E79: IYCS-Audio Flash Files #19 "How to Have Honest Self-Talks that Boost Your Personal Outlook"

21st InvisiYouth Chat Sessions: Audio  Flash Files gives you a boost of life advice and perspectives that’ll provide empowering tools you can practically incorporate into your life for more success and joy.

It’s the second addition from our “InvisiYouth Galaxy Question Box Series” for 2024, where all episodes will be InvisiYouth answering questions submitted by our InvisiYouth Galaxy Community that are life challenges they need some advice and guidance.

Our question this month is one we get all the time because it’s how to cope with the waiting periods between doctor appointments and test results. And so many living with a chronic illness/disability go through a diagnosis period, tests and waiting for results is a common worrying period. Learn the steps on how you can recognize how the waiting period in relation to your health can actually play a role in your daily life, the ways you need to pause with a proactive nature when that worry spiral can happen to achieve optimal success, and why it’s important to note that having different thinking patterns and styles actually makes waiting for results and doctor appointments different reaction-wise for everyone.

Gain the ideas behind our Waiting Room Theory, why it’s important to be mindful the waiting period brings strain and your ability to lower that anxiety comes from you honing in on your thought processing style in a proactive manner, why you need to focus on what you control in your thoughts in the present instead of the future what-ifs our minds can take us down, and what ways each person can untangle their emotional and logical reactions to the waiting period with doctor appointments/test results so they can process the potentials in a more manageable fashion so you never invalidate your feelings, but you hold the most power in the actionable thinking so you can be empowered in the present as you head into any doctor visits, appointments and tests.

Plus, founder Dominique talks about one of her first experiences having to go through the waiting game of test results in the early stages of her chronic illness journey, and how she had to work through the initial worries and what-ifs by pausing to focus on the present, and the ways she handled the emotions and logic of the waiting game.

 Let's get talking and learn how to incorporate as many elements of this life-improving technique as possible for your optimal for success and comfortability so there’s a sense of ease, success, and joy being added into all aspects of your life living with chronic illness/disability!
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Season 6 begins today! And we’re excited for an entirely new set of special guests, fun segments, empowering life advice and great stories. And we have an epic first guest of Season 6, it’s the owner and designer of the popular walking stick and cane company, Neo-Walk, Lyndsay Watterson. Launched in 2013, Neo-Walk creates handmade acrylic walking sticks that fuse individuality, comfortability and stylish for the mobility aid community. This was sparked by Lyndsay’s journey with disability after developing a MRSA infection and later needing an above-knee amputation. Now sending canes to over 25 countries, Lyndsay had created a company that’s touched thousands of lives.

Here’s the Four Hot Takeaways:
0:00 - Intro to Season 6!
3:34 - Lyndsay and Dominique get real on how to have mobility aid confidence, how the evolving journey played a huge role in Lyndsay’s life, advice on moving past self-consciousness of trying out mobility aids and dealing with the general public stars or comments.
20:32 - Get empowered by the fusion of fashion, confidence and chronic illness/disability as Lyndsay talks about how an oven, wine bottle and a dream fused style with mobility, the best reactions of people who’ve purchased Neo-Walks, what’s the main reason you gotta add some style to boost your personal and social confidence, and ways to make stylish upgrades on a budget to your mobility aids.
36:15 - STORY TIME Intermission gets celebratory as Lyndsay talks about her time doing trapeze and aerial performance work for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Paralympics. And she might have flipped arounds in 50 meters/164 feet in the air above Coldplay!
42:07 - We end the podcast when Lyndsay and Dominique talk about developing a chronic illness/disability later in life, and how do you not focus on the loss but instead think of how the transition into a new way of living can bring beautiful new thing, Lyndsay expressing how adapting to continue during things she loves like evolving to hand-pedal-cycling has been so valuable, and all the tips and advice on trying new things when you might worry of injury or self-consciousness because fear stems from the same place they would have without any diagnosis.

Please like, comment, subscribe and share this episode, follow NeoWalk @neowalksticks, on all social media platforms and their website! Please check out the InvisiYouth Charity Shop to buy yourself or someone you care about our limited edition Subtle Activist Color Block bracelet on www.etsy.com/shop/invisiyouthcharity with free shipping globally, and please support InvisiYouth Charity by donating, following and joining our programs and community @invisiyouth!

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20th InvisiYouth Chat Sessions: Audio  Flash Files gives you a boost of life advice and perspectives that’ll provide empowering tools you can practically incorporate into your life for more success and joy.

It’s the first episode from our “InvisiYouth Galaxy Question Box Series” for 2024, where all episodes will be InvisiYouth answering questions submitted by our InvisiYouth Galaxy Community that are life challenges they need some advice and guidance.

Our first question is fitting for February’s love month…we’re talking about dating. More specifically, how to take that fresh relationship and make sure you can actually open up to one another and if your partner can actually fit into your daily routine. That’s a big deal when part of your routine incorporates your chronic illness/disability and you want to make sure they’re ready to be in your full life. Learn the steps on how you can recognize when you’re at that stage in dating someone that you want to open up, why blaming your diagnosis for any failed dates is a huge no, and how you can understand why it’s important to date with the mindset that it’s more about finding partners that thrive in supporter roles versus finding someone that fits a specific mold to your diagnosis, and not everyone will.

Gain the ideas behind our Leader Taste Tester Method, what are the steps you can proactively add into dating life in those new relationships to lead with your confident communication style to slowly share parts of your chronic illness/disability life with your partner without overloading or involving, the ways you can dissipate their ignorance and answer questions without intimidating them, and how your leaderships gives a taste test to your romantic partner so they cannot spiral in the ‘what if imagination’ and learn if you’re mutually interested and suited for one another. Plus, founder Dominique drops a success story of how a friend of her did some major Leader Taste Tester Method with her new boyfriend (now husband) to share your chronic illness and that slow reveal actually made him super confident that he could be a supporter, their relationship could be balanced, and they were ready to commit.

 Let's get talking and learn how to incorporate as many elements of this life-improving technique as possible for your optimal for success and comfortability so there’s a sense of ease, success, and jo being added into all aspects of your life living with chronic illness/disability!
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SUBSCRIBE to "InvisiYouth Chat Sessions" on any podcast platform or YouTube!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/invisiyouth-chat-sessions/id1388370205
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19th InvisiYouth Chat Sessions: Audio  Flash Files gives you a boost of life advice and perspectives that’ll provide empowering tools you can practically incorporate into your life for more success and joy. 

As the final episode for our “Mediator Communication Series” for 2023, we are focusing on the communication dynamic that every single one of us deals with…our self-talk. That’s right, we’re focusing on the steps anyone can take to bring a positive outlook to how we communicate with ourselves, and once you do these steps, you’ll never want to have that inner dialogue any other way.

As we end the year and get ready for any of those resolutions or ways to improve ourselves, we gotta look inward and figure out how to communicate better with ourselves. With 96% of adults having inner dialogue every day, we need to take just as much time learning how to talk to ourselves with more kindness, realness and respect so we can have a better mental wellbeing and better outlook on life situations. Learn the steps on how you can recognize when your self-talk has gone from fleeting thoughts and pondering to actual tints of negativity, doubt, worry or judgement so you’re actually looking at life, yourself and situations in a tinted framework. Gain the ideas behind our Pseudo Full Tank Mindset, what are the four steps you can proactively add into your thought processing so you can be more productive and kind to yourself, why you need to challenge the negativity in order to be more productive in how you view and tackle life, and why gaining a pulled back view on the negative layers your subconscious can add to your self-talk can actually speak with respect and kindness to yourself while fusing realism and positivity into your communication style with yourself. Plus, founder Dominique drops how her previous self-talk used to be framed in some frustration and negativity when she was in the early stages of her chronic illness journey, and how she utilized that pseudo full tank to reframe and gain some positivity in how she communicates with herself for a better life outlook.

 Let's get talking and make your communicate style with yourself optimal for success and comfortability so there’s a sense of ease, success, joy, and always add your type of chatting style to the forefront so productivity thrives along with your health’s wellbeing!
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SUBSCRIBE to "InvisiYouth Chat Sessions" on any podcast platform or YouTube!
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Season 5 Finale episode, let's get into it! Sharing your life on a public and personal level when you’re also living with a chronic or progressive illness is a daily balancing act, so it’s important to find the ways you’re able to thrive personally and with those around you. Our special guest knows exactly how to do that and has made us a fan of hers from the beginning. Gerry Langan, a public speaker and paid patient consultant has been living with a rare disease and progressive illnesses like severe Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Congestive Heart Failure since she gave birth to her twin sons. Now, she helps other find hope and inspiration during their journeys with chronic illness through her work and social media platform. 

Here’s the Four Hot Takeaways: 

1. At 3:11 have some fun with Gerry as she answers rapid questions all about herself like the adventures of Hawaii, who mails her letters, a great date night and when she laughed so hard she cried. 
2. Get your relationship advice flowing at 10:29 when Gerry and Dominique share the best tips on how to maintain autonomy when getting outside opinions, why you don’t need “one-size-fits-all friends” in your life, the best tips of navigating a strong romantic relationship when chronic illness/disability are in the mix, and how to talk to kids about your chronic illness/disability so it doesn’t too scary for them. 
3. STORY TIME Intermission at 30:21 brings all the laughs at the realities of living with an invisible illness as Gerry shares how one time opting for the stairs instead of an elevator with her friend that has a prosthetic leg brought humorously misplaced reactions from those around them. 
4. And we end the podcast episode (and Season 5!) at 34:25 with all the insider techniques and mindsets to bring balance and inner advocacy into your world. Gerry and Dominique share how to balance a public/private life on social media, what ways help you navigating digesting information about your chronic illness, especially if it’s a progressive illness, and so many great tips on how to bring balance and confidence into your self-advocacy with your medical teams and facilities so you can thrive with those people like all the other relationships in your life.  

Please like, comment, subscribe and share this episode, follow Gerry @itsgerrylangan, on all social media platforms and her website! Please check out the InvisiYouth Charity Shop to buy yourself or someone you care about our limited edition Subtle Activist Color Block bracelet on www.etsy.com/shop/invisiyouthcharity with free shipping globally, and please support InvisiYouth Charity by donating, following and joining our programs and community @invisiyouth!

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18th InvisiYouth Chat Sessions: Audio Flash Files gives you a boost of life advice and perspectives that’ll provide empowering tools you can practically incorporate into your life for more success and joy.

We’re focusing on the relationship and communication within the family gatherings. Since a lot of our lives deal with the process of going to family gatherings of all sizes, it can be super important to make sure that we have the communication tools to be successful in these settings and feel the most confident. 

Holiday season is upon us, and with that comes something that some of us enjoy and others do not…the family gatherings. We are surrounded by family and friends from all levels of closeness and involvement in our daily lives at these gatherings, so it can be overwhelming how we are trying to navigate catching up with keeping our boundaries when conversations can become invasive.

This podcast gives our steps on how to navigate when you need to redirect conversations but maintain that respect and inner comfort. Gain the steps of implementing our Ice-to-Simmer Chat Syndrome in your next family gathering when the conversation focuses on parts of your chronic illness/disability that are too personal, nosy or invasive for your boundaries. You will gain the ability, with your own conversational style as the focal point, to develop your own verbal “ice” cues and discover how redirection in conversations, when done correctly, can simmer any conversation or emotional heat to make it more comfortable and enjoyable for all involved. Plus, founder Dominique drops the details about a Thanksgiving in her past when the extended relatives were asking way too many questions about her chronic illness issues and how she used some metaphorical ice conversation cues about KTape to redirect and allow for both her comfort and social ease to build into the family gathering.

 Let's get talking and make your communicate style within those family gatherings optimal for success and comfortability so there’s a sense of ease, success, joy, and always add your type of chatting style to the forefront so productivity thrives along with your health’s wellbeing!
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SUBSCRIBE to "InvisiYouth Chat Sessions" on any podcast platform or YouTube!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/invisiyouth-chat-sessions/id1388370205
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0XHN8GAcHfWMFM1V6o9vXc
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@invisiyouth
Google Play: https://podcasts.google.com/search/invisiyouth%20chat%20sessions
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Director of Family Support and PTSD Services for the nonprofit, Ryan’s Case for Smiles, Katie Holcomb, knows the importance of caregivers and siblings for young people with chronic illness/disability  and how to best serve this bond professionally and personally. The nonprofit is inspired by her late brother, Ryan, who passed away at 17  from osteosarcoma, and Katie’s passion to have initiatives and sibling programs to help families cope when loved ones struggle with health issues is deeply impactful.

Here’s the Four Hot Takeaways: 

1. At 3:25, Katie does a Rapid-Fire Round on what’ the deep meaning being RCFS’s pillowcase and her favorite design, guilty pleasure to unwind from a long day and why she’d want to learn some piano skills. 
2. Give their empowering POVs at 14:22 as Dominique and Katie share the major struggles siblings can face, how we can provide outlets of support for them and tops to make sure there’s no “struggle ranking” but rather the nudge of intentional fun times between siblings. 
3. STORY TIME Intermission at 29:32 gets the laughs going as Katie describes a sibling day at Hershey Park with her brother, Ryan, and how his prosthetic leg and rented wheelchair made for a fun, memorable day at the candy-themed amusement park. 
4. And final segment at 36:36 reveals all the advice for caregivers to fuel independence while playing a major role in your young adult’s life, how to strengthen your communication to add some grace, the value of mutual apologies and why caregivers deserve some self-care and Dominique’s three types of support beams each caregiver should have in their lives. 

Please like, comment, subscribe and share this episode, follow Ryan’s Case for Smiles @caseforsmiles, on all social media and LinkedIn, and their digital resources Just Sibs, and Coping Space! Please check out the InvisiYouth Charity Shop to buy yourself or someone you care about our limited edition Subtle Activist Color Block bracelet on www.etsy.com/shop/invisiyouthcharity with free shipping globally, and please support InvisiYouth Charity by donating, following and joining our programs and community @invisiyouth!

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17th InvisiYouth Chat Sessions: Audio Flash Files gives you a boost of life advice and perspectives that’ll provide empowering tools you can practically incorporate into your life for more success and joy.

We’re focusing on the relationship and communication with people in positions of power, like teachers and bosses. Having to spend so much time between schooling or work life, it’s super vital that we learn how to communicate our needs with these individuals, while also putting out the best results and being successful in our lives.

 It can become so nerve-wracking to imagine how we can build a successful dynamic with individuals in positions of power when we’re also balancing our chronic illness/disability and wanting to be given the equal playing field to fully show our worth and be understood. During this podcast episode, we’re going to be diving deep into what makes this power dynamic and why it’s vital for those in positions of power to maintain open-communication and fairness in the way they lead so their staff or students will feel confident to express how they can adapt to work their best  and create the best results.

We teach about the Slow Burn Syndrome, and the multi-step process you can take to improve your communication with your boss or teacher so they can slowly become aware of your health or disability needs, without allowing them to overstep and make decisions without your input and without understanding the full capability you have. The proactive nature of Slow Burn Syndrome is laid out in steps so you can learn how to prepare before talking with a boss, how to slowly integrate your adaptations or accessibility needs into conversation to spark your boss/teacher’s curiosity so they’ll be more responsive to assist you in thriving, and how to maintain open-minded communication so the dynamic is fair and successful. Plus, founder Dominique drops the details about her other work life…besides her daily InvisiYouth life, and how she’s gotten the goodness of a slow burn with her boss so she’s understood and supported as an employee and communicates openly with her boss always.

 Let's get talking and  make your communicate style with those in positions of power optimal for success and fairness so there’s a sense of ease, success, joy, and always add your type of chatting style to the forefront so productivity thrives along with your health’s wellbeing!
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SUBSCRIBE to "InvisiYouth Chat Sessions" on any podcast platform or YouTube!
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We LOVE nurses, and they are a fundamental part of the lives of teens/young adults living with chronic illness/disability. So having a nurses where we get to chat with nurses, talk about improving their mental health wellbeing, and getting to connect better in our visits is a goal! We have two incredible podcast guests that took their experience as nurses and amplified it to empower and help others. Both from the nonprofit, Operation Happy Nurse, founder Shannon McPeek and board president Mallori Walker, have the aim of helping those in the nursing profession battle work-related stress, anxiety and depression and end the stigma around mental health. And it’s been a rockstar-level of success ever since!

Here’s the Four Hot Takeaways from this podcast episode: 

1. At 4:23, Shannon and Mallori answer a rapid-fire of questions about how they got into nursing, why the origin story of OHN’s name would make all the sibling energy proud, and each of their favorite resources that the nonprofit provides. 
2. At 15:20 we dive deep into the origin story about how Shannon created Operation Happy Nurse, Mallori gives the facts on what can be the pitfalls of working in nursing and mental health, and how to provide self-care and wellbeing into nurse’s lives on and off the clock. 
3. STORY TIME INTERMISSION at 31:07 lets Shannon and Mallori talk about two of their mentors that led to two of the biggest life changes and impacts on their careers as nurses. Shoutout to Purdue University’s School of Nursing in this segment! 
4. The podcast ends at 40:40 with getting Mallori and Shannon’s advice on how to improve our communication and dynamics with our nurses and medical teams, and their tips on how to advice for yourself, and what fellow nurses/and nursing students can learn to make their experience with their future patients that are young adults all the better and successful! 

Make sure to take part in the #ShowMyStarChallenge, raising awareness and funds to support the young adult chronic illness/disability community of InvisiYouth.

Please like, comment, subscribe and share this episode, follow Operation Happy Nurse @operationhappynurse and on Facebook/LinkedIn! Please check out the InvisiYouth Charity Shop to buy yourself or someone you care about our limited edition Subtle Activist Color Block bracelet on www.etsy.com/shop/invisiyouthcharity with free shipping globally, and please support InvisiYouth Charity by donating, following and joining our programs and community @invisiyouth! 

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16th InvisiYouth Chat Sessions: Audio Flash Files gives you a boost of life advice and perspectives that’ll provide empowering tools you can practically incorporate into your life for more success and joy.

We’re focusing in on the relationship and communication with the general public. So many times, we encounter those instances when random people will ask us questions or make comments, especially about chronic illness/disability, so knowing how to react with confidence creates success. 

While it might seem odd to focus on communication mediator advice for the dynamic with the general public, it’s important to remember it’s the group of people that’s fleeting, evolves, and is everywhere you go. So it is important to sharpen your communication with this dynamic.

This podcast episode brings to the forefront why it is so vital to understand how to encounter communicating with the general public, and why those experiences can impact us deeply.  And the reasoning behind our reactions to their commentary holds more value than what is actually said because it allows us to know where our confidence stems from about ourselves, and what to tap into when our insecurities are touched upon by random people. 

We teach you all about the Inner Litmus Test Method and what you need to know about mental and reactive litmus tests in order to know why having an inner test to know how you feel about something or someone can lead to your success. We give all the steps about how to instantaneously react when the general public gives you that question or comment that stops you in your tracks, how to check your wellbeing and how full your cup or handling others with verbal education truly is, and when to dip in your metaphorical litmus test to see if it’s positive or negative and how to proceed with either result.

Plus, founder Dominique spills the tea on the two instances she was using her cane and had public questions so she had to pull out her own litmus tests with two different reactions, so you’ll see how to communicate with confidence in both instances.
 
 Let's get talking and  make your communicate style with the general public’s moments of questions and curiosity a time of ease, success, joy, and always add your type of chatting style to the forefront so productivity thrives along with your health’s wellbeing!
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SUBSCRIBE to "InvisiYouth Chat Sessions" on any podcast platform or YouTube!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/invisiyouth-chat-sessions/id1388370205
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@invisiyouth
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All other platforms available on our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/invisiyouth

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