Brain Fever Podcast JM Stebbins
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- Health & Fitness
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Brain Fever is hosted by autoimmune encephalitis survivor, Jackie M. Stebbins and is produced by her husband and former radio personality, Sean Arithson. Jackie was a nationally recognized trial lawyer until almost overnight, she couldn't read or tell the time, and had full body tremors and seizures. After a horror story illness and near-death experience, Jackie miraculously survived her "brain on fire" and began sharing her journey with others. Brain Fever is a testament to Jackie's resilience and the human spirit. She highlights not only her story, but the stories of others including cancer survivors, philosophers, lawyers, writers, and others affected by autoimmune encephalitis. She also focuses on mental health, hoping to bring to light the diagnoses so many face and to destigmatize it. (And she talks A LOT about Elton John!)Jackie is the author of "Unwillable: A Journey to Reclaim My Brain" and the JM Stebbins blog, a motivational speaker, and the host of the Brain Fever podcast.jmstebbins.comunwillable.com
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Life Lied
Send us a Text Message.In this episode, Jackie hosts a dear old friend from law school, Amber Gustafson. Amber just happens to be a former lawyer turned judge, mother of three, Iraq veteran, and avid walker. She also happens to be a young widow. In 2021, on what started as a routine Tuesday morning for their family of five, Lieutenant Adam Gustafson suffered a massive heart attack and completed his end of watch. Amber and her children lost their husband, father, and the States of North Dakota...
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Nothing's Forever
Send us a Text Message.Jackie has often heard of autoimmune encephalitis survivors unlocking hidden creativity after their diagnosis. And while she turned to writing in her days of survival and recovery, she still believes her creativity knows a lot of bounds. But what does it really mean to be a creative? What happens when you bring your creativity back "home?" What does it mean to sing your heart out through cancer in your airways? How can our creativity help us heal? In this episode, Jacki...
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Mr. Sandman
Send us a Text Message.In this episode, Jackie is joined by guest Mariah Botha of Dickinson, North Dakota. Mariah is the director of a rural healthcare foundation and is as smart as she is lovely. Upon reading Unwillable, Mariah had a lot of questions and Jackie (doubtfully) had the answers. So the pair decided to turn the tables and have Mariah host Jackie. In this unscripted conversation, Mariah and Jackie explore childhood anxiety, parenting children who may have anxiety, some of Jackie's ...
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Unwillable Soundtrack
Send us a Text Message.Join Jackie and Sean as Jackie drops her ultimate wish (outside of a made for TV movie): the Unwillable soundtrack! In this episode, you'll hear more about the songs that influenced Jackie while writing the book, the eerie songs that played during her onset, and the songs she relied upon to get to the final destination of "I'm Still Standing!"To listen along to the Unwillable soundtrack, you can find the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ZjPmn7dZrtsasGxk...
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Balancing Your Health
Send us a Text Message.Medical care can be complicated, especially for women. Women are always juggling hormones, stress, work, sleep, childbearing years, menopause, and quite a bit in between. In this episode, Jackie interviews an old friend, Adria, who is a Physician's Assistant at a women's primary care clinic. Join them as they demystify primary care and talk about it all, including mental health, weight loss, skin care, and more. And also join in for Jackie sharing a lot of laughs (mostl...
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Lawfare
Send us a Text Message.Lawyers. If you know them, you know they're always "stressed out." If you've met them, you know they're "overworked." And chances are, you've probably heard them call their profession "toxic." Why is the legal profession so stressful and why are lawyers statistically at risk for a myriad of serious mental health problems? Why was Jackie persuaded that she suffered from work-induced depression and burnout before she learned she had autoimmune encephalitis? Why is Elton J...
Customer Reviews
Incredible storytelling
This is a fascinating glimpse into the lives of two wonderful human beings devastated by a rare and deadly disease. They retell their experiences with autoimmune encephalitis with humor and resilience. Altogether horrifying and hilarious.
Remarkable story, wonderful hosts!
Jackie and Sean are hilarious storytellers with an unbelievable journey. This is a great listen!