But You Look So Good Voices

But You Look So Good Podcast

But You Look So Good: Voices is a sister series to the But You Look So Good podcast, created by Sally Shaw and Seona Ilalio — two psychologists who both live with chronic health conditions. This series shares interviews alongside real, self-recorded stories from people around the world living with chronic illness and disability. It exists to amplify voices that are so often unseen or unheard, where we hope listeners feel validated, less alone, and more connected through recognising parts of their own experience in the stories of others — and ultimately, part of a shared human experience.

Episodes

  1. Jun 4

    An interview with Becky: MS, Single & Social Media

    Today on But You Look So Good, we're sitting down with Becky, a woman who has spent her entire adult life single, and along the way, received a life-changing diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. While Becky has a close and supportive network of family and friends, living with a chronic health condition has meant facing many of life's biggest challenges independently. From managing symptoms and medical appointments, to buying a home on her own and making decisions about the future. There-- These are the realities that come with carrying so much responsibility yourself. But this isn't just a conversation about the hard parts. What began as Becky sharing snippets of her life online grew into something much bigger. By speaking openly about the realities of being single with MS, she created a community where people feel seen, understood, and less alone. Today, she has a deeply engaged following and continues to have honest conversations about life, health, and hope. In this episode, we explore Becky's diagnosis journey, the experience of living with a chronic health condition while single, the challenges and unexpected gifts that she's encountered along the way, and what she hopes for her future. This is Becky's story, and we think you're going to love it. ⁠Becky's Instagram: @singlewithms⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠ ⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠ ⁠Webinars and Resources⁠ If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠. ⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

    41 min
  2. May 28

    An Interview with Robyn: Turning Crohn’s Disease Into Comedy

    Today's guest is Robyn, an award-winning comedian and writer who lives with Crohn's disease, a condition that affects millions of people worldwide, yet remains so often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and for many, carries a huge amount of shame. Because let's be honest, we're talking about symptoms that people often feel embarrassed to speak about, let alone joke about on stage. But Robyn has found a way to take something deeply personal, messy, frustrating, and at times incredibly isolating, and turn it into something honest, hilarious, and deeply human. Fresh off the Melbourne Comedy Festival, and not a stranger to bringing her experience with Crohn's disease to the stage, Robyn joins us to talk about her diagnosis journey, navigating the medical system with a chronic illness, the reality of living with a body that doesn't always cooperate, and how she went from feeling embarrassed by her symptoms to making them part of her art. This is such a funny, real, and important conversation, and exactly the kind of one we love having here. Robyn's Instagram - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/therobynreynolds/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠ ⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠ ⁠Webinars and Resources⁠ If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠. ⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

    42 min
  3. May 21

    An Interview with Fiona: Transplant Recipient, Triathlons, Tenacity

    Today you are hearing from Fiona, a woman from Ireland whose life has been shaped by an extraordinary journey through chronic illness, resilience, and reinvention. Fiona was diagnosed with a kidney disease while pregnant in 2009, a diagnosis that came completely out of nowhere. For the next seven years, she managed a progressive debilitating condition while raising three young children, navigating crushing fatigue, a shrinking social circle, and the invisible weight of looking well while feeling anything but. In 2017, thanks to the remarkable generosity of a close friend who turned out to be a near perfect match,  Fiona received her first kidney transplant. What followed was a stunning period of renewal. She learnt to swim, took up triathlon, became a qualified triathlon coach, and was on the verge of competing in a half Ironman when her body stopped her in her tracks. By 2024, Fiona's transplant had run its course. She's now on hemodialysis, navigating a second wait for a transplant and doing it, as you'll hear, with honesty, humor, and a hard-won perspective on what it means to live fully inside a body that doesn't always cooperate. This is a conversation about chronic illness, about the friends you lose and the ones who show up, about parenting through pain, about identity and athleticism, and about what happens to your sense of self when your body just keeps changing the rules.  Today’s episode is proudly brought to you by Book Dialysis - With a network of 950+ dialysis clinics and hospitals in 60+ countries, you can now easily and safely book your treatment, anywhere in the world. www.bookdialysis.com Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠ ⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠ ⁠Webinars and Resources⁠ If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠. ⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠

    44 min
  4. May 14

    An Interview with Chris: From Nurse to Crime Writer After a 19-Year Diagnosis Journey

    Our guest today is Chris, a former nurse of thirty-one years and now an award-winning crime writer who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after what he describes as a torturous nineteen-year journey to answers. In this conversation, Chris takes us back to those first strange symptoms, the years of pushing through, continuing to work in healthcare, and the frustration of navigating a medical system that didn't always have the answers or believe what he was telling them.  Having spent decades as a nurse, Chris knew the healthcare system from the inside. Experiencing it as a patient was something else entirely. We also explore the pivot his life took from nursing into writing and how his lived experience of chronic illness found its way into crime fiction in a way few stories do. This is a thoughtful conversation about delayed diagnosis, identity, frustration, adapting to life with MS, and building a completely different chapter than the one you expected. Links ⁠⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠⁠ If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14. For support in other locations, please visit⁠⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠⁠ More about Chris ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠Book: Sick to Death⁠

    45 min
  5. Interview with Amy: Being a Doctor, MS, Long Covid and Job Loss

    Apr 7

    Interview with Amy: Being a Doctor, MS, Long Covid and Job Loss

    What does it take to keep going when your body, your career, and your identity all shift at once? In today's episode, we sit down with Amy, a doctor from the UK who has lived that very question. Her story begins in 2011 weeks before her wedding when she woke up, unable to feel half her body as a doctor. She suspected multiple sclerosis. Getting anyone to take her seriously was another story.  We follow her through years of symptoms. She pushed aside a clinically isolated syndrome diagnosis, and then 2020 when long COVID left her bedridden with dangerously low oxygen levels and unable to work. What followed was loss on multiple fronts, her job, her partnership, and a close friendship.  Amy speaks openly about the PTSD that followed the grief of losing a career she loved and the slow, messy process of rebuilding. She also reflects on how becoming a patient changed the way she practices medicine and the advocacy work. She's since stepped into speaking up for those with invisible chronic illness, a conversation about illness identity, and finding your way through it. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Livology (Psychology - Private Practice)⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠MS: Get Your Head Around It! (Online Course)⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠But You’ll Be OK (Online Course)⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Webinars and Resources⁠⁠ If you need any support after listening to our podcast, you can contact Lifeline in Australia at 13 11 14, available 24/7. For support in other locations, please visit⁠⁠ ⁠Befrienders Worldwide⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠Instagram @butyoulooksogoodpodcast⁠⁠⁠

    53 min

About

But You Look So Good: Voices is a sister series to the But You Look So Good podcast, created by Sally Shaw and Seona Ilalio — two psychologists who both live with chronic health conditions. This series shares interviews alongside real, self-recorded stories from people around the world living with chronic illness and disability. It exists to amplify voices that are so often unseen or unheard, where we hope listeners feel validated, less alone, and more connected through recognising parts of their own experience in the stories of others — and ultimately, part of a shared human experience.