Oakley’s client bravely shares her journey with chronic illness, anxiety and depression from an early age and the conscious choices she’s made to heal from generational trauma.
Show Notes
Six out of ten Americans have been diagnosed with one or more chronic illnesses, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. While this statistic may seem shocking, even more astounding is the lack of research into common diseases, such as Lyme Disease, that Oakley’s client lives with every day. Many people don’t know that inflammation in the body can create overwhelming anxiety. Because of a lack of understanding of the connection between these symptoms, people with chronic illness diagnoses are often left untreated or even worse, gaslighted about the very real nature of what they’re experiencing.
As Oakley reminds her clients and listeners, the physical body is intimately connected with the mental, emotional and spiritual health of an individual. In this episode, she digs deeper with her client into some of the familial patterns that may have played a role in the physical expression of her disease. Healing generational trauma begins with awareness. This resilient young woman was able to identify unhealthy patterns such as body shaming, codependency, and emotional manipulation within her family relationships and has made choices to set appropriate boundaries. Taking back control of her life has increased her self-esteem and given her the confidence she needs to move forward with healthy relationships with friends, her partner, and most importantly, herself.
Main Topics
- Oakley’s client discusses her chronic illness diagnoses of Lyme, Labisia, and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) (2:06)
- The definition of gaslighting and how to validate your own experiences (12:30)
- The connection between disease and anxiety (18:55)
- Trigger Warning: Oakley’s client shares about her early teenage years when she felt suicidal and struggled with self-harm (23:03)
- How caretaking can easily become a person’s identity, leading to codependency (31:05)
- Education about sexual health and various strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) for female-bodied individuals (40:50)
- Conscious coping mechanisms and setting boundaries (49:10)
Episode Links
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What is Sex, Drugs & Enlightenment?
Welcome to Sex Drugs & Enlightenment where we open the door and take down the walls of the therapy office—to gain tools, insights, support, and the experience of being heard and connected within the 21st century.
Hi, I’m Oakley Ogden, a psychotherapist and licensed counselor with over 17 years of experience working with young adults. In this podcast I unpack the profane with my guests to recognize how the tough stuff is the sacred stuff.
Join us as we explore it all—the taboo topics and otherwise, nothing is off limits. In this space of safety and love, let’s work it out and learn how we can all build resilience and strength of character to make each day count as we live our best life…and have fun doing it.