Back in 2019, I wrote a blog post about my favorite autoimmune disease YouTubers. These are YouTube channels that I personally follow as they document life with a chronic illness.
As a follow-up to that blog post, I wanted to share my favorite podcasts on the topic of managing life with a chronic illness. Although I still do watch YouTube videos fairly frequently, I also enjoy listening to podcasts since it’s so convenient to tune into a podcast while I’m working, doing chores, driving etc. without having to watch something visual.
So, without further ado, here’s my list of chronic illness podcasts that I enjoy listening to!
1. The Chronic Illness Therapist
The Chronic Illness Therapist is a podcast run by Destiny Winters, a licensed therapist in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Destiny has several chronic illnesses herself, including Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and Mass Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). Since she’s both a therapist and a chronic illness patient herself, Destiny understands the impact that managing an illness can have on a patient’s mental health.
As part of her podcast, she delves into a number of challenges that chronic illness patients face, including:
- Medical gaslighting and questioning one’s own sanity
- Lack of support or understanding from family and friends
- Coping with pain and other difficult symptoms
- How to live a meaningful and full life while battling illness
- Adverse childhood experiences and the mind-body connection
- Grief and acceptance
I have found all of these topics to be relevant to my own life, and I think that many readers would find the same. Plus, I highly appreciate her perspective as a therapist and as a patient, because not many people have both the academic and real-life expertise of both of these roles!
2. Sjogren’s Strong
Sjogren’s Strong is a podcast co-hosted by Lupe, a patient living with the autoimmune condition Sjogren’s Syndrome, and her partner Brian. I first learned about this podcast via their blog, after I was first diagnosed with Sjogren’s myself and was looking for information from other patients. The podcast delves into many subjects specific to living with Sjogren’s Syndrome, such as:
- Managing common symptoms, like dry eyes, dry mouth, joint pain, fatigue, and brain fog
- Sjogren’s medications, treatments, and medical insurance
- Living an active lifestyle with a chronic illness
Although the podcast is clearly specific to Sjogren’s, I think it’s valuable for many chronic illness patients, such as those with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus.
3. The Chronic Ills
The Chronic Ills podcast is co-hosted by Alina and Angelica, two Australian women who talk about living with a chronic illness as young adults in their twenties. Some of the topics they discuss in their podcast episodes include:
- Body image with chronic illness
- Medication and alternative therapies
- The cost of being ill
- Living with a chronic illness and anxiety about the global pandemic
- Navigating relationships and friendships with a chronic illness
- The portrayal of disability in the media
Alina and Angelica have had very different experiences as a chronic illness patients; one of them experienced becoming ill gradually, while the other had a sudden onset of their symptoms. What I like is that they show that not all cases are alike, and that every patient’s story is unique.
Autoimmune Warrior 