medical, psychological, legal, or mental health advice, nor should this be construed as the initiation of a therapeutic client relationship. Though I am a mental health counselor, I am not acting in that capacity here. The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition, and it is not a substitute for mental health, physician, or other medical services or counseling.

The weight of living with a chronic illness, and the tasks and demands that come with managing that chronic illness or condition, are immense. This can naturally lead to experiences of burnout, where our “perceived demands outweigh perceived resources” (E Gentry). Our experiences of burnout are often not talked about for a variety of reasons, including that we don’t realize that we are actually experiencing burnout, or because we carry a sense of shame about our experiences. This podcast will explore what chronic illness burnout is, as well as ways that we can help to manage this experience when we hit moments of burnout in our chronic illness journey.

In this episode you will find:

* An explanation of what healthcare/chronic illness burnout is and what it looks like

* What contributes to our experiences of burnout

* Ways we can manage burnout

* Important reminders and reframes about burnout

Stay connected:

* Subscribe to the podcast so new episodes come straight to you. You can find my podcast here on substack, as well as on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

* Subscribe to my Substack, where I write most weeks of the month on these same topics: Your Chronic Illness Companion Substack

* Follow along on Instagram: @chronicillnesscompanion Instagram

* Share this episode with a friend who lives with chronic illness too

You are welcome here.

Disclaimer: This substack and podcast, and the posts herein, provide general information and is not meant to be specific advice to any individual situation. These posts and podcast episodes should not be taken as specific medical, psychological, legal, or mental health advice, nor should this be construed as the initiation of a therapeutic client relationship. Though I am a mental health counselor, I am not acting in that capacity here. The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition, and it is not a substitute for mental health, physician, or other medical services or counseling.

Living life with a chronic illness can feel very lonely. Each month on my substack, I write a letter from my heart to yours on a specific topic connected to living life with a chronic illness or complex condition. The series of “letters from your chronic illness companion” are written from a place of deep empathy and care, meant to get to the heart of something that so many women experience or struggle with on their chronic illness journey. Living with chronic illness, we often find ourselves living in a body that we wouldn’t have ever chosen for ourselves. This can lead to grief, experiences of unpredictability, or betrayal. This first letter is meant to speak to this specific topic.

In this episode you will find:

* An explanation of my series of “Letters from Your Chronic Illness Companion”

* Me reading this letter to you

* A series of questions for you to consider

Stay connected:

* Subscribe to the podcast so new episodes come straight to you. You can find my podcast here on substack, as well as on Spotify and Apple Podcast

* Subscribe to my Substack, where I write most weeks of the month on these same topics: Your Chronic Illness Companion Substack

* Follow along on Instagram: @chronicillnesscompanion Instagram

* Share this episode with a friend who lives with chronic illness too

You are welcome here.

Thanks for reading Your Chronic Illness Companion! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Disclaimer: This podcast provides general information and is not meant to be specific advice to any individual situation. These podcast episodes should not be taken as specific medical, psychological, legal, or mental health advice, nor should this be construed as the initiation of a therapeutic client relationship. Though I am a mental health counselor, I am not acting in that capacity here. The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition, and it is not a substitute for mental health, physician, or other medical services or counseling.

Welcome to the first episode of Your Chronic Illness Companion! If you’re a woman living with a chronic illness and you’ve been looking for a space where your experience is seen and validated, this is for you.

I’m Caroline. I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and I’ve also lived with POTS since I was seventeen (diagnosed at eighteen), so I come at this topic from both sides. In this first episode, I introduce myself, share a bit of my own story, and explain what this podcast is going to be: honest conversations about the emotional side of living with chronic illness, along with important tools and insights. On this podcast you will not find toxic positivity, we won’t hold to the belief that we have to “just push through,” there is no pressure to be inspiring, and we won’t be gaslighting ourselves. This podcast is meant to be supportive and informative for real life with a chronic illness or condition.

In this episode you will find:

* A little about me, my POTS diagnosis, and the 20 years since

* Why I created this podcast and who it’s for

* What we’ll cover in future episodes (topics like grief, identity, guilt, medical trauma, and self-compassion in low-capacity seasons)

Stay connected:

* Subscribe to the podcast so new episodes come straight to you. You can find my podcast here on substack, as well as on Spotify and Apple Podcast

* Subscribe to my Substack, where I write most weeks of the month on these same topics: Your Chronic Illness Companion Substack

* Follow along on Instagram: @chronicillnesscompanion Instagram

* Share this episode with a friend who lives with chronic illness too

You are welcome here.

Thanks for reading Your Chronic Illness Companion! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Disclaimer: This podcast provides general information and is not meant to be specific advice to any individual situation. These podcast episodes should not be taken as specific medical, psychological, legal, or mental health advice, nor should this be construed as the initiation of a therapeutic client relationship. Though I am a mental health counselor, I am not acting in that capacity here. The information presented here is not intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition, and it is not a substitute for mental health, physician, or other medical services or counseling.