87 episodes
The Sunflower Conversations Hidden Disabilities Sunflower
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- Health & Fitness
The Sunflower Conversations are where we explore hidden disabilities through the prism of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.In a world where it can be hard to feel like your story matters, we want to give you a space to share your experience. Whether you or someone you care about wears the Sunflower lanyard, we hope that by giving voice to these experiences, we can empower others and encourage more people to support people with invisible disabilities.
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Autism with Maddie White
This podcast was recorded as an Instagram Live.
Maddie shared her lived experience of being wrongly diagnosed with mixed anxiety, depression and panic disorder before eventually being diagnosed with autism when at university aged 21. In our chat, we talked about her life as she tried to navigate the neurotypical world and her newfound approach to life since being diagnosed with ASD.
Maddie explains how her sessions with a counsellor who was explicitly trained in ADHD and Autism brought the realisation that all along, her difficulties resulted from being overwhelmed, over-stimulated, and the need to know exactly what lay ahead, as opposed to depression and anxiety.
If you are experiencing any issues discussed in this podcast, please contact your healthcare practitioner.
For support:
National Autistic Society
Hosted by Chantal Boyle, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.
Want to share your story? email conversations@hdsunflower.com
Music by "The Emerald Ruby" Emerald Ruby Bandcamp and Emerald Ruby website
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Perimenopause and Menopause with Fay Durrant
Fay Durrant is a Wellbeing and Menopause coach and joined us to discuss perimenopause and menopause as well as her own lived experience with perimenopause.
The conversation allows our hosts, Chantal and Paul, to speak about their experiences with having and living through perimenopause. Also discussed is the impact of this phase of life on relationships and work, as well as some of the hundreds of physical and mental symptoms.
We finish with some self-care tips to support mental health, including mindfulness activities and breathwork.
If you are experiencing any issues discussed in this podcast please contact your healthcare practitioner.
For support:
Wellness & Wilderness Get the "How to feel like less of a crazy B*t$h!" Perimenopause mini ebook download. Fay Victoria (Wellness Wonder Woman) Durrant | LinkedIn In Her Right Mind | No-nonsense Menopause Advice written by Andrea Newton to help men navigate menopause with the women in their life.
Hosted by Chantal Boyle and Paul Shriever, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.
Want to share your story? email conversations@hdsunflower.com
Music by "The Emerald Ruby" Emerald Ruby Bandcamp and Emerald Ruby website
Follow us on socials:
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Rett Syndrome with Beth Johnsson
Beth Johnsson joins us to talk about Rett Syndrome. This rare genetic disorder affects brain development, resulting in severe mental and physical disability.
It's estimated to affect around 1 in 10,000 girls born yearly and is rarely seen in boys.
Beth talks about her personal experience with her daughter, Hannah, who was diagnosed with the condition when she was very young. Hannah now has a complex list of disabilities, including epilepsy, scoliosis, apnoea, respiratory problems, and digestive problems. She's waiting for a gastrostomy. She might need spinal surgery. There are over 50 symptoms of Rett Syndrome, some of which are life-threatening.
Despite Hannah's developmental regression, she brings joy to their busy household with her side-eye glances at her parents and giggling at her younger brothers' antics.
For support:
Reverse Rett Rett UKPortageMencapHosted by Chantal Boyle and Paul Shriever, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.
Want to share your story? email conversations@hdsunflower.com
Music by "The Emerald Ruby" Emerald Ruby Bandcamp and Emerald Ruby website
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Mental Health with Sandy Kaur, Sehhat
Sandy Kaur joins the Sunflower Conversations to discuss mental health and suicide prevention in Punjabi and South Asian communities and how her charity Sehhat is tackling the topic.
We discuss the barriers to seeking support, including the obvious one, which is language and the cultural fear of judgment from the community.
Whether talking about mental health or processing grief after suicide, Sandy explains how essential it is to provide access—starting by building trust and creating safe spaces to start those conversations.
If you liked this podcast, please leave a review, subscribe and share.
If you are experiencing any issues discussed in this podcast please contact your healthcare practitioner.
For support
SehhatMind Hosted by Chantal Boyle, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.
Want to share your story? email conversations@hdsunflower.com
Music by "The Emerald Ruby" Emerald Ruby Bandcamp and Emerald Ruby website
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Multiple Sclerosis with Lisa Nice
Lisa Nice has multiple sclerosis (MS). She joins Chantal and Paul to explain how the autoimmune and neurodegenerative condition affects her. We also discuss her employer, Comic Relief's approach to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Diagnosed late in life, it came as a shock, and it took a while for Lisa to accept her diagnosis, which is relapsing-remitting. There are many symptoms of MS, and Lisa shares the ones she has, how she manages them, her treatment, and the adjustments she has had to make at work and in her social life.
Footdrop – the individual has difficulty lifting the front part of the foot (i.e. the front of your foot may drag on the ground as you walk)
Allodynia – pain due to a stimulus that does not normally provoke pain (i.e. a light touch causing pain when it wouldn't normally)
If you liked this podcast please leave a review, subscribe and share.
If you are experiencing any issues discussed in this podcast please contact your healthcare practitioner.
For support
MS TrustMS SocietyHosted by Chantal Boyle and Paul Shriever, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.
Want to share your story? email conversations@hdsunflower.com
Music by "The Emerald Ruby" Emerald Ruby Bandcamp and Emerald Ruby website
Follow us on socials:
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Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) with Bethany and Hannah Keime
Our guests are sisters Bethany and Hannah Keime, who have a condition called Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease of the heart muscle where the muscle wall of the heart becomes thickened.
Bethany and Hannah received a diagnosis in high school and have had to make significant changes to their lives and sporting passions. They have both been fitted with an implantable defibrillator, which saved Hannah's life when she fell into cardiac arrest while asleep in bed.
Together Bethany and Hannah have created a support charity called HEARTCHARGED to build a community for other young people with the same condition and needing a shoulder to lean on. They are committed to educating and raising the profile of this chronic illness and the importance of AEDs (defibrillators).
If you liked this podcast please leave a review, subscribe and share.
If you are experiencing any issues discussed in this podcast please contact your healthcare practitioner.
For support
HEARTCHARGED @heartcharged - Instagram and FacebookAmerican Heart AssociationBritish Heart Foundation Hosted by Chantal Boyle and Lynn Smith, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.
Want to share your story? email conversations@hdsunflower.com
Music by "The Emerald Ruby" Emerald Ruby Bandcamp and Emerald Ruby website
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