Guy MacPherson invited me to his Trauma Therapist Project for a chronic illness and trauma podcast. We talk about the science and some of my own story of how this became my passion. It was a joy and Guy's inviting style holds depth of curiosity and wisdom, with questions that get right to the heart ...
My Biggest Insight of the Summer (Healing Complex PTSD and Chronic Illness)
Spring in my garden is a riot of color. I caught the above pic of my poppies just past their peak after deciding to replace them and wanting to document the process. Because uprooting a cheery, bright colored perennial that makes me happy in order to take the chance that something else might do an ...
Chrillog #4: Laila’s Chronic Lyme Story (I Am Happier, Physically Stronger, and More Stable Than Before Getting Sick)
This is Laila's Chronic Lyme Story. I call her story a #Chrillog, which stands for “chronic illness weblogs,” in which we look at our journeys through a nervous system and trauma lens. Laila's Chronic Lyme Story highlights the commonly overlooked yet important role of adverse childhood relationship ...
Why it’s Important for People with Chronic Illness to Limit Stress and Set Boundaries (Free Healing Fact Sheet to Inform Friends, Family & Your Doctor)
I made today's downloadable Healing Fact Sheet in response to a reader who asked if I could create a simple guide that she and others could give to friends, family, neighbors, landlords, lodgers, acquaintances and others. Someone had recently disbelieved her and put her down when she had set a ...
Chrillog #3: Avdeep’s Chronic Fatigue Story (“I Feel Better Than I Have in 15 Years”)
This is Avdeep's chronic fatigue story, a chronic illness also known as CFS, for chronic fatigue syndrome, myalgic encephalomyelitis or "ME", ME/CFS, and CFIDS (chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome). I call her story a #Chrillog, which stands for “chronic illness weblogs,” in which we ...
A Compilation for Healing ABEs (Fact Sheet, eCourses, Exercises, Journal Article and more)
If you have a chronic illness (or a chronic condition, a mental health condition or other symptoms), you may have wondered if experiences in your babyhood affected your risk, such as being born cesarean or not breastfeeding. Or if your mother being sick during her pregnancy with you, losing a parent ...
Live Webinar: How Trauma Affects Risk for Chronic Illness (Tuesday April 27, 6pm PDT with live Q&A)
If you've been living with a chronic condition, understanding the role of adversity can help make better sense of your symptoms, flare-ups and why it started when it did. This new lens explains why having a chronic illness is not your fault, not in your head, and not because of what you did or ...
Mending Chronic Illness: 17 (More) Antidotes from Gardening with Your Soul
As many of you may know, I'm a big fan of listening for your impulses in support of mending chronic illness. The kind of impulses that can seem insignificant, sneak up on you and brighten your day. The kind that add a little more ease to the journey. The kind that lightened the lethargy I was ...
The Fatigue Super Conference: 40+ Classes on ME/CFS, Long-Covid, Chronic Lyme and more (Free Online Summit)
Even though I'm a doctor myself, I felt anxiety when my primary care doctor retired and I had to find someone new. By that point I was 15 years into my illness, had consulted dozens of health care professionals in all kinds of specialties who were well respected in their fields but whose ways of ...