Autoimmune Adventures

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Navigating chronic illness is a lifelong journey. Don’t travel alone.

  1. 8h ago ·  Video

    105: How Do You Advocate for Yourself With Chronic Illness? | Advocacy for Life

    How do you advocate for yourself when chronic illness affects nearly every part of your life? Self-advocacy is about more than speaking up in a doctor’s office. It’s learning to trust yourself, communicate what you need, set boundaries, ask questions, recognize when you’re overriding your own body, and make choices that protect the life you’re actually living. In this episode of Autoimmune Adventures, Stacy, Becky, and Alysia share the experiences that led them to create Advocacy for Life—including some of the times they got advocacy very wrong. Becky shares what years of navigating breast cancer, chronic illness, specialists, and the medical system taught her about becoming an informed and active participant in her own care. Alysia talks about the deeper foundation of self-advocacy: recognizing that you are worth the trouble. She shares why acceptance—not giving up, but acknowledging the reality of where you are—can help you advocate from a place of greater confidence and authority. And Stacy explores something we don’t talk about nearly enough: the ways we can gaslight and override ourselves. When we ignore what our bodies are telling us, push past our limits, or measure our worth against expectations we physically cannot meet, advocating with everyone else becomes that much harder. Together, we talk about advocacy in the places where chronic illness actually happens: • Medical care and navigating the healthcare system • Work and accommodations • Boundaries and relationships • Asking for and accepting support • Nervous system regulation • Rest, pacing, and listening to your body • Identity, acceptance, and grief • Learning to become your own best ally These are lessons we learned through years of chronic illness, mistakes, hard conversations, and eventually learning that having agency doesn’t always mean getting the outcome you wanted. Sometimes the victory is knowing you stood on your own side. Those experiences became the foundation for Advocacy for Life: Your Trail Guide to Navigating Chronic Illness. 🎙️ In this episode: the story behind the course—and why it matters. 🧭 ADVOCACY FOR LIFE WAITLIST https://theautoimmuneadventures.systeme.io/advocacyforlife 🌐 AUTOIMMUNE ADVENTURES www.AutoimmuneAdventures.com 🎧 LISTEN TO AUTOIMMUNE ADVENTURES https://theautoimmuneadventures.podbean.com/   You are worthy of joy. Disease does not define your life. You do! #ChronicIllness #SelfAdvocacy #PatientAdvocacy #AutoimmuneDisease #AdvocacyForLife #AutoimmuneAdventures #MedicalAdvocacy #ChronicIllnessSupport #NervousSystemRegulation #InvisibleIllness

  2. Sep 29 ·  Video

    104: How Do PTSD Service Dogs Help? Lee Atherton on the Dog That Saved Her Life

    How do PTSD service dogs help—and what are they actually trained to do? Lee Atherton says her service dog, Shadow, saved her life. Now she’s working to help other people living with PTSD and hidden disabilities experience the safety, independence, and support a trained service dog can provide. In this episode of Autoimmune Adventures, we sit down with Lee, a chaplain, speaker, PTSD service dog advocate, and founder of Phoenix Rising: Service Dogs Saving Lives. Lee shares her own experience living with PTSD and the extraordinary role Shadow played in her life—from recognizing signs of anxiety before she noticed them herself to providing deep-pressure therapy, waking her from night terrors, and helping her navigate everyday life. We also talk about: • What a PTSD service dog is trained to do • The difference between a service dog and an emotional support animal • How service dogs can support people living with invisible disabilities • The extensive training a true service dog receives • How service dogs can help restore independence and confidence • The barriers people face when trying to obtain a trained service dog • Why Lee created Phoenix Rising: Service Dogs Saving Lives • The powerful relationship between humans and their service dogs This conversation isn't simply about loving dogs. It's about what can happen when a highly trained animal gives someone living with trauma another layer of safety, support, and independence. 🎙️ Subscribe to Autoimmune Adventures for honest conversations about chronic illness, advocacy, nervous system health, invisible disabilities, and building a meaningful life when your health changes the road you expected to travel. You are worthy of joy. Disease does not define your life. You do!

  3. Sep 22 ·  Video

    103: Why Can Chronic Illness Take So Long to Diagnose? | Haresh Patel

    What happens when you spend decades searching for answers — and every doctor sees only one piece of the story? Haresh Patel spent 55 years trying to understand a medical mystery that more than a dozen clinicians couldn't fully explain. In this episode of Autoimmune Adventures, Haresh joins Stacy, Becky, and Alysia to share what happened when years of symptoms, diagnoses, specialists, and unanswered questions finally began to form a bigger picture. We talk about the emotional cost of living without answers, his eventual urticaria diagnosis, why fragmented healthcare can make complex illness so difficult to understand, and what changed when physicians finally had time to look at his entire story instead of one symptom at a time. Haresh also shares how his decades in technology shaped the way he thinks about patterns and healthcare — and why that experience ultimately led him to create Scenario Health AI, a platform designed to help patients organize and communicate their health stories. We also talk about something that matters deeply to us at Autoimmune Adventures: self-advocacy. How do you keep asking questions when you're exhausted? How do you help a doctor understand years of medical history in a short appointment? And what happens when we stop treating symptoms as disconnected pieces and start looking at the whole person? Finally, Haresh tells us about his book, The Ghost in My Body, and the 55-year medical mystery behind it. If you've ever known something wasn't right in your body but struggled to find someone who could connect the dots, this conversation is for you. Subscribe to Autoimmune Adventures for honest conversations about autoimmune disease, chronic illness, self-advocacy, and building a meaningful life in a body that doesn't always cooperate. You are worthy of joy. Disease does not define your life. You do! #ChronicIllness #PatientAdvocacy #AutoimmuneDisease #MedicalMystery #AutoimmuneAdventures

  4. Sep 15 ·  Video

    102: Chronic Pain, Emotions & Neuroplasticity with Dr. Tovah Goldfine

    Can emotions affect chronic pain? What does neuroplasticity have to do with persistent symptoms—and can the brain learn new pain pathways? In this episode of Autoimmune Adventures, Dr. Tovah Goldfine joins Stacy, Becky, and Alysia for a conversation about chronic pain, emotions, neuroplasticity, and the connection between the brain and body. Dr. Tovah is a Doctor of Chiropractic and Rehabilitation who specializes in neuroplastic chronic pain, MindBody approaches, TMS (Tension Myoneural Syndrome), and brain and nervous-system training methods. Her work brings together decades of experience working with the physical body and her study of neuroplastic approaches to persistent pain. In our conversation, Tovah explains how our understanding of the brain has changed and why neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to change and develop new pathways—has opened new conversations about persistent pain. We explore the relationship between emotions and pain, what it means for the brain to “learn” a pain pathway, and how thoughts and emotional experiences can affect the way we feel in our bodies. We also address an important distinction: Talking about the brain does not mean pain isn't real. And recognizing connections between the brain, emotions, nervous system, and physical symptoms should never become another reason to blame someone for being sick. Tovah leaves us with a powerful idea: instead of viewing the body as something that is punishing us, what happens when we become curious about the ways it may be trying to protect us? IN THIS EPISODE • Can emotions affect chronic pain? • What is neuroplasticity? • How does the brain develop neural pathways? • Can the brain learn—and unlearn—pain patterns? • What is the connection between emotions and physical symptoms? • Why brain involvement doesn't make pain imaginary • How thoughts and emotions can influence our physical experience • Why Tovah believes the body protects rather than punishes • What it can mean to begin trusting your body again ABOUT DR. TOVAH GOLDFINE Dr. Tovah Goldfine is a Doctor of Chiropractic and Rehabilitation who specializes in neuroplastic chronic pain, MindBody approaches, TMS solutions, and brain and nervous-system training methods. She also hosts the TMS RoundTable, which brings together health professionals and people sharing recovery experiences around chronic pain, autoimmune conditions, and neuroplastic symptoms. Visit Dr. Tovah Goldfine's official website You are worthy of joy. Disease does not define your life. You do! This conversation is for informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. YouTube Hashtags #ChronicPain #Neuroplasticity #MindBodyConnection #DrTovahGoldfine #AutoimmuneAdventures

  5. Sep 8 ·  Video

    101: Red Light Therapy Explained: How Does It Affect Mitochondria, Energy & Inflammation?

    How does red light therapy actually work—and what happens inside your cells when you're exposed to red and near-infrared light? Dr. Paul Barattiero joins Autoimmune Adventures to explain the science behind red light therapy, mitochondria, ATP production, oxidative stress, cellular energy, inflammation, and recovery. We've all seen red light therapy everywhere—from wellness centers and gyms to spas and home devices. But seeing that familiar red glow doesn't tell us what is actually happening inside the body. So we wanted to understand the science. In this episode, Stacy, Becky, and Alysia talk with Dr. Paul about how specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light interact with our cells, why mitochondria and ATP production matter, and how oxidative stress can interfere with cellular energy. We also explore the growing body of research surrounding photobiomodulation and its potential applications, including recovery, sleep, cellular function, collagen production, and more. And then we get practical. With so many red light devices now on the market, how can consumers know what they're actually getting? Dr. Paul explains why factors such as wavelength, irradiance, dosage, exposure time, and independent testing matter when evaluating red light technology. In this episode: • What red light therapy and photobiomodulation actually are • How red and near-infrared light interact with cells • Why mitochondria matter • ATP production and cellular energy • Oxidative stress and fatigue • Research into potential applications of red light therapy • Why wavelength, irradiance, and dosage matter • How treatment time changes the amount of light delivered • What to look for when evaluating red light devices • Why independent testing matters • How to become a more informed wellness consumer For anyone living with autoimmune disease or chronic illness—or anyone who's looked at all those glowing red panels and wondered, “Does this actually do anything?”—this conversation gives you a fascinating place to start. Please note: This conversation is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Discussion of research or potential applications does not mean red light therapy has been proven to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent a particular disease or condition. Talk with a qualified healthcare professional about your individual health needs. You are worthy of joy. Disease does not define your life. You do!

  6. Sep 1 ·  Video

    100: Celebrating 100 Episodes | The Voices & Stories That Have Shaped Autoimmune Adventures

    🎉 100 EPISODES. And we didn't get here alone. This episode is our love letter to every guest who trusted us with their story—and to every person who has listened, watched, shared, commented, laughed, cried, learned, and walked this trail alongside us. For our 100th episode of Autoimmune Adventures, the three of us—Stacy, Becky, and Alysia—got together IN PERSON to celebrate something that once felt almost impossible to imagine. One hundred episodes. Instead of simply looking back, we wanted you to hear the voices that helped bring us here. So we went back through some of our favorite conversations and pulled together a montage of moments from the extraordinary people we've had the privilege of interviewing—patients, advocates, doctors, researchers, authors, experts, and people who simply had a story worth telling. Because that's what Autoimmune Adventures has become. It isn't just our story anymore. It's a collection of stories about living in bodies that don't always cooperate. About searching for answers. Being dismissed and learning to speak up. Losing pieces of the lives we thought we'd have—and discovering that there is still so much life waiting for us. It's about science and advocacy. Grief and ridiculous laughter. Hard conversations and hopeful ones. And above all, it's about people reminding other people: You are not walking this trail alone. To every guest who has sat down with us over these first 100 episodes: thank you. Thank you for your vulnerability. Thank you for your expertise. Thank you for your honesty. Thank you for trusting us with your stories. And to every member of this community who has listened along the way—whether you've been here since the beginning or found us yesterday—thank you for giving these conversations somewhere to land. We don't know exactly what the next 100 episodes will hold. But we know we're not done asking questions. We're not done advocating. We're not done learning. And we're definitely not done finding joy along the way. Here's to the first 100. 💜 You are worthy of joy. Disease does not define your life. You do! #AutoimmuneAdventures #100Episodes #ChronicIllness #AutoimmuneDisease #AutoimmuneCommunity #ChronicIllnessCommunity #PatientAdvocacy #SelfAdvocacy #InvisibleIllness #AutoimmuneWarrior #ChronicIllnessSupport #PatientStories #AutoimmuneAwareness #WomenWithAutoimmuneDisease #PodcastMilestone

  7. Aug 25 ·  Video

    99:Hydrogen Water Explained: Can It Help Oxidative Stress & Inflammation? | Dr. Paul Barattiero

    What is hydrogen water—and what could molecular hydrogen have to do with oxidative stress, inflammation, energy, and cellular health? Dr. Paul Barattiero joins Autoimmune Adventures to take us inside the science of molecular hydrogen and explain why this tiny molecule has become such a fascinating area of wellness research. In this episode, Stacy, Becky, and Alysia ask the questions many of us have had about hydrogen water: Isn't hydrogen already in water? What is oxidative stress? Why does the human body need hydrogen? What role does the gut play in producing it? And what should consumers understand before investing in a hydrogen water system? Dr. Paul breaks down the relationship between oxidation and reduction, discusses hydrogen production within the gut, explains the potential role of molecular hydrogen in supporting cellular function, and walks us through the technology behind the Echo Water Flask. For anyone living with autoimmune disease, chronic illness, fatigue, or inflammation—and anyone who's seen hydrogen water everywhere and wondered what the science actually says—this conversation is an accessible place to start. In this episode: What molecular hydrogen water actually is Hydrogen water vs. ordinary water Why the body produces hydrogen The gut as a “hydrogen ecosystem” Oxidative stress and the inflammatory response Molecular hydrogen and cellular health What to look for in hydrogen water technology How the Echo Water Flask works About our guest: Dr. Paul Barattiero is the founder of Echo Water and has spent decades in the health and wellness industry studying and educating others about molecular hydrogen and cellular health. IMPORTANT: This conversation is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always discuss changes to your health or treatment plan with your qualified healthcare provider. You are worthy of joy. Disease does not define your life. You do!

  8. Aug 18 ·  Video

    98: Chronic Stress Affects Your Body | Melissa Lewis-Duarte on Realistic Nervous System Regulation

    If you live with chronic illness, you've probably been told to “manage your stress.” But what does that actually mean when you're already exhausted, overwhelmed, and managing a body with limited bandwidth? In this episode of Autoimmune Adventures, we sit down with stress management and resilience coach Melissa Lewis-Duarte, PhD, NBC-HWC, to talk about realistic nervous system regulation—and why taking care of yourself shouldn't become one more impossible task on your to-do list. Melissa brings both professional expertise and deeply personal experience to this conversation. After a traumatic birth and six months with her third child in the NICU, chronic stress began taking a significant toll on her own health. When doctors told her to manage her stress without giving her realistic strategies for doing it, she began searching for practices that could actually fit into a demanding life. That journey eventually helped shape her approach to stress management: small, sustainable practices rather than complicated wellness routines. In our conversation, we explore: • What emotional regulation actually means • Melissa's “Name, Notice, Nurture” practice • Why identifying the specific emotion you're experiencing matters • How emotions can show up physically in the body • Using expressive writing when you feel emotionally stuck • Why “just take a deep breath” can feel so dismissive • How changing your breathing can change the signal you're sending your brain • What to try when breathwork isn't helpful for you • Simple regulation strategies for low-energy days • Why five minutes can still matter • Making stress management fit the life you already have • The concept of your “body budget” • How sleep, physical depletion, and hormonal changes can influence emotions • Why stress management should never become another standard you feel you're failing to meet This conversation is especially for anyone who has ever thought: “I know I'm supposed to take better care of myself. I just don't have anything left.” You don't need a perfect routine. You need tools that meet you where you are. Subscribe to Autoimmune Adventures for honest conversations, practical tools, expert insight, and lived experience for navigating autoimmune disease and chronic illness. You are worthy of joy. Disease does not define your life.   #AutoimmuneAdventures #ChronicIllness #NervousSystemRegulation #StressManagement #ChronicStress #AutoimmuneDisease #EmotionalRegulation #Burnout #ChronicIllnessSupport #Resilience #InvisibleIllness #NervousSystem #SelfAdvocacy You do!

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Navigating chronic illness is a lifelong journey. Don’t travel alone.

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  • Creator
    autoimmuneadventures.com
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Autoimmune Adventures