Welcome to The Autoimmune Wellness Podcast Season 1! We’ve created this podcast as a free resource to accompany our upcoming book, The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook: A DIY Guide to Living Well with Chronic Illness.
Episode #14: Step 7: Connect – Our Stories is an episode all about an often unexplored, but vitally important, piece of the healing process, connection. In this episode we talk not only about connection with other people and its role in healing, but connection with the natural world. We start with a chat about how our illnesses initially impacted our support networks, how things changed after diagnosis and when realization that this was chronic set-in. We address the awkward, depressing, and often stressful truth behind trying to articulate the experience of autoimmune disease to those close to us, plus how the experience can expose weaknesses in our connections with others. We also talk about transitioning our social lives to support healing, finding new connections through online support, and avoiding the trap of adopting illness as an identity. Next we move on to exploring the role connection with nature had in our recoveries and wrap up with ways to experience the benefits of that connection even when you can’t get out in the woods regularly. This episode is a great match for listeners that are wondering if the strain illness has taken on their “people” connections is normal or what they can do to enhance their nature connections.
If you want to dig in check-out the ideas in the “Building a Support Network” section in Chapter 7. This is a good place to help you get the gears turning about forming or strengthening relationships, if it feels like this area could use some attention for you.
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Show Notes:
0:00 Intro
1:31 Introducing the Connect topic
How Healthy Relationships Make Us Healthy
2:26 Angie shares about what her support network was like early in her journey
Strong, but confused
5:26 Mickey shares about what her support network was like early in her journey
Strong, but tense
7:50 Mickey talks about key relationships that were under stress due to her illness
9:17 We don’t have rituals for acknowledging chronic illness in our society
10:18 The awkward and depressing side of discussing your autoimmune disease
11:18 The importance of adding people who “get it” on a personal level to your support network
12:29 Mickey’s social life now
13:26 Angie shares about transitioning her social life to support healing
Working to inspire others to support her choices by projecting confidence about her journey
15:54 Mickey shares about avoiding long explanations with all but the most important people
17:48 Mickey shares about connections she found online
She was looking for empowered people
19:30 Angie shares about connections she found online
Her virtual relationships turned into real world connections
21:25 How to avoid adopting illness as our identities
Consider ways autoimmune disease has expanded your life
Consider how it could actually shut you off from connection with others
Consider meeting new people and letting your illness take a backseat in how you define yourself to them
25:00 The powerful role connection with nature can play in healing
Three Reasons You Need More Time in the Forest...
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