The Chronic Spoonful

Job Hunting with Chronic Illness

We're in a time when a lot of us Spoonies may be in that lump of people looking for jobs right now, and trying to find a job when we have a chronic illness is not the same as when you are a healthy person. There are just a few things we need to consider and things we need to know.

So of course we decided to do an episode on it (are you shocked. We think you should be shocked. Ha!). So on this episode we discuss everything from what you should do before you start searching for a job, where you can find jobs that fit your needs, what to put on a resume and cover letter (and what not to), and how to manage the interview.

My Chronic Spoonful Planner is LIVE

Also, we're so excited to announce the launch of the My Chronic Spoonful Life Planner!!! Months of planning (haha, pun not intended) went into this, and we're hoping it is super helpful to all of you. It has all the things we think you'll need to keep your Spoonie life in order. It's one planner to rule them all - how you feel every day, your med tracking, meal planning, food tracking, exercise tracking, doctor appointments and outcomes, medical history, and more. You can check it out HERE.

If you want a taste of it, you can sign up for our email list and get FREE prescription tracker: 

Also, use the discount code SPOONIE to get 20% off, because we want feedback. This is our first edition, so let us know what we need to add, shrink, etc.

One more thing...when we reach 500 downloads, we'll be giving away a one-of-a-kind tee. So, tell your friends and family. We'll choose from our email list, so remember to sign up on our website!

And as promised, here are the job search and resume sites we mentioned on the podcast:

• FlexJobs
• Virtual Vocations
• Indeed (and you can check Remote)
• LinkedIn
• Canva (for resume design)
• CVConnect

Have a good week, everyone!

 

 

Living the Joyful Spoonie Life with Chronic Migraines

This week's episode deals with a subject that could, if you know anything about migraines, go down into a dark, dark hole. But our guest, Lauren Fairbanks from the "Enjoy the Journey" podcast, never lets it get there. 

Lauren has a perspective on her chronic migraines--a disease that has plagued her since childhood--that many of us can find inspiring and uplifting. It's unique and one that we can all take a little away from, and in the end you can't help but feel a little more joy in your spirit.

So join us this week as we learn things about migraines you never knew (really, there is some crazy stuff about migraines that Lauren shares that made us go, "Whaaaaat?), and maybe make your day a little brigher.

Also, if you made it this far in the show notes, we have a special pre-announcement for you since our editor (*cough**cough* Nicole!) could not cut the announcement into the show. We'll make our official announcement next week, but you can get in on this EARLY!!! Woohoo!! 

The My Chronic Spoonful Life Planner is AVAILABLE! We're so excited to share it with you all, because we know it will help you keep all your Spoonie info in one place. This quarterly planner helps you track how you feel every day, symptoms, food, exercise, doctors, doc visits, medical history, prescriptions, etc.  You can check it out early by clicking on this link.  And, since you're an awesome podcast listener...you can get 20% off by using the discount code SPOONIE. 

We'll make bigger announcements later, but back to the show, right??

Body Image and Chronic Illness: Loving Yourself Just as You Are

Oh no! The dreaded body image episode! Well, it's OUR body image episode, and, like you and probably everyone else that has a chronic illness, we deal with body image issues, too. So, we're taking a real and honest look at body image and chronic illness, because most body image discussions only focus on healthy people. 

In this episode we get real on what it's like when you have either an overt physical illness that people can see or when your illness is invisible and what that does to your psyche. It goes deeper than just feeling bad about how you look. We address what it's like when you don't have control over what's going on with your body, what it's like to go shopping for clothes when you've suddenly gained 80 pounds from your meds, how you feel when people judge you, and what it's like when the media pounds you with the "perfect" looking people.

However, you know we're not that podcast where we'll just complain like crazy and leave it there. We have to give you solutions! So we'll go over ways we can feel better about ourselves--yes, even with our chronic illnesses. Yes, there are ways we can embrace how we look even though we're sick. We'll tell you why, and some ways you can do it. We're always a joy.

As a reminder from the episode, we want to give you the link to our website. Remember, if you sign up now for our email list, you'll be the first to know when the My Chronic Spoonful Life Planner is available and get a discount! Also, when we reach 500 downloads, we'll be giving away a one-of-a-kind Chronic Spoonful Podcast t-shirt (drawing from our email list).

Finally, we also promised a few companies we knew of that had some clothing that were good for chronic illness peeps who had things like ports or needed adaptive clothing:

IZAdaptive

ézéPlus

Tommy Adaptive

 

How to Talk to Your Doctor to Get What You Need

We're in a lot of different chronic illness groups, and one of the topics that seems to cross all the groups is the frustration we have with our care. A lot of you new to the medical world don't know how to get what you need from our doctor, and it can be so scary and frustrating. You don't know how to ask for what you need, find out what you need, or where to go when you don't feel like you're getting what you need. So we decided to address the issue on this week's episode.

Both of us have been in the medical world for a while. Nicole received her diagnosis over 17 years ago, and she's a nurse. Meanwhile, Kelli has a more recent diagnosis, she's worked with doctors in mental health and detention facilities. We have a good amount of experience working with and around doctors. So we explain why sometimes it can be difficult to get what you need from your doctor--which isn't always their fault, by the way. It's complicated.

However, you can do quite a few things to help yourself. Well, isn't that just the way of being a Spoonie?? We walk you through some red flags, how to research your doctors, and when the relationship just isn't working for you.

We also make a fun announcement about our soon-to-come My Chronic Spoonful Life Planner that we're super excited about!!! Eeek!

So join us this week for all the crazy banter and conversation. We hope you will find something that helps you navigate your relationship with your doctors! And feel free to share your advice in the comments and in the Facebook group! We'd love to hear from you!

We Mean It Isn't In Your Head:Dr. Susan Masterson & Sjogren's Syndrome

This week we were so excited to welcome Dr. Susan Masterson to the podcast to talk about her book, You Mean It Isn’t In My Head: What Sjogren’s Syndrome Is and What You Can Do About It (available now on Amazon). So many of us go from doctor to doctor for years being told what we have is anything from a cold to depression to menopause. It’s always something minimal or it’s just in our heads. Until it’s not.

Dr. Masterson walks us through her Sjogren’s journey and why it was so important for her to write this book. Spoonies get being dismissed for years, and that satisfaction of finally getting that diagnosis, but she also takes us through Sjogren’s itself and how it differs from other Chronic illnesses. On top of that, we talk about diet, exercise, and self-care–all things we need across the chronic illness spectrum.

Join us this week on the Chronic Spoonful Podcast. You can download the podcast on your favorite platform or on our podcast page. Also, Dr. Masterson is offering a free e-book on her page if you sign up for her email list today! We totally recommend doing this. Once you sign up for her list, she will be sending you updates for her upcoming classes on self-care. We can all use a little more self-care in our chronic illness journeys!

Sign up for Dr. Masterson’s list today!

Chronic Illness Spring Cleaning for Emotional, Social & Physical Well-Being

On this week's episode of the podcast, we discuss Chronic Illness Spring Cleaning--or how Spoonies can Spring clean their lives emotionally, socially, and physically for better living. The weather is getting nicer, so everyone starts talking about opening up their homes and cleaning floors, counters and closets. However, when we're chronically ill, we have so many other things we can be cleaning up that are so much more important, because we carry so much baggage from whatever disorders are plaguing us.

So on episode 4 of our podcast, we get everyone prepared. How do you Spring clean your life on so many levels? We're not offering platitudes or simple statements like, "Just get a positive attitude." C'mon. We all know that doesn't work. If we want to make our lives better, we have to do the work, and we have to make the changes. So we discuss how Chronic Illness Spring Cleaning is different than other types of Spring cleaning.

Tune in this week to listen, and then join us in the Facebook group to discuss.

Brain Fog: How it Plagues Us & How Spoonies Can Fight Back

Brain fog is something that almost everyone with a chronic illness experiences, some more than others. On this episode we discuss what it's like for Spoonies to live with brain fog confusion, disorientation, walking around like you're in a bowl of jello, etc.--and we'll give you ways you can try to cope with it. 

Things NOT to Say to Someone with Chronic Illness

There are just things not to say to someone with Chronic Illness, and somehow friends and family didn't get the memo (we still love you friends, and family). On this episode we talk about some of the top things no one should say to a person with chronic illness and maybe some suggestions for how to respond or how our allies should rephrase  things.

3 I's: Introduction, Isolation & Illness - Living in a Chronic Illness Bubble - Episode 01.01

On this very first episode of The Chronic Spoonful Podcast, you'll get to meet your fantastic and quirky hosts, Nicole & Kelli, and we'll talk about what's happening in the real world that impacts Spoonies and what we can do about feeling isolated when you have chronic illness.