The Importance of Sleep In Chronic Illness Recovery, with Sleep Coach, Gary Allman

In this episode, I speak to Nicola Packman. Nicola was just 25 when she was diagnosed with MS/multiple sclerosis, after the onset of a series of symptoms including going fully blind in one eye. After her world came crashing down, she suffered her rock bottom where at times she questioned if she wanted to continue living with her condition. But she decided to challenge the expectation her diagnosis had put on her, take her health and wellbeing into her own hands, and used nutrition and the power of the belief in her own healing to achieve remission from MS. Nicola is now in the best health (both mental and physical) of her life and lives a fully symptom-free life.

- Nicola's childhood and life before her health deteriorated
- The onset of Nicola's symptoms, including fatigue, pins & needles, burning sensations etc, and how it took her going fully blind in one eye to go and see the doctor
- Her experience of getting diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
- The two years following Nicola's diagnosis and how this was the darkest period of her life
- How Nicola had 5 relapses in 18 months
- The turning point for Nicola, and how she shifted her mindset to not only want to not get worse, but to want to actually get better. 
- The body's ability to heal itself, and how these realisations were the start of Nicola's healing. 
- Nicola's lifestyle now, and how she is living fully symptom-free. 
- The role of nutrition in healing, and how food is medicine. 
- The importance in finding gratitude in every situation.
- Nicola's advice to others who may be newly diagnosed or going through a dark period with their health now. 

FOLLOW NICOLA
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_wellness_kitchen
▶ Website - www.thewellnesskitchen.info

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Remember, the comeback is always greater than the setback 💪💪💪

#thechroniccomeback  #ms #multiplesclerosisawareness  #multiplesclerosisfighter #multiplesclerosis #healingispossible  ##recoveryispossible #chronicillness  #chronicfatigue #chronicfatiguesyndrome #cfs #nutritionfacts

In this episode, I talk about my recent mushroom retreat in Jamaica and the realisations and lessons I took from it. I also give a bit of a life update at the start about where I'm at with my health, the various things I'm working on at the moment and some changes I want to make. 

In this episode, I speak to Bianca Michele. Bianca is an Author, Motivational Speaker, Podcast Host, health, mindset, and reiki practitioner. Her mission is to remind others of their inner power and the root causes of any imbalances within their health, mind, body, and soul to find balance and harmony.

In this episode she tells her story of overcoming Lyme disease, CIRS, Mold toxicity, mast cell activation, POTS and more, and the many realisations she has had along the way.

- How Bianca became symptomatic aged 21 with heavy fatigue, brain dog, neck ache, sensitivity etc and her many misgiagnoses
- Bianca's experience of getting tested for lyme disease, and the difficulties surrounding this
- Bianca's experience with hypothermia at a clinic in Malaysia
- How Bianca developed mold illness and had to move out of her home into a tent at her parents house and how this initially helped her
- How Bianca developed mast cell activation syndrome, and other health issues she was confronted by
- Bianca's discovery of The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne and how this started to change her outlook on life
- Bianca's life-changing experience seeing an energy healer and how this led to inner child work, and doing EMDR therapy
- Bianca's time frame from sick through her recovery
- How her relationship with her symptoms changed, and she gradually experienced them less
- How her chronic illness has affected the realationships in her life
- Bianca's advice for others going through chronic illness now
- Bianca's book, 'It Happened For Me' and how you can reach out to her

REFERENCES
▶ The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne
▶ Bianca Michelle 's book 'It Happened For Me' was released just this week, and if you order the book from Amazon in the first week of publishing send a screenshot to biancasholisticway@hotmail.com, you'll receive a FREE BONUS Modality booklet and retraining video!

PURCHASE HERE:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0645598100
https://www.biancasholisticway.com/it-happened-for-me

FOLLOW BIANCA
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/biancasholisticway
▶ Website - www.biancasholisticway.com

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
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FOLLOW THE PODCAST
▶ Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-chronic-comeback/id1533970626
▶ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW_BGsN1LaeL4iudgSNUw7A
▶ Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71485tI9o4JPPkg1IpmDaX?si=ed48b5cefa0e43b2

Remember, the comeback is always greater than the setback 💪💪💪

#thechroniccomeback  #chronicillness  #podcast #biancamichele #mindbodyhealing #traumahealing #recoverystory  #recoveryispossible #fibromyalgia #pots #chronicfatigue #chronicfatiguesyndrome #cfs #lymedisease #lymewarrior #mastcellactivationsyndrome #mastcellactivation #healingispossible

In this week's episode, I'm joined by Sarah Harvey, a Bodymind & Metaphysics Coach, who shares her amazing story of making a full recovery, after suffering for almost 10 years with over 200 chronic symptoms. We discuss how humans have an innate ability to heal, the role trauma plays in chronic illness, the blocks people can have to healing, shifts in mindset and how you view your symptoms, and the importance of not waiting until you are healed to live your life (because that's all part of the healing.) 

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Episode Intro by Phil
1:10 - Intro to Sarah and her story, from when she left home at 15 to getting so sick she was bed bound, to being full recovered now
6:50 - The symptoms Sarah was experiencing and her search for diagnosis and treatment
11:33 - Sarah's discovery of ayuvedic philosophy, and Louise Hay's work, and how this led her to discover the link between trauma and chronic health
14:11 - Sarah’s upbringing and her home life, and the events that led her to leaving home at 15
16:36 - Phil’s recent Psilocybin retreat and some realisations he had in it
18:22 - The importance of accountability without self-blame and judgement and criticism.
20:33 - Sarah’s experience of being homeless at age 15
23:34 The link between trauma and chronic illness, and breaking down the definition of what ’trauma’ is 
25:53 - How Sarah now perceives her symptoms and the shift into having a different relationship with your body and seeing it as your friend
27:25 - How healing is happening, and the process of inviting yourself to heal and looking at any fears around this
32:00 - How healing is an ongoing process and can relate to all parts of your life, and the importance of living your life WHILE you’re healing, not waiting to heal.  
39:35 - How taking steps to healing, whether it’s investing money or time etc, is progress in itself, as it’s telling your inner self you’re worth it
46:31 - Sarah’s tip for one thing you can do to start your healing journey (for free)
48:54 - How her chronic illness has affected Sarah’s relationships
51:59 - Sarah’s advice to people struggling with their health at the moment and struggling to know they can heal

References:
Louise Hay: "You Can Heal Your Life"
Louise Hay: "Heal Your Body"
Louise Hay: "The Power Is Within You"

FOLLOW SARAH
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iamsarahharvey

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Remember, the comeback is always greater than the setback 💪💪💪

#thechroniccomeback  #chronicillness  #podcast #sarahharvey #mindbodyhealing #traumahealing #recoverystory  #recoveryispossible #fibromyalgia #pots #chronicfatigue #chronicfatiguesyndrome #cfs #ibs

In this episode, I'm joined by Lindsay Vine, who shares her story of her experience of ME/CFS. We discuss the ups and downs of her health and how she navigated through her healing journey.

Lindsay is an ME/CFS Recovery Program Navigator, helping people with ME/CFS, Long Covid, and other nervous system sensitivity disorders determine their best path to recovery, and supporting them along the way.

Lindsay got ME/CFS at the end of 2015 after completing her Masters Degree in Public Health. She was getting infection after infection and finally her body just crashed. She continued to push herself, working as a health research facilitator and conducting health programs evaluation work until she simply couldn’t do it anymore. It took Lindsay 5 years to find all the right tools and gain the knowledge needed for recovery and now she shares this knowledge through her work and through her podcast Post Viral.

TIMESTAMPS

00.00 - Intro, Lindsay's health story, and the issues she dealt with in her 20s
5:49 - The onset of Lindsay’s chronic symptoms 
9:35  - Lindsay’s ME CFS diagnosis
10:55 - Lindsay’s trip to Thailand, and how she came across brain retraining practices 12:20 - Lindsay’s move to Vancouver in the hope of healing in nature 
8.04 - Loneliness and isolation, and how this can impact your health 
15.50 - Lindsay’s major crash and her rock bottom moments 
18:15 - Her experience of the CFS Health program and how this started her path to healing again 
19:30 - How Lindsay’s friends helped with her healing and encouraged her to go back to Vancouver
22:45 - How healing can be gradual, and how setbacks can happen but they don’t have to be so scary
27:00 - Pushing your boundaries with healing, and how a little of this is required. 
29:15 - Lindsay’s programs guide and how it can help people find the right program for them 
31:40 - Polyvagal work and the role this can play in recovery
33:50 - Nervous system and trauma work, and the role this can play in healing 
36:00 - How the number and variety of programs and potential methods of recovery can be overwhelming, but how different programs cater to different personality types and needs
46:33 - How Lindsay’s life is different now, as a result of her ME CFS 
49:04 - Lindsay’s advice to others suffering with chronic health issues 

FOLLOW LINDSAY HERE  
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cfsprograms_navigator
▶ Website - https://www.lindsayvine.com/

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▶ Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71485tI9o4JPPkg1IpmDaX

#lindsayvine #podcasting #healing #chronicfatigue #healingcfs #cfsrecovery  #chronichealth #chronicillness #thechroniccomeback #cfs #me #recoverystory 

In this episode, I'm joined by Rachael Elizabeth, also known as "Ribeye Rach" on Instagram. This podcast episode has been a long-time coming - we’ve been trying to arrange it for almost a year now! And interestingly, back when Rachael first found my podcast and we started speaking, she was in a totally different place with her recovery compared to now, so maybe that was the universe at work! 

Rachael was always an avid rock climber and athlete, but in 2016 her health rapidly deteriorated, and she was diagnosed with dysautonomia, ehlers-danlos syndrome, chair malformation, craniocervical instability, tethered cord syndrome, intracranial hypertension, gastroparesis, adrenal insufficiency, chronic Lyme disease and much more. 

After various treatments and surgeries and no improvement, Rachael was still in “a living hell”, and she hit her lowest point in 2020 when she was essentially bed-bound, having seizures and in a wheelchair. 

Starting a Lyme disease treatment protocol brought her out of her bed bound phase, but it was when she found alternative ways of healing that her healing accelerated, changing her life.  Through brain retraining, DNRS and living by a carnivore diet, she is now able to live her life again. 

In this conversation, Rachael tells her amazing story and we discuss brain retraining, the power of timing, the distinction between wanting to heal and being ready to heal, the importance of belief in your recovery, and how different treatments work for different people.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro
1:33 - Rachael's childhood and upbringing 
1:56 - When Rachael's health started deteriorating, and the many conditions and syndromes she was diagnosed with
12:53 - How Rachael started considering looking at alternative methods of healing and nervous system regulation
15:11 - Rachael’s introduction to the carnivore diet  
16:24 Starting prolotherapy treatments and finding DNRS brain retraining, which was a turning point in Rachael’s recovery
17:40 Phil’s experience of the carnivore diet 
19:51 The importance of timing in recovery, and how Rachael had come across DNRS 5 years before she started it
21:50 - The timeline of Rachael’s recovery 
25:32 - Rachael’s progression, from wheelchair to walking, over the past two years 
27.45 - How everything is linked to the nervous system, and how there are so many different ways to regulate the nervous system, and how it looks different for everyone 
30:11 - How when you’ve had so much failure before, you co etc expect that each thing you try won’t work
31.00 - Phil and Rachael’s experience of putting so much pressure on each treatment to work and the desperation to find something to help them heal
32:34 - The importance of believing you’ll recover and surrounding yourself with success stories
39:01 - Where Rachael is at now with her healing
42:25 - How it can sometimes be hard to share your recovery when in the midst of it
43:43 - Finding the gratitude in your journey, and how Rachael now appreciates the little things in life
45:34 - Rachael’s advice to others going through the same right now  

FOLLOW RACHAEL HERE 
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ribeyerach

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▶ Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-chronic-comeback/id1533970626
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#ribeyerach #podcasting #healing #chronicfatigue #fibromyalgia #lymedisease #chronichealth #chronicillness #thechroniccomeback #cfs #me #recoverystory #dysautonomia dysautonomia

In this special episode, I'm joined by Chazmith Newton,  host of the Our Power Is Within podcast. Chazmith and I both started our podcasts around the same time and have done over 100 episodes each, and so we decided to come together and share the key insights, lessons and takeaways that we've gained from speaking to the many guests that have been on our shows. There are many synergies to our stories and how our podcasts came about, so it was great to come together and have this conversation.

In this episode, we discuss each of our situations regarding  our own health and how our podcasts first came about, and our shared experience surrounding how hearing success stories of people recovering can be both inspirational but also triggering, and how we've had to navigate that in doing our podcasts. We also discuss the many modalities that our guests have had recovered with, including somatic tracking, brain retraining, breathwork, etc.  We discuss the importance of having faith in divine timing, cultivating a belief that you will recover, learning to trust your body again,  seeking support, and trying to find gratitude within your journey to health. 

FOLLOW CHAZMITH HERE
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ourpoweriswithin
▶ Website -https://www.ourpoweriswithin.com

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
▶ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheChronicComeback
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thechroniccomeback

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
▶ Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-chronic-comeback/id1533970626
▶ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW_BGsN1LaeL4iudgSNUw7A
▶ Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71485tI9o4JPPkg1IpmDaX

#ourpoweriswithin #chazmithnewton #podcasting #healing #chronicfatigue #fibromyalgia #lymedisease #chronichealth #chronicillness #thechroniccomeback #cfs #me #recoverystory

In this episode we have Kimberly Harter. Kimberly's health first became a problem in her life when she suffered an anaphylactic shock in 2006, which she later found out was due to Lyme, which she was later diagnosed with. This set off a worsening of many symptoms for Kimberley, leaving her in extreme pain, bed-ridden, with extreme sensitivities and a very limited diet. 

What followed were many ups and downs in her recovery journey, and it was through a whole host of techniques surrounding mindset, including brain retraining, breathwork techniques, cold therapy etc that she finally started seeng improvements, leading her to make huge changes in her life, including become a white water raft instructor and starting her own business. 

In this episode, Kimberly shares many insights she has had over the course of her recovery journey, and we discuss the importance of finding joy and play in your recovery, how powerful change can be and the importance of not becoming identified with being "sick." 

0:00 - Intro
01:05 - Kimberly’s first turning point in her health when she had an anyphalactic shock in 2006
05:39 - Kimberly’s diagnosis of Lyme disease 
08:03 - The treatments Kimberly went on
08:44 - How her body reacted to these treatments  and how this resulted in an emergency surgery
09:18 - Turning to naturopathic versions of treatment and the many things Kimberly tried
11:01 - Going to a treatment centre in Arizona for 15 weeks 
11:37 - How after initially feeling some improvement, Kimberly had a bad crash 
14:30 - How Kimberly was told it must be in her head or she must be exaggerating her symptoms
15:41 - How Kimberly came across brain retraining in 2017 and her initial scepticism 
16:40 - Kimberly’s experience with stem cell treatment and how it positively impacted her vision
18:15 - Kimberly’s experience with brain retraining 
18:41 - How Kimberly also started implanting cold therapy and breath work
20:04 - Kimberly’s change in mindset, and how things started to turn around for her and her health 
20:16 - Kimberly’s experience with mold
24:06 - How long it took for things to shift once Kimberly started feeling better
25:26 - How Kimberly became a white water raft guide, and how this big change in her life was key to her recovery 
32:13 - How recovery can be slow, and how Kimberley dropped a lot of her practices when she moved away but how this didn’t negatively impact her health, and actually reinforced that she was not a “sick person.”
38:35 - Phil’s experience with Primal trust, and the importance of finding joy in your day
39:57 - The importance of play in neutroplasticity
48:39 - How Kimberly wouldn’t trade the years she lost to illness, because of the positive changes it has brought about in her life 
54.44 - Kimberly’s advice to others going through chronic health issues now 

FOLLOW KIMBERLY
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kimbers.new.frequency

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SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
▶ Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...
▶ YouTube -  @thechroniccomeback  
▶ Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71485tI...

Remember, the comeback is always greater than the setback 💪💪💪

#thechroniccomeback  #chronicillness  #podcast #kimberlyharter #mindbodyhealing #brainretraining ##recoverystory  #recoveryispossible #neuroplasticity

In today's podcast, I talk about how I've been feeling lately health wise, what things are helping me and some of the setbacks I've experienced too. I also cover some of the things I've got coming up over the next month or so.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
5:36 My current relationship with exercise and how it’s serving my recovery 
6:42 Setbacks and progressions
6:52 My recent body fat percentage results and the markers it provides on inflammation, toxicity etc
14:05 How I’ve been feeling generally and dealing with living in mold and how that’s affected me 
18:44 My recent breath work retreat, and how this combined with changing my environment and getting out of mold had an almost instant affect on how I felt 
22:37 My current meal plans 
24:07 My struggles with my morning routine and how I need to improve on this 
24:54 Trying to get to the next level of progression with my health
27:00 What’s coming up for me the month, where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing
27:30 An upcoming mushroom retreat I’m doing in Jamaica - why I’m doing this and what I’m looking to get from it 
29:32 Changing up my routine and environment, and how this is needed along with a balance of stability 
30:20 How I feel much better leaving Bali than I did last Summer when I had fears around going back to London and if this could affect my recovery
32:07 Getting my CD 57 markers tested again 
34:07 Some thoughts around mindset and the comments I come across on my YouTube channel

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

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SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

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▶ Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71485tI...

Remember, the comeback is always greater than the setback 💪💪💪

#thechroniccomeback  #chronicillness  #podcast  #recoverystory

In this episode, I am excited to have Dr. Phil Parker, creator of The Lightning Process. The Lightning Process is a training programme that teaches people about the way the nervous system control the body, and empowers people with tools that involve gentle movement, meditation-like techniques and mental exercises, with the aim of teaching people how to switch on pathways to promote health and switch off the ones that are not serving you. 

In this episode, Phil and I discuss how the Lightning process started and developed, and what it is and what it involves, and practical ways you can incorporate the Lightning Process into your daily life. We also discuss the mind-body connection, and the importance of believing that recovery IS possible, and exposing yourself to positive recovery stories so that this becomes your inner conversation. We also cover the obstacles that could stand in people's way to recovery, perfectionism and how your inner critic can contribute to keeping you sick.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro
1:36 - Phil Parker’s life-changing accident and how this led him to discover the mind body connection
6:11 - Being told that recovery isn’t possible and the consequence of those kind of statements 
7:19 - How Phil started working with people Chronic fatigue and ME 
8:38 - How that led to the beginning of The Lightning Process and how it helped people with chronic fatigue
9:03 - How this then led to working with people with ME
10.48 - The Lightning Process and what it is and a breakdown of what it involves
15:48 - Neuroplasticity and how you can use this in recovery
16:45 - What are the obstacles that may hold someone back from recovering with something like the Lightning Process?
21:58 - How it’s about finding that ‘stuckness’ and how to move past that
23:35 - Perfectionism and your inner critic, and how the Lightning Process encourages coaching yourself compassionately 
26:01 - How you can integrate The Lightning Process into your day 
27:41 - The Lightning Process as an in-person process, and how it translates to online/zoom
33:14 - How important is the belief that recovery is possible?
41:31 - How disheartening it can be when you’ve tried a lot of things to get better and haven’t recovered yet, and how it’s important not to lose trust
42:23 - How the Lightning Process is a training programme, and therefore works by teaching people the skills that other people have found useful, and supporting people through that
45:19 - The Lightning Process success rates
49:29 - How applicable the Lightning Process is to a range of different chronic conditions 
54:13 - Phil’s advice for someone who is progressing but is doing so slowly and is struggling to keep up the motivation
55:04 - How it’s so important to be seeking out inspirational stories and recovery stories, to bolster the belief that recovery is possible
59:16 - Phil’s advice to those in their darkest hours right now
01:01:48 - Letting go of the idea that recovery has to be complicated

FOLLOW PHIL PARKER
▶ Website - https://lightningprocess.com/
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lightningprocess
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drphilparker

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
▶ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheChronicComeback
▶ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thechroniccomeback

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
▶ Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-chronic-comeback/id1533970626
▶ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW_BGsN1LaeL4iudgSNUw7A
▶ Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/71485tI9o4JPPkg1IpmDaX

Remember, the comeback is always greater than the setback 💪💪💪

#thechroniccomeback  #chronicillness  #podcast #philparker #lightningprocess  #thelightningprocess #mindbodyconnection #mindbodyhealing #brainretraining #lightningprocess  #recoverystory  #rec