Chronic Wellness

My short, weekly podcast is also available as a video on YouTube

Are you one of the millions living with a chronic illness or pain? Our diseases may be very different, but we have many of the same experiences, obstacles and frustrations. We are all working for a better quality of life knowing that pain and limitations will be our traveling companions. My name is Annette and I'm the host of Chronic Wellness, a brief, weekly, podcast where we talk about it all: sex, self-care, mental heath, loss of identity, anger, how to navigate health care and have less days that suck so hard.

A Few Favorite Episodes

Episode 294: Agency and Illness

Is agency the antidote to hopelessness? What, with chronic illness, leads you to feel hopeless? How can agency interrupt that feeling? Here are some of the ways agency intersects with my experience of chronic illness.
What does agency have to do with the loss of the future I imagined or dreamed for myself?
One of my sacred texts is Pema Chodron's "When Things Fall Apart," she says to "abandon all hope" and cultivate a present-moment focus. I do this by choosing fear or love, in choosing to feed my better nature.
Can agency give you traction today?

Episode 289: Double Dutch

Have you ever played double Dutch? How do you join that rhythm already in motion? Once I've lost momentum, how do I start again? We are all hurting right now. In times of duress it is easy to abandon the things that serve me. It's as easy as my next decision. One choice at a time. Each of these choices are a declaration that "I'm worth it." And so are you. What steps are you taking to assert your worth and jump in?

Episode 227: Diagnosed with an Autoimmune Disease -- Now What?!

Getting an autoimmune diagnosis can often take 8-10 years! Now you have a name, you know you are not alone. Now you are looking for your solutions. And, when your body is attacking itself. It is not a simple thing to stop.
The biggest tool in their arsenal, the most commonly used first line of defense, high-dose prednisone.
It is a miraculous and fast-acting drug with remarkable and intense side effects.
From weight-gain, to sleep loss, from the likelihood of getting diabetes and the way it erodes tissues in the body, there are some real downsides to staying on prednisone.

Episode 220: Love-Light

Episode 156: How Do You Manage Life with Lung Disease?

Are you one of the millions impacted by lung disease?
This week we'll be talking about how to live better with lung disease.
Today I'm sharing an interesting detail about one way that lung disease, over time, changes other physical structures in our body.
With poor circulation and lung problems, comes structural change to the fingers and toes. How remarkable!