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Autoimmune disease brings a lot of changes to our lives, and as we all know, it doesn’t just impact us alone. It also impacts those we love – friends, family, and children. Today, I’ve invited three parents with autoimmune disease onto the podcast to talk about their experiences. What has been the most challenging part? How have they adapted as parents? How do they talk to their children about their health? And how have their children grown in response? This is a deeply personal conversation, and I’m so grateful to the guests for sharing. I hope it resonates with every parent listening, and helps you know you’re not alone.

When we feel lonely or isolated, it can seem like we’re the only person experiencing it, yet loneliness has become an epidemic affecting millions. Living with chronic illness can be an especially isolating experience, and it all becomes more poignant around the holidays. In addition to being emotionally painful, loneliness also carries health risks. It’s been compared to smoking 15 cigarettes a day for its negative impact on health and longevity. But loneliness isn’t a life sentence. In this podcast episode, we share practical tips for overcoming feelings of loneliness and expanding our social connections again. My guest is Dr. Ellen Vora. She is a psychiatrist who takes a functional medicine approach to mental health.

Sexual intimacy can be challenging even in healthy couples. It’s an area that many of us aren’t comfortable talking about, but when you add chronic illness, the obstacles increase exponentially. Depending on your condition, you might be experiencing extreme fatigue, chronic pain, limited range of motion, muscle spasms, disability, bowel issues, skin conditions, and more. It’s natural for this to have an impact on libido, body image, and relationships. My guest, Kate Wolovsky, is a mental health counselor who specializes in the intersection of disability and sexuality. She also has multiple sclerosis herself, and her husband is disabled as well. In this podcast, she helps us break through taboos to talk about sexuality openly, sharing both her personal experience and professional advice. 

Everything happens for a reason. What did you do to cause this? At least it’s not cancer. Oh, I heard about this cure online… Is this sounding familiar? An interesting part of the human experience is that when faced with someone’s pain, people are often at a loss about what to say and end up saying some really unhelpful and hurtful things. But occasionally, people say exactly the right thing. In this episode, we vent about some of the most outrageous things we’ve been told about our autoimmune diagnosis, and celebrate some of the most helpful.