The Spoonies Community

Eline Duk
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Alternative Health

Chronic pain & illness is a noisy & lonely journey. One full of unanswered questions. The Spoonies Community with Eline Duk is a podcast for people who want practical tools, honest stories and a gentle but effective way to reclaim their life. Rooted in Eline’s own lived experience with chronic illness, and co-hosted by her husband Marcus Pask, the show is on the lookout for people who are living great, meaningful lives despite health challenges. Some episodes are honest, personal conversations where Eline and Marcus share how they manage living with chronic illness and the somatic, trauma-informed and other healing methods/practices that help. Other episodes are interviews with clinicians, researchers or other Spoonies who have navigated big transformations themselves to find purpose and joy. Whether you live with CRPS, FND, EDS, POTS, migraine, any other (in)visible condition or even without a diagnosis, you’ll find candid conversations about identity, grief and practical steps that actually move the needle. Show notes include episode transcripts, resources and links to free tools from The Spoonies Community. Subscribe to the podcast and join other Spoonies reclaiming energy, safety and agency over their own lives. Website: www.thespooniescommunity.com IG: www.instagram.com/thespooniescommunity

  1. 6 days ago

    S2E5 〜 Finding joy with chronic illness & why you don't need to feel better first

    In this episode, Marcus and I talk about going on holiday with chronic illness, and why even a week away has felt too scary for years. This summer I spent a week in mainland Spain with friends I've known for 13 years. Almost nine years after my accidents and the chronic pain that followed, it was the first time I went away with them for longer than a weekend. Marcus stayed home. But getting there took years of small steps. We look back at how it started, with a single night away. Then came weekends by car in the Netherlands, and later New York with a wheelchair that had no support at all. We also talk about the night in Antwerp, when the restaurant had no ramp and I was lifted through the door without being asked. I had a full blown panic attack over a cocktail we never drank, and what we learned from it still shapes how we travel. Then we get to the harder part, which is letting go of control. Marcus talks about learning to trust the people around me, and about the joint sessions with our psychologist that helped him do it. I share why this trip was possible: not because I'm doing better now, but because I have the tools to say what I need, and a way of communicating that my friends can work with. We also admit that during this pregnancy we slipped back into carer mode, and what my mum said that made me step up. From there the conversation turns to fun and joy. We talk about being left out of invitations because other people decided for you, and how to adapt a night out instead of skipping it. And we talk about the living grief that still catches us off guard, like my sisters heading to Amsterdam Dance Event, or a neighbour telling Marcus he'll soon be running around with his little girl. We finish with tiny wins. For us, the biggest steps were sitting up in bed and opening the curtains. Changing something that small is how change finds its way in. We talk about: going on holiday with chronic illness and chronic painholidays as a wheelchair usera week away with friends after almost nine years of illnesswhy you don't have to feel better before you try somethingstarting small with one night awaypanic attacks while travelling and what to learn from a disappointing triptrust and letting go of control between partnersfalling back into carer mode during pregnancybeing left out of invitationsadapting a night out with chronic painliving grief with chronic illnessoverprotection and the nervous systemtiny wins and breaking old patternsThis episode is for anyone living with chronic illness or chronic pain who misses holidays, nights out and spontaneous plans with friends, and for the partners and loved ones who want to include them. If you'd like a one-on-one coaching session or a conversation with me, I'm still taking on a few new clients before I take some time off to welcome our baby. Do not miss out on your chance. Send me a message and I'll schedule a free 30 minute introduction call, so we can get to know each other and see if there's something I can do to help. Join the community: https://www.thespooniescommunity.com Chapters: 00:00 Catching up before the baby arrives 05:41 My first week away with friends since the accidents 09:51 Start small: one night away, New York and the Antwerp panic attack 16:19 Trust and letting go of control (and slipping back into carer mode) 22:43 Why fun and joy matter, and being left out of the invite 28:14 Adapting a night out: the small club, earplugs and our vinyl player 32:42 Living grief: the moments that still hurt 35:37 Overprotection & tiny wins

  2. 12 Oct

    S2E4 〜 How releasing suppressed grief healed her fibromyalgia, with grief specialist Dawn Ford

    In this episode, I'm joined by Dawn Ford, grief and bereavement specialist, and a woman who lived through fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, multiple autoimmune diseases, and cancer, and came out the other side having healed herself from fibromyalgia through the work of releasing suppressed grief. This is one of those conversations that felt like confirmation of everything I talk about in this space. The connection between unprocessed emotion and physical illness, the way our bodies hold what our minds can't face. Dawn didn't come to this from theory. She got there through years of chronic illness, a moment in a pain clinic where a doctor asked "when did you last feel truly well?" and the answer was 1988. That's 22 years she hadn't been well, and she hadn't even known it. She started the Grief Recovery Method in 2016, intending to help other people. What she didn't expect was that she was healing herself at the same time. And when she finished the course, the fibromyalgia was gone. We talk about: collapsing at work in 2010 and spending 18 months without a diagnosis or any supportwhat it's like to not feel believed, and why that stays with you as a core woundthe doctor who asked "when did you last feel well?" and how that question changed everythingdiscovering she hadn't felt well since 1988 — and the wedding day accident that started it allwhat fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue actually did to her life: no sheets on the body because the weight caused pain, counting every steplosing her job, her financial independence, her sense of selfthe impact on her family and watching the grief on their facesprioritising and pacing as survival, not as defeatthe first time emotional release changed something physicalfinding the Grief Recovery Method and what it actually ishealing herself from fibromyalgia while training to help others — and why she found it terrifying to say out loudwhy fighting the illness depleted her in a way that accepting it never didleaning into emotions rather than layering over themmaking keepsakes from the clothes of people's loved ones, and how she was doing grief work without naming it for yearshow unresolved grief builds in the body over a lifetime — and what she believes happened to hersThis episode is for anyone living with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic illness, or autoimmune disease who has ever had the quiet sense that there is something emotional underneath the physical. And for anyone who has never felt truly believed. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction — who Dawn is 01:39 2010: collapsing at work and 18 months to a diagnosis 09:00 "When did you last feel well?" - the question that changed everything 13:50 Medical gaslighting, no compassion, and finding her own way 18:03 The toll on family, career, and sense of self 22:20 The Healing Journey workshop: first time emotional release changed something physical 27:28 Grief Recovery Method - healing herself while training to help others 36:24 When acceptance shifted something, leaning into emotions, and what unresolved grief does to the body Please find more of Dawn on: Instagram: @dawnford_lossandwellbeing Website:  https://www.dawnford.co.uk  If this episode resonates, I'd love for you to leave a review, share it with someone who needs it, or send me a DM on Instagram.

  3. 28 Sept

    S2E3 〜 Pregnant with CRPS: birth planning, body fears & parenting with chronic illness

    In this episode, Marcus and I are back with the conversation we kept pushing to the end of S2E1: what does it actually mean to give birth and become a parent when you have CRPS and FND? We're at 23 weeks now. The twenty-week scan was good and the baby is healthy, but a week ago the spasms came back for the first time in a while and Marcus had to help me through them. We'd both quietly hoped that part was settling. It had not. We also discussed how much to disclose about the medical history before birth. I told the midwife about my leg at the appointment and then immediately downplayed it, because I didn't want to be flagged as medically complicated from day one. But we're giving birth in Spain, and even though I speak the language, I cannot be the one navigating medical conversations in the middle of labour. Marcus doesn't speak Spanish. So we decided to work with a doula and a private midwife. How we came to that? You can listen to it in this episode! Then there's what 20 weeks of bedrest did to my body. With CRPS, stopping movement is one of the worst things that can happen, and I had no choice. And now I'm trying to rebuild that with a deadline, carrying more weight every week, with an inner voice telling me that fifteen minutes of physio is nothing. Even though I've worked with that voice for years. It still comes back every single time. This is not an episode with clean answers. Marcus talks honestly about what it's like to watch your partner go through spasms with no one to ask who's been there from that side. And I talk about the parts that made me insecure: whether I'll be able to get out of bed at night, carry her, walk around with her. The kind of mother I always imagined being, and what it looks like when the body you have might not quite match that picture. We talk about: how much to disclose your chronic illness to a medical team that doesn't know you or your historywriting a birth plan that includes what to do if spasms happen during labour, and why that conversation matters when you have CRPSworking with a doula in Spain so the delivery room team understands what's happening and neither of us has to manage it in the middle of labourwhat 20 weeks of bedrest actually does to chronic pain and to your headthe inner critic that makes starting over feel like failingthe fear of not being a "good mom": being able to get up in the night, carry her, walk around with her at 2am, and what we did with that fearwhat parenting with chronic illness might actually look likebuilding a parenting normal that works for our family instead of the one we always imagined and see around us This episode is for anyone navigating pregnancy or parenthood with chronic illness, chronic pain, or CRPS, or for the partners beside them figuring it out without a roadmap. Chapters 00:00 Catching up on 23 weeks and the spasms last week 01:28 Disclosing CRPS to the midwife and why I brushed it off 04:39 The birth plan, spasm protocol and the doula 07:06 20 weeks of bedrest and watching my leg get worse 11:41 Starting over with movement and the inner critic 15:30 The fear of parenting with limited mobility 22:32 The spasms coming back and what triggered them 31:00 Birth, pain tools and building our own normal If this episode resonates, please leave a comment and I will get back to you asap!

  4. 13 Sept

    S2E2 〜 Miller Kerr's CRPS story: from playground injury to healing through dance & Burning Hope

    In this episode, I'm joined by Miller Kerr. Miller got CRPS when she was 10 years old, from a knee to the thigh during a basketball game at recess. What should have been a bruise that faded in a week stayed. For six months, doctors called it a deep contusion, handed her crutches, and wondered quietly if she just wanted attention. Then her therapist finally figured out it was CRPS. And after a failed nerve block and a children's hospital that sent her home after a few days, her mum went full mama bear and got her into the Cleveland Clinic, a holistic program that got her walking again in six weeks. Back home in Dallas, Miller hid her CRPS for eight years. A single dance class turned into both her physical therapy and the place she finally stopped performing "fine." When she told her college teammates the truth at 18, they didn't doubt her. They reframed CRPS as her strength, and that shift changed everything. Today Miller runs Burning Hope, a nonprofit raising money for CRPS research and awareness so the next person who Googles complex regional pain syndrome doesn't find only darkness. We recorded this across two continents, me in Spain, Miller in Texas. We talk about: Getting CRPS at 10 from a playground injury and the six months nobody could name it Being doubted by doctors as a kid and what that does to you The Cleveland Clinic's holistic approach: OT, swimming, mind-body skills, and the lesson on acceptance What CRPS actually feels like, Miller's curling iron metaphor Hiding chronic pain for eight years so no one would look at you differently Finding dance and how it became both physical therapy and a reason to keep going Telling her college teammates the truth and the shift from weakness to strength Building your own pain scale instead of using the one in doctor's offices Starting Burning Hope, the 3K Walk Walk Strong, and the Blanket Project The fear of whether someone will love you with this part of your lifeWhat she'd tell her 10-year-old self This episode is for anyone living with CRPS, complex regional pain syndrome, chronic pain, or chronic illness, or anyone carrying a story they've never felt safe enough to share yet. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and how we connected 01:40 Who Miller was before CRPS 03:15 The playground injury and six months without a diagnosis 09:40 Getting the CRPS diagnosis 14:10 Getting into the Cleveland Clinic 16:17 Six weeks at the Cleveland Clinic and what actually helped 25:05 What is CRPS 29:42 Finding dance and hiding CRPS for eight years 35:08 Telling her teammates the truth and the mindset shift 41:09 How Miller's doing now and building your own pain scale 47:58 Burning Hope, the Blanket Project and what's next 56:06 What Miller would tell her 10-year-old self Please find more of Miller on: Instagram & Facebook: @millerckerr Burning Hope: www.burninghope.org Burning Hope on Instagram: @burninghopecrps If this resonates, I'd love for you to leave a review, share it with someone who needs it, or send me a DM on Instagram.

  5. 31 Aug

    S2E1 〜 Pregnant after miscarriage: our real first 18 weeks with HG & a subchorionic hematoma

    In this episode, Marcus and I are back for season two with news we've been keeping to ourselves for 18 weeks. We're expecting a baby girl, due on the 24th of January. But getting here was harder than we expected. We pick up where episode 11 left off, talking through the decision to try again after the miscarriage, what trying to conceive after loss actually looked like for us, and the emotional reality of that first positive test. Then around week five, the nausea arrived. And it was nothing like morning sickness. Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) kept me confined to a dark bedroom for weeks, unable to keep food or water down, losing four kilos. Marcus was in the US for the World Cup during the worst of it. Our neighbors came over every morning. I ended up in hospital in Ibiza for dehydration, and getting the right medication in Spain turned into a whole separate battle. Then, at 14 weeks, the pregnancy complications kept coming. I started bleeding. A subchorionic hematoma, a large blood clot in the uterus wall, four centimetres, found during a scan. It led to multiple hospital visits, including a 2am emergency in Edinburgh during what was supposed to be a holiday away. We talk honestly about what it was like to sit with that level of fear while already completely depleted. We talk about: the decision to try again after miscarriage and what that actually looked like for ustrying to conceive after loss without the pressure of trackinggetting pregnant on the first try again and the emotional weight of that first positive testHyperemesis Gravidarum (HG): what it actually is and why it's nothing like morning sicknessnavigating hospital visits and medication battles in Spain while severely dehydratedfighting to get the right HG prescription when doctors wouldn't prescribe itsubchorionic hematoma: what it is and how we navigated the fear of itfour weeks of daily bleeding and learning to sit with uncertaintypregnancy complications and chronic illness / CRPS (more in the next episode) This episode is for anyone who's been through pregnancy loss and is wondering what comes after, or anyone in the thick of a complicated first trimester who needs to feel less alone in it. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and big news03:30 The decision to try again after loss 08:00 Trying again without the pressure of tracking 12:00 The first positive test and how this pregnancy felt different 17:47 Hyperemesis Gravidarum begins (week 5) 21:39 Marcus in the US and surviving on neighbours' help 24:00 Hospital in Ibiza: dehydration and the medication battle 28:47 Scotland and finally getting the right HG medication 32:13 Week 14: the bleeding starts 35:51 Subchorionic hematoma: what it is and what happened 47:49 The emotional weight of a complicated pregnancy 50:10 The scan that brought us peace 53:34 Grieving the pregnancy you imagined If this resonates, I'd love for you to leave a review, share it with someone who needs it, or send me a DM on Instagram.

  6. 29 May

    13 ~ How to talk about your chronic illness without letting the story define you

    This week on The Spoonies Community podcast, Marcus is back and we recorded the day after our 9-year anniversary, which felt like the right energy for a conversation this honest. We get into something that doesn't get talked about nearly enough in the chronic illness space: how do you actually tell your story to people? Not the watered-down version you give a taxi driver. Not the full version that leaves your nervous system wrecked for days. But the version that's true to your chronic pain experience, that doesn't drag you back into the worst of it every time, and that doesn't accidentally become the thing keeping you stuck. Because there's a really thin line between sharing your story as part of processing, and becoming the story. And once you cross it without realising, it starts working against your healing. We talk about why words like "always" and "never" are ones I genuinely never use with my clients. We talk about what happens in your brain when you downplay your chronic illness to make it easier for everyone else. And we get into something I feel strongly about - chronic illness identity. Who are you beyond your diagnosis, your symptoms, your roles? This is something we work on actively inside the Spoonies Community, and it's one of the most quietly powerful shifts a spoonie can make. This episode also touches on the community doors opening 1–5 June, including the free webinar series "The Missing Piece of Your Healing Journey That Nobody Talks About." If you've ever felt exhausted by having to explain your chronic pain or illness to people or feel like your condition has quietly taken over how you see yourself — this one is for you. Takeaways Communication ChallengesChoosing the Right Words Cultural differences in communicationThe importance of community and sharing personal stories Chapters 00:00 Adapting to Different Scenarios24:47 Opening the Doors to the Spoonies Community30:38 Introducing Yourself in Different Settings37:03 The Importance of Community and the Spoonies Community

  7. 18 May

    12 ~ Why me? Chronic illness & the fear of "this is forever". Rachelle & Saskia (NYAP) explain

    In this episode, I’m joined by Rachelle and Saskia from Not Your Average Psychic to talk about chronic illness, chronic pain, and the question so many of us have asked in the middle of a flare, a diagnosis, or yet another hospital visit: why me? We talk about the spiritual meaning of pain, and what changes when you stop seeing symptoms as proof that something is “wrong with you” and start seeing them as information. Not in a bypass-y way. Not in a “just think positive” way. But in a grounded way that still makes space for how exhausting it is when you’ve tried everything, you’re scared of change, and part of you is convinced this is just your life now. We also talk about the fear and resistance that can come up when healing asks you to live differently, and why the goal is not to flip your whole life upside down overnight. Sometimes the most important thing is to lower the threshold and make one new choice your body can actually handle. We talk about: why “why me?” is such a common chronic illness thought loopthe spiritual meaning of pain & pain as a catalyst for changehow the labels you use (like “chronic”) can make you feel more trappedhow to work with fear and resistance when you’re already exhaustedlowering the threshold: making change doable in real lifeintuition, soul connection & listening to your body’s messagesmedication, hospitals & the fine line between support and giving away your powerwhy healing needs a tailor-made approach, not “one-size-fits-all” This episode is for people living with chronic illness or chronic pain who feel stuck in “this is forever,” and who want a perspective that includes the body, emotions, nervous system, and intuition, without pretending it’s easy. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:00 Why pain exists (duality, growth & clarity) 06:20 Pain as a catalyst, not a dead end 09:40 The “hospital loop” & what to do when you feel stuck 14:40 Change, alignment & why healing asks for new choices 17:10 Fear of change when you’re barely holding life together 21:00 Lower the threshold: making change manageable 23:10 Do different symptoms have different meanings? 29:10 Eline’s gut pain story & emotions in the body 35:00 Sensitivity, insecurity & being “different from the herd” 40:20 Pain as soul communication & zooming out of hyperfixation 45:10 Medication, hospitals & keeping your power in the process 53:30 What makes illness “chronic” & softening the label 60:00 Where to find Not Your Average Psychic Find Rachelle & Saskia here: Not Your Average Psychic on Instagram + Facebook https://notyouraveragepsychic.com If this episode resonates, I’d love for you to leave a review, share it with someone who’s been asking “why me?” too or send me a DM on Instagram.

  8. 4 May

    11 ~ Miscarriage grief: when your body is still pregnant but the baby is gone

    In this episode, Marcus and I share our miscarriage story. Trigger warning: miscarriage / pregnancy loss. We also talk about the years before that. The journey into whether we even wanted children, and how chronic pain, disability, trauma, and caregiving changes the whole conversation around parenthood. Then we share what about our pregnancy loss and what the miscarriage actually looked like for us. The scan, the limbo. Still feeling nauseous and exhausted while knowing the pregnancy isn’t viable. Then the waiting & the bleeding. The hospital. The D&C. And the grief that hit weeks later, when the world had already moved on. We talk about: deciding whether to have children when you live with chronic illness / chronic painmiscarriage and early pregnancy lossthe limbo after miscarriage (still having pregnancy symptoms)the physical reality: bleeding, clots, hospital care and D&Canxiety, panic and using nervous system tools in medical settingsdelayed grief, loneliness, and unhelpful commentshow partners can process pregnancy loss differentlyfear, closure, and trying again after miscarriage This episode is for anyone who’s been through miscarriage or pregnancy loss, anyone trying to conceive after loss, and anyone navigating the question of having children while living with chronic illness. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Trigger Warning 05:15 Moving to Ibiza and Changing Perspectives 11:40 Concerns and Fears During Pregnancy 19:33 The Limbo Period and Emotional Struggle 26:12 The Physical Experience 36:45 Recovery and Reflection 42:25 Processing Grief and Coping Mechanisms 47:40 Impact on Mental and Emotional Health If this resonates, I’d love for you to leave a review, share it with someone who needs it, or send me a DM on Instagram.

See All (18)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Chronic pain & illness is a noisy & lonely journey. One full of unanswered questions. The Spoonies Community with Eline Duk is a podcast for people who want practical tools, honest stories and a gentle but effective way to reclaim their life. Rooted in Eline’s own lived experience with chronic illness, and co-hosted by her husband Marcus Pask, the show is on the lookout for people who are living great, meaningful lives despite health challenges. Some episodes are honest, personal conversations where Eline and Marcus share how they manage living with chronic illness and the somatic, trauma-informed and other healing methods/practices that help. Other episodes are interviews with clinicians, researchers or other Spoonies who have navigated big transformations themselves to find purpose and joy. Whether you live with CRPS, FND, EDS, POTS, migraine, any other (in)visible condition or even without a diagnosis, you’ll find candid conversations about identity, grief and practical steps that actually move the needle. Show notes include episode transcripts, resources and links to free tools from The Spoonies Community. Subscribe to the podcast and join other Spoonies reclaiming energy, safety and agency over their own lives. Website: www.thespooniescommunity.com IG: www.instagram.com/thespooniescommunity

Information

  • Creator
    Eline Duk
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Eline Duk