August 15, 2025 • 36 mins
Welcome to Chronically The Sickest - the sickest podcast you know.
On today’s episode I’m joined by licensed therapist, Sydney.
We get into how hormones affect you, OCD and educating your own doctors.
Follow Sydney @yourcozycounselor
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Feel free to shoot me a DM if you have any questions or if you just want to chat. I’m wishing you a low pain day. ‘Catch you next week!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Hello folks, and welcome to Chronically the Sickest, the
podcast where we talk about all things that make us chronically
the sickest people we know. I'm Clark, your host.
It's nice to chat with you this week.
Join us as we dive into the episode, sit back, relax, and
enjoy the show. Sydney, welcome to Chronically
(00:33):
the Sickest podcast. How are you doing?
I'm good. Thank you for having me.
Of course, I am like honored to have like another therapist on
the podcast. It's always so interesting to
hear your perspective. But for the listeners at home
who may not know who you are, can you tell me a little bit
about yourself? Yeah, so I'm Sydney.
(00:55):
Like you said, I'm a therapist. I am also somebody with a lot of
chronic illnesses. I'm diagnosed with OCD, and
outside of that, I just love allthings cozy.
So I read probably too much cozyvideo games, baking, hanging out
with my dogs, anything that justmakes me comfy and warm.
Oh, that is like a really great way to like tie that neatly with
(01:18):
a bow. Anything comfy and warm?
Yes, we love that. I just recorded a whole episode
on like Minecraft and cozy games.
So this is so fun. OK, well I have to ask the
question. What do you think makes you
chronically the sickest person you know?
I think I have more chronic health issues than anybody I've
ever met. So when I saw chronically the
(01:39):
sickest, I was like, oh, that's,that's me.
So I have Aylor Stanlow syndrome.
I have other autoimmune issues, been diagnosed with lupus,
neurological issues, heart issues, and then have had
tonsils and gallbladder and organs removed, had a
hysterectomy from endometriosis,just kind of all the all the
(01:59):
things. So it's nice to have a a podcast
where it feels like that's the normal thing.
Yeah. Oh my gosh.
OK, wow. I know we're talking about
mental health today, but now I almost want to have you back on
the podcast multiple times because I have so many other
questions now. Wow.
OK, virtual sticker for you. Chronically the sickest you win.
(02:24):
Not a competition, but it's always so interesting to hear
people's responses to that question.
Well, I mean, I kind of just mentioned it, but we're gonna be
talking a little bit about mental health and like your
experience with having mental health difficulties and then
also being a professional in that space.
So talk to me a little bit aboutthat.
(02:46):
What has your experience been? So I think I'm kind of unusual
in that I've known ever since high school that I wanted to be
a therapist and I didn't actually start having chronic
health issues until a little bitlater in life.
So it was kind of AI don't know whatever you want to call fate,
destiny, whatever. But the reason I got involved in
(03:08):
therapy is because I read a bookwhere the main character was
chronically I'll. And I thought, oh, it must be so
lonely to be young and be going through these things that nobody
else understands. And so I decided I wanted to be
a therapist for people who are chronically ill.
And then of course, like I said,I, I developed chronic
illnesses, was diagnosed with all these things and struggled
(03:28):
with all my own health issues. And I think that helps me to be
able to help my clients better. I have a lot of clients who come
to me and say, you know, I choseyou as a therapist because you
said that you get it, you have chronic health issues, and
you're not just telling me from the outside how I should feel
about it or deal with it. Yes, that is always so important
(03:50):
to feel like you're not just talking to someone who's just
like, well, I read about it in abook one time.
It's like, yeah, yeah, girl, I get it.
Like, let's talk about how we can, like, figure this out
together. Exactly.
Yeah. And I do think it's a very
isolating thing when you don't have other people who understand
on some level what you're going through.
(04:11):
Obviously, every chronic illnessis different, every person is
different, every mental health concern is different.
But I love that you're doing this podcast to show that you're
not alone in it. There are so many people who are
facing similar. Things.
Yeah, absolutely. It's the whole point, isn't it,
I no one has ever had an original experience, I think.
I think we've all dealt with something similar one time or
(04:34):
another. Yeah.
OK. So you knew that you wanted to
be a therapist since you were younger.
I feel like that's always so interesting to hear because I
feel like most people, it's like, you know, like I was 5, I
wanted to be an astronaut. I got a little older, didn't
really know what I wanted to do with my life, Went to college,
figured it out. Yeah, and I had that, I guess
when I was much younger. I wanted to be a vet and a
(04:56):
writer and, you know, lots of different things and, and to an
extent I've done some of that. I've not been a vet but I do
writing as well and I've had some things published but ever
since high school I just knew this was what I wanted to do and
I've stuck with it and I do truly love my job.
That's amazing. Also, what a flex.
(05:17):
An author too. We love that.
Also, darn, it'd be kind of crazy if you were like, well,
actually I was a vet and an astronaut and a writer and also
a. Therapist.
There's time, hey? Katy Perry just went to space so
you could be a vet. So tell me a little bit about
your experience with mental illness.
(05:41):
Like as a person, I know that you kind of mentioned that you
have OCD. Like is that something you think
that correlates with your chronic illnesses as well?
For sure. So there's a couple ways that I
think it kind of overlaps. I've always had what people
refer to as OCD tendencies, so I've had symptoms since I was
(06:02):
younger, but it wasn't until I started going through all of my
medical trauma and health issuesthat those symptoms really got
exacerbated and I felt like it was worth it to go get a formal
diagnosis and formal treatment. So that's kind of one of the
ways that it overlaps. One of the things that I hear a
lot when I go to mental health professionals is that they're
surprised I don't have contamination and disease
(06:25):
obsessions. And I think it's because for me,
that's something that I know howto do.
I know how to be sick. I've done it for a long time.
It's not something that I worry about because it's just a fact
for me. And so my obsessions are related
to a lot of other things. And that's not the case for
everyone with chronic illnesses.But I think that's something my
(06:46):
mental health professionals sometimes struggle to understand
is that just because I'm sick doesn't mean I obsess over it
all the time. And that kind of leads to
another overlap that I'm very firm in saying I have OCD and
not I am OCD because OCD is not who I am.
And that's something I struggledwith a lot when I was at my
worst physical health wise, is people would often try to just
(07:08):
kind of refer to me as the sick girl or that's all they wanted
to talk about. That's all they would ask about.
And it's very hard when you're struggling with feeling sick all
the time and just wanting to feel like a human.
And then the only thing people want to interact about is your
illness. It just brings it all back to
that one point, when in reality we all have so much more to us
(07:29):
than that. Yeah, I completely agree.
It's like you really have to strike that balance with the
people in your life and also with yourself of I am not just
sick, but also that is, yeah, a big part of my life.
It's not just like, you know, over there somewhere.
OK, Wow. I do kind of get where like your
(07:50):
therapist or mental health professional is coming from
because a lot of the people I know with chronic illnesses also
struggle with like health OCD orcontamination OCD.
So it's interesting to hear you say that you're like, Nope,
something completely different. Yeah, and I do.
I mean, I worry about my health from time to time and, you know,
especially when I'm having a flare up or feeling like I'm out
(08:12):
of control. Those are things that come up,
but it's not my main OCD symptom.
I think that's more for me a separate anxiety rather than
part of the OCD. Right.
And for the listeners out there who don't know, anxiety and OCD
are different, yes, subset, but still.
(08:33):
OK, so you're someone with OCD and like chronic illnesses and
you are a therapist. And like you said, it is always
really nice to talk to a professional who gets it.
So something that you wanted to touch on in this episode is kind
of the overlap between mental health and chronic illness.
(08:55):
So I would love to hear both your experience with that and
kind of what your professional opinion is.
OK hear me out. I know y'all have food
allergies. This is a chronic illness pod.
I am aware of my audience. You're gluten free or dairy free
(09:16):
or something free or who knows, maybe you just got diagnosed
with gastroparesis. What I do know is that belly
baking mixes are yummy and all the bad things free.
Plus they were made with collagen and other vitamins,
meaning they're not only not badfor you, they're good for you.
(09:36):
Click the link in the description to try them out and
get 20% off with code sickest onme.
The brownies are bomb by the way.
Y'all Literally my favorite. Now that I think about it.
I may go make some right now anyway.
Yeah. So I kind of like I referred to
(09:58):
earlier with the OCD, my symptoms definitely got way
worse when I was going through trauma.
And that's something that happens a lot with all kinds of
different mental health diagnosis.
When we're stressed, we're much more likely to have mental
health. Symptoms.
And so part of that for me was when I was going through all of
(10:19):
my different diagnostic processes, waiting to hear what
it was that I had dealing with medical gas lighting, you know,
just the, the uncertainty involved in that.
That of course caused anxiety, not to mention the physical
pain, isolation. When I first started having
major symptoms, I was 19. And so I had just started
(10:42):
college, was finally out of my own and dependent and enjoying
that. But when I got sick, it, it kept
me in bed for a long time. I started having heart issues
and extreme fatigue, couldn't make it to class, was struggling
to pass my classes because my teachers didn't want to accept
doctor's notes. Ended up, you know, going fully
(11:02):
online and finishing my degree that way.
But during that time I had people who were close friends I
thought, but didn't want to hangout because I couldn't go do fun
things that I used to anymore. Accused me of begging to try to
get attention, you know, overdramatizing things like
that. And so all of these things I
think compound when you're younger and it seems out of the
(11:26):
ordinary. It seems like something that
could be attention seeking. So that definitely caused some
some mental health flare ups. I think the worst for me was
when I was 26, I had dealt with years of different hormone
treatments for endometriosis andnothing was helping.
(11:47):
I was in bed pretty much all day, every day.
If I could make it to work, I would just go to work, come
home, lay in bed. And that was my whole life.
So again, isolating, dealt with a lot of religious blame and
shame during that time. And then on top of that, when I
started doing hormone treatments, that was when my
(12:09):
mental health was kind of all over the place.
So one of the overlaps I wanted to touch on today was hormones.
When your hormones are out of whack, obviously your mental
health is impacted by that. And so the worst that I had was
when a hormone chemical injection that forced me through
a chemically induced menopause. And so during that time, it was
(12:30):
like I could see myself being horrible to people.
I could hear myself saying things I would never say under
normal circumstances, but it waslike I couldn't control it.
And I think a lot of times we don't recognize how much
hormones impact our decisions, our mental health, all of those
different things. And of course causing the
(12:51):
endometriosis flare ups and pain.
So hormones are a huge factor with inflammation too that can
cause mental health symptoms. And so even things like
allergies can impact your blood and fog hormones can cause
allergy flare ups. So all of these things
intermingle in ways that we don't often think about, and
especially as people who are women identifying or gender
(13:17):
nonconforming. When you add in the medical
gaslighting on top of that, plushormones and physical health
issues, it can be a lot for anybody to handle.
Right. That makes a lot of sense.
I mean, you know, you're a mental health professional, but
it's like everything is in one body.
So, yeah, you can have a chronicillness, you can have chronic
(13:37):
pain, but things like trauma andmedical gaslighting and
hormones, which is like something I didn't even think
about, can negatively or like, negatively impact your
experience as someone with chronic illness.
If not, like there are certain diagnosis I know that are not
only like exacerbated, but some people believe are like a direct
(13:59):
correlation to mental health or trauma, like being stored in the
body. So yeah.
Yeah. And a lot of that is just so
fascinating. So women especially tend to
carry our trauma and our anxietyand our guts and in our pelvic
floor. And that's something I have
struggled a lot with because I've experienced medical trauma
(14:21):
with my endometriosis and hysterectomy.
And so obviously a lot of like pelvic floor guarding, pelvic
pain, but then sexual trauma on top of that.
And so one of the things I struggled with in in recent
years was pelvic floor muscles starting to fail and having to
do a lot of physical therapy to be able to retrain those muscles
(14:46):
to work in the way that they should.
And so again, that's the overlapof physical health issues that
were caused by physical factors that trauma on top of that
causing those physical health concerns too.
Same thing. I think with mental health, like
you said, a lot of times people will think if there is anxiety,
(15:06):
then that means we're making it up.
But you can have anxiety and physical health.
Anxiety can cause physical health issues.
Physical health can cause anxiety.
And sometimes there's an overlapwhere it's hard to tell what's
the chicken and what's the egg. But just because we have those
anxiety caused symptoms doesn't mean they're fake or that
(15:26):
they're made-up. My gosh.
Yeah, I always think it's so funto talk to people who are
professionals in their field. And so it's always, it's just so
crazy to hear you say things that are so real and like you
(15:46):
get them from personal experience.
Like you're saying, like, you know, the doctor goes, OK, it's
anxiety and you go, yes, I do have anxiety.
However, that's not why my pelvic floor hurts right now.
Like that's, it's just, so I think validating is the word
that I'm looking for 'cause it'slike, I personally have El
health OCD. And so like, I struggle a lot
(16:10):
with like finding that balance of, yeah, is it the chicken or
is it the egg? Like is there actually something
going on? And so my OCD is latching on to
that or is my OCD just flitting about while I'm supposed to be
focusing on other things? So like, I really appreciate you
saying that kind of stuff. And I, I really wish that there
was more mental health training with medical professionals
(16:34):
because you're always just kind of like, OK, so great.
I have to educate you on my physical health conditions and
be like, oh, you don't know whatEDS is.
Cool. Let me educate you real quick.
And then on top of that, be like, OK, so I am struggling
with depression. However, you would too if your
body hurt all the time. Exactly.
Yeah, and you know, with the medical gaslighting too, again,
(16:58):
women, gender non conforming individuals far more likely to
have that medical gaslighting. Research shows us that men are
far more likely to have their pain taken seriously and get
treatment quicker. And so it's very frustrating
when we go into professionals often having to wait months and
months to even get in with a specialist only to be teased or
minimized or whatever else. You know, I could tell story
(17:21):
after story of times where typically male doctors would try
to tell me there was nothing wrong with me.
I had one recently that I came in and he said, yeah, I'm not
really worried about your symptoms 'cause you're young and
healthy. And I said, did you read my
chart? And so he looked at my chart and
then he was like, oh, OK. And then he took me seriously.
(17:42):
You know, I had another time where I went in and literally
couldn't move my neck. And the doctor was like,
sweetie, you just pulled a muscle.
Take some ibuprofen. You'll be fine.
And I had pinched nerves and damaged discs all down my spine.
So just things like that where you have to sort of force
someone to take you seriously, which if you're coming in for
(18:03):
medical treatment, that should not be the case.
But it happens over and over andover again.
And so I say the same thing for physical health providers, but
also mental health. It's OK to fire your provider if
someone is not taking you seriously.
If you're not clicking well, it's OK to find somebody else
(18:23):
therapist especially too. I've had gaslighting you in from
other therapists and so I told clients it's kind of like dating
and it's OK if you just don't click with somebody.
Doesn't necessarily mean they'rea bad therapist or that you're a
bad client. It just means you're not good
together and that's OK. Yeah, wow, yes, I I love the
(18:43):
advice that you can fire your doctors, your therapist, like,
and I really love that analogy of it is kind of like dating.
What is it like swipe left, swipe right, OK, Like if it
doesn't fit, it doesn't fit, it's fine.
Just like deal with it, OK. Also, I the story that you
shared about how you, you know, they said like you're just young
(19:08):
and healthy and you're like, didyou look like, did you look more
than 5 seconds? And they go, oh, shoot, my bad.
I feel like first of all, super relatable.
That happens to everyone all thetime.
They're like, Oh no, you're fine, you're young.
And I'm like, dude, well, I justrealized this is a audio podcast
and I just rolled my eyes. So that was really silly, but
(19:29):
that's what I did the. Eye roll.
We can hear the eye roll. You know, I really hope you can
hear the sarcasm of my voice, you know, but one of the things
that I've learned from the chronic illness community and
like, I'd love to hear your tipsand tricks for stuff like this.
But he's asking for stuff like adifferential diagnosis or like
asking them to document it in your chart.
Because it's like, yes, in the moment, it's scary as cuss to
(19:52):
sit there and be like, they already think that I'm faking.
They already think I'm being melodramatic because I'm a girl
and having to be like, OK, well,like, is there like a
differential diagnosis or like, can you note in your chart that
you. Just think that this is like a
bruise or like a tweaked muscle.And it's like, yeah, they think
(20:12):
that you're being difficult, butat the same time, you end up
with situations like yours whereit's like, yeah, they told me
that it was something really minor when in fact it was not.
Yeah. And that's where, again, I think
it's always OK to get a different opinion or a second
opinion. But like you said, even with
that same doctor, can you document it?
Can you check? Can you do an extra test?
(20:35):
One thing I do discourage is coming in diagnosing yourself.
I tell clients your symptoms arealways valid, but sometimes it's
not what you think it is. And so I kind of get the analogy
of like if I go to the doctor and I have, you know, a cough,
sore throat, upset stomach, fever, that could be a cold,
(20:56):
that could be the flu, that could be COVID, that could be a
million different things. So those symptoms need treated.
But if I go in and tell them it's COVID, when it's the flu,
the treatment's going to be verydifferent and I might not get
the help that I need. Same thing with neurodivergence
in general. There's so much symptom overlap
and sometimes there are multiplediagnosis.
(21:18):
But I score really high on screeners for autism because of
my OCDI don't believe that I have autism, but my OCD is off
the charts. And so sometimes it's not so
much about the specific label, but it's about how are we
treating these symptoms and how do we know that we're treating
them the right way. So being open to a different
(21:39):
label, but making sure someone is taking your symptoms
seriously, regardless of what we're calling it.
Stabs for that. That was great.
That was amazing, yeah. And and again with the
gaslighting, like I said, story after story, but I had one
situation where I went to the ERand I literally thought I was
dying. I was having heart episode, you
(22:03):
know, extreme like difficulty with breathing, tons of pain and
I thought I was having a heart attack because I knew I was
already I already had a heart condition.
And so when I went into the ER, they just did not take me
seriously at all. I tried to tell her that I had a
heart condition and she said I don't see how that's relevant,
which to me is like. Yeah, it's relevant.
(22:24):
Symptoms. Heart condition?
Probably something you should know.
And they basically just said I was having like acid reflux and
sent me home and told me to taketums and I ended up needing 2
emergency surgeries to have my gallbladder removed because I
had so many stones they had fallen out and we're blocking
other things internally. So again, like make sure your
(22:46):
symptoms are taken seriously andif your pain feels worse than
what they're telling you, get a second opinion.
That could have been devastatingif I hadn't gone to a different
hospital and gotten that second opinion.
Yeah, yeah, I do really love that you said your symptoms are
always valid, but it may not be what you think.
But you're right, 'cause that does totally go hand in hand
(23:08):
with like, go get a second opinion.
Like there is always an option. And like, yes, financially and
like medically and like insurance, like all that stuff,
It's always kind of hard to be like, I need to go get a second
opinion. But there's always options of
like you can like look online, there's like low cost clinics
near you or like Zocdoc or something like that.
(23:30):
Like we live in the 20th century, 21st century, 21st
century. So like you can always be like,
hey, I think something's up. And I mean, the nice part at
least, which maybe actually thisis kind of contradicting what
you said, but like with the chronic illness community, you
can hear other people's experiences and be like, oh,
like, I really relate to that and not being like, oh, I have
(23:52):
that, but being like, hey, let me go ask my doctor.
My friend has EDS and I have allof the same symptoms.
And I would really love to test for that.
Yeah, and, and I definitely don't mind.
You know, I think there's a difference with coming in and
saying, here's the symptoms thatI have, here's the evidence for
that. Can you confirm or deny and
(24:12):
being open to that versus peoplecoming in and saying I have this
because I watched TikTok or, youknow, because like you said, you
might have the exact same symptoms and similar
experiences, but it could be caused by something different or
it could be exactly the same. And I do think it's good that we
have that research, research outthere.
It's kind of a double edged sword where there's so much
(24:35):
information, but also so much misinformation.
And so having a professional that you trust that can sort of
analyze that and untangle it foryou is super helpful.
But I also know, like I said, there's lots of providers who
don't do that or who won't take things seriously.
And so like you said, as far as you're able by means and
(24:56):
finances and time, getting that second opinion and and finding
someone you trust is, is a majorhelp.
Right. And finding someone who can be
on your side, like finding an advocate, whether that's like a
therapist, which is always awesome, like having a
healthcare team including your therapist is great.
But yeah, also just having like a good friend or like your mom
(25:19):
for God's sakes, like take him to your appointment and be like,
hey, can you like validate my symptoms right here in front of
this medical professional? And it's like, stuff like that
is so important. So like the things that that
you're doing, I like, I commend you.
It's so cool that you are a mental health professional and
(25:40):
you are able to give like give clients an experience that's
like positive because you get it.
Yeah, and I know that's not always necessary, but I think
when somebody knows you have a personal connection to the work
you do, it makes them take a little bit more respect from the
the get go rather than having tolike wait and see.
(26:01):
You had mentioned having someonein your appointments to validate
your symptoms and I think that can be super helpful.
Another thing that I always recommend for clients is
document your symptoms. Now with OCD and related
disorders that can get to an extreme, but I think it's really
helpful to have it an app or a tracker or something that you
(26:21):
can use when you are having flare ups to see if there are
patterns. The app that I use is called
Dalio. It's DAYLIO and there's a free
version and a paid 1, but I justuse the free version.
Where it's been really helpful for me lately is it tracks your
moods, but it also has a place at the bottom where you can
write a note. And so like I mentioned, I had a
(26:43):
hysterectomy when I was 26. I'm 34 now.
And so I haven't had a cycle in probably a decade with all the
treatments that I had before thehysterectomy.
So now I'm having pelvic pain again, having struggles with,
you know, about a week, a month,I'll have mental health symptoms
(27:04):
just feel really down. And so I started charting it and
figured out it is the same week every single month, so it's
likely hormone related and I canbring that information to my
doctor and show because it's charted in the app, these are
the days I'm having the symptomsand pain.
This is how often it happens andfor how long.
(27:26):
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(27:50):
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(28:21):
Wow, yeah. Super helpful.
Yeah, I mean, symptom trackers are like such a godsend and
like, we do really live in a time where, like, God bless, we
don't have to write this all down in a notebook and figure it
out ourselves, but OK, So you said you use daily.
O yeah, I've used quite a few. I think I'm on, I'm using Guava
(28:41):
right now, which I know a lot ofpeople use, but like I think I
literally used one called Chart.My pain.
I was like, wow, really hitting the nail on the head there.
OK, yes, I love that. Yeah, symptom tracking is so
important to like, validate yourself and be able to be like,
(29:02):
Oh my gosh, yes, it's actually happening.
I'm not crazy. But then also being able to
like, print it out, be like, hello, doctor friend.
Yeah, I'm not crazy. Yeah.
I don't know if you've had anyone cover this too, but have
you ever talked about the medical ID on iPhones before?
I know about it, but no, I don'tthink I've had anyone talk about
it. Please.
So I use the medical ID feature on the iPhone and why I like it
(29:26):
is because when your phone is locked, there's a little button.
Most people have probably noticed it where if you touch
the screen, it says emergency atthe bottom and it lets you call
911. But you can also touch that
button and it opens your Med ID.And so for me, there was one
time where I had a heart episodeand it was impacting my speech.
And so I couldn't tell the doctor or the EMT that arrived.
(29:51):
These are my symptoms. This is what I have.
But I just touched the screen, touched the Med ID and handed it
to him and he was able to see mymedical and surgical history, my
meds, all those things. Some EMTs are trained to look
for that, others aren't. But it's a nice thing too.
If you were ever, you know, incapacitated or passed out,
(30:13):
they're able to access that information and get your, your
history and your emergency contacts through that little Med
ID. Wow.
I mean sorry I'm like strugglingnot to fully try to open my
phone right now and see what howupdated mine is.
Wow, I forgot that that was evena thing because yes, you're
(30:33):
absolutely right. Like I know that like the Apple
health app and things like that,like you can put in your
information, but wow, what a good reminder.
This has been such a helpful episode and I'm not even I'm not
even listening to it. I'm just like in it right now.
Thank you. That was such a good tidbit of
information. I feel like this is such like a
good tool kit kind of episode, you know?
(30:57):
Yeah, yeah. I think for mental health as
well, if I can do a little pitch, but I am trained in EMDR
and ERP, and so those are some of the leading treatments for
trauma and for OCDI would recommend.
Especially I think for people who don't like talking about
(31:19):
their issues, EMDR can be super beneficial because you can share
as much as you want or you don'thave to share much at all.
And your brain still processes things.
And so one of the things that's really cool with and kind of
bad, I guess about trauma is that it can impact your brain at
a neurological level. And so it changes things even
physically when we go through trauma.
(31:40):
And that's why it's so hard to break out of it.
It's kind of like if you're walking down the same path over
and over, that path gets worn down and it's easy to take, but
when you try to take a differentpath, it's going to be much
harder. And so with EMDR, it's able to
help you rewire those neurological connections so that
it permanently changes them and helps you heal from that trauma
(32:02):
in a physical and permanent way.So like I said, you don't have
to talk a lot in it. I think some people are hesitant
to go to therapy because they don't want to talk about what
they've been through, but you can share so that people who do
want to verbally process, you'reable to do that.
And so I think EMDR is a great choice for people who have been
through really difficult things and aren't sure where to go
(32:23):
next. OK, yeah, I think that's, that's
a really good point to make because you're right, therapy, I
think for a lot of people, but specifically for older
generations, I know that that's like kind of hard 'cause they
just, yeah, they're like, well, I'm not like crazy or like, I'm
not, I'm not like that bad mentally.
(32:43):
And you're like, yeah, it's, it's hard sometimes to talk
about stuff that you've gone through, but you're right,
there's absolutely other other options.
There's also tons of different types of therapy.
Like, you know, that like there are people who do more like
cognitive behavioral therapy. There's people who are more
like, they incorporate more likesomatic stuff, so.
Yeah, and EMDR does a little bitof most of those things, which I
(33:07):
I really enjoy about it. But it goes back to what we were
discussing earlier with your symptoms are always valid.
I say the same thing with your emotions are always valid.
You might not be responding to them in a logical way or even in
a healthy way, but the emotion is valid.
And so kind of what you were saying, there's a lot of people
who will say, well, I don't wantto go get therapy because so
(33:29):
many people have it so much worse or it's not super severe,
but anyone can benefit from therapy.
It's just showing up. So I think it's worth it.
And if it's important to you, ifyour feelings are important, if
your experiences are are important to you, it matters.
Yeah, agree CC that. Well, Sydney, I really
(33:51):
appreciate you kind of talking through this with me because
like not only do I feel like I know you a little bit better,
like I feel like I've learned from your experience, but also
like I feel like a lot of tools and like tips and tricks have
been mentioned in this episode. And I'm so excited to put it out
because I have a feeling people are going to be like, wow, like,
let me just this is one of thoseepisodes you like, want to write
(34:13):
it down? You know, like while you're
going through, you're like, oh, OK, so EMDR and then ask my
doctor to document second opinion.
Got it. OK.
So thank you. Yeah, of.
Course thanks for having me. I'm glad it's been helpful for.
You, I mean, I hope it's helpfulfor other people, but like fully
if it's just helpful for me, I'mliving my dream well.
(34:34):
For the listeners who maybe enjoyed hearing your story and
maybe related to it at all, is there a place that they can
connect with you? Are you on social media?
Yeah, so my therapy Instagram page is your cozy counselor.
So like I said, I love all the cozy things.
So I try to incorporate mental health tips, but also just cozy
(34:54):
vibes on my Instagram. And then if you search on
Psychology Today for Sydney Pruitt, I'm licensed in
Oklahoma, Missouri, New Jersey and Utah.
And so I can see clients who arein any of those areas.
Wow, yes, we love a therapy plug.
OK, spoonies, in any of those states, you have found a great
(35:14):
person. Great.
OK, well, Sydney, thank you for being on the podcast listener.
That is all we have for you today.
Otherwise, I'm Clark, this is Sydney and this is Ben.
Chronically the sickest podcast you know.
(35:37):
That's all folks. Thank you so much for listening.
If you liked this episode, clickthat follow up button on your
podcast app of choice to get notified every other week.
You can find the podcast on Instagram and TikTok at
Chronically the Sickest Podcast.Let me know if you have any
questions or just want to chat. I love hearing from y'all.
Until next time, I'm Clark, and this has been Chronically the
(36:00):
Sickest podcast you know. Disclaimer, this is a
conversational podcast and whilewe make sure our diagnosis
journey, symptoms and treatment plan, this is not medical
advice. If you have any questions
regarding your health, please reach out to your doctor and
have a great day.
Hello folks, and welcome to Chronically the Sickest, the
podcast where we talk about all things that make us chronically
the sickest people we know. I'm Clark, your host.
It's nice to chat with you this week.
Join us as we dive into the episode, sit back, relax, and
enjoy the show. Sydney, welcome to Chronically
(00:33):
the Sickest podcast. How are you doing?
I'm good. Thank you for having me.
Of course, I am like honored to have like another therapist on
the podcast. It's always so interesting to
hear your perspective. But for the listeners at home
who may not know who you are, can you tell me a little bit
about yourself? Yeah, so I'm Sydney.
(00:55):
Like you said, I'm a therapist. I am also somebody with a lot of
chronic illnesses. I'm diagnosed with OCD, and
outside of that, I just love allthings cozy.
So I read probably too much cozyvideo games, baking, hanging out
with my dogs, anything that justmakes me comfy and warm.
Oh, that is like a really great way to like tie that neatly with
(01:18):
a bow. Anything comfy and warm?
Yes, we love that. I just recorded a whole episode
on like Minecraft and cozy games.
So this is so fun. OK, well I have to ask the
question. What do you think makes you
chronically the sickest person you know?
I think I have more chronic health issues than anybody I've
ever met. So when I saw chronically the
(01:39):
sickest, I was like, oh, that's,that's me.
So I have Aylor Stanlow syndrome.
I have other autoimmune issues, been diagnosed with lupus,
neurological issues, heart issues, and then have had
tonsils and gallbladder and organs removed, had a
hysterectomy from endometriosis,just kind of all the all the
(01:59):
things. So it's nice to have a a podcast
where it feels like that's the normal thing.
Yeah. Oh my gosh.
OK, wow. I know we're talking about
mental health today, but now I almost want to have you back on
the podcast multiple times because I have so many other
questions now. Wow.
OK, virtual sticker for you. Chronically the sickest you win.
(02:24):
Not a competition, but it's always so interesting to hear
people's responses to that question.
Well, I mean, I kind of just mentioned it, but we're gonna be
talking a little bit about mental health and like your
experience with having mental health difficulties and then
also being a professional in that space.
So talk to me a little bit aboutthat.
(02:46):
What has your experience been? So I think I'm kind of unusual
in that I've known ever since high school that I wanted to be
a therapist and I didn't actually start having chronic
health issues until a little bitlater in life.
So it was kind of AI don't know whatever you want to call fate,
destiny, whatever. But the reason I got involved in
(03:08):
therapy is because I read a bookwhere the main character was
chronically I'll. And I thought, oh, it must be so
lonely to be young and be going through these things that nobody
else understands. And so I decided I wanted to be
a therapist for people who are chronically ill.
And then of course, like I said,I, I developed chronic
illnesses, was diagnosed with all these things and struggled
(03:28):
with all my own health issues. And I think that helps me to be
able to help my clients better. I have a lot of clients who come
to me and say, you know, I choseyou as a therapist because you
said that you get it, you have chronic health issues, and
you're not just telling me from the outside how I should feel
about it or deal with it. Yes, that is always so important
(03:50):
to feel like you're not just talking to someone who's just
like, well, I read about it in abook one time.
It's like, yeah, yeah, girl, I get it.
Like, let's talk about how we can, like, figure this out
together. Exactly.
Yeah. And I do think it's a very
isolating thing when you don't have other people who understand
on some level what you're going through.
(04:11):
Obviously, every chronic illnessis different, every person is
different, every mental health concern is different.
But I love that you're doing this podcast to show that you're
not alone in it. There are so many people who are
facing similar. Things.
Yeah, absolutely. It's the whole point, isn't it,
I no one has ever had an original experience, I think.
I think we've all dealt with something similar one time or
(04:34):
another. Yeah.
OK. So you knew that you wanted to
be a therapist since you were younger.
I feel like that's always so interesting to hear because I
feel like most people, it's like, you know, like I was 5, I
wanted to be an astronaut. I got a little older, didn't
really know what I wanted to do with my life, Went to college,
figured it out. Yeah, and I had that, I guess
when I was much younger. I wanted to be a vet and a
(04:56):
writer and, you know, lots of different things and, and to an
extent I've done some of that. I've not been a vet but I do
writing as well and I've had some things published but ever
since high school I just knew this was what I wanted to do and
I've stuck with it and I do truly love my job.
That's amazing. Also, what a flex.
(05:17):
An author too. We love that.
Also, darn, it'd be kind of crazy if you were like, well,
actually I was a vet and an astronaut and a writer and also
a. Therapist.
There's time, hey? Katy Perry just went to space so
you could be a vet. So tell me a little bit about
your experience with mental illness.
(05:41):
Like as a person, I know that you kind of mentioned that you
have OCD. Like is that something you think
that correlates with your chronic illnesses as well?
For sure. So there's a couple ways that I
think it kind of overlaps. I've always had what people
refer to as OCD tendencies, so I've had symptoms since I was
(06:02):
younger, but it wasn't until I started going through all of my
medical trauma and health issuesthat those symptoms really got
exacerbated and I felt like it was worth it to go get a formal
diagnosis and formal treatment. So that's kind of one of the
ways that it overlaps. One of the things that I hear a
lot when I go to mental health professionals is that they're
surprised I don't have contamination and disease
(06:25):
obsessions. And I think it's because for me,
that's something that I know howto do.
I know how to be sick. I've done it for a long time.
It's not something that I worry about because it's just a fact
for me. And so my obsessions are related
to a lot of other things. And that's not the case for
everyone with chronic illnesses.But I think that's something my
(06:46):
mental health professionals sometimes struggle to understand
is that just because I'm sick doesn't mean I obsess over it
all the time. And that kind of leads to
another overlap that I'm very firm in saying I have OCD and
not I am OCD because OCD is not who I am.
And that's something I struggledwith a lot when I was at my
worst physical health wise, is people would often try to just
(07:08):
kind of refer to me as the sick girl or that's all they wanted
to talk about. That's all they would ask about.
And it's very hard when you're struggling with feeling sick all
the time and just wanting to feel like a human.
And then the only thing people want to interact about is your
illness. It just brings it all back to
that one point, when in reality we all have so much more to us
(07:29):
than that. Yeah, I completely agree.
It's like you really have to strike that balance with the
people in your life and also with yourself of I am not just
sick, but also that is, yeah, a big part of my life.
It's not just like, you know, over there somewhere.
OK, Wow. I do kind of get where like your
(07:50):
therapist or mental health professional is coming from
because a lot of the people I know with chronic illnesses also
struggle with like health OCD orcontamination OCD.
So it's interesting to hear you say that you're like, Nope,
something completely different. Yeah, and I do.
I mean, I worry about my health from time to time and, you know,
especially when I'm having a flare up or feeling like I'm out
(08:12):
of control. Those are things that come up,
but it's not my main OCD symptom.
I think that's more for me a separate anxiety rather than
part of the OCD. Right.
And for the listeners out there who don't know, anxiety and OCD
are different, yes, subset, but still.
(08:33):
OK, so you're someone with OCD and like chronic illnesses and
you are a therapist. And like you said, it is always
really nice to talk to a professional who gets it.
So something that you wanted to touch on in this episode is kind
of the overlap between mental health and chronic illness.
(08:55):
So I would love to hear both your experience with that and
kind of what your professional opinion is.
OK hear me out. I know y'all have food
allergies. This is a chronic illness pod.
I am aware of my audience. You're gluten free or dairy free
(09:16):
or something free or who knows, maybe you just got diagnosed
with gastroparesis. What I do know is that belly
baking mixes are yummy and all the bad things free.
Plus they were made with collagen and other vitamins,
meaning they're not only not badfor you, they're good for you.
(09:36):
Click the link in the description to try them out and
get 20% off with code sickest onme.
The brownies are bomb by the way.
Y'all Literally my favorite. Now that I think about it.
I may go make some right now anyway.
Yeah. So I kind of like I referred to
(09:58):
earlier with the OCD, my symptoms definitely got way
worse when I was going through trauma.
And that's something that happens a lot with all kinds of
different mental health diagnosis.
When we're stressed, we're much more likely to have mental
health. Symptoms.
And so part of that for me was when I was going through all of
(10:19):
my different diagnostic processes, waiting to hear what
it was that I had dealing with medical gas lighting, you know,
just the, the uncertainty involved in that.
That of course caused anxiety, not to mention the physical
pain, isolation. When I first started having
major symptoms, I was 19. And so I had just started
(10:42):
college, was finally out of my own and dependent and enjoying
that. But when I got sick, it, it kept
me in bed for a long time. I started having heart issues
and extreme fatigue, couldn't make it to class, was struggling
to pass my classes because my teachers didn't want to accept
doctor's notes. Ended up, you know, going fully
(11:02):
online and finishing my degree that way.
But during that time I had people who were close friends I
thought, but didn't want to hangout because I couldn't go do fun
things that I used to anymore. Accused me of begging to try to
get attention, you know, overdramatizing things like
that. And so all of these things I
think compound when you're younger and it seems out of the
(11:26):
ordinary. It seems like something that
could be attention seeking. So that definitely caused some
some mental health flare ups. I think the worst for me was
when I was 26, I had dealt with years of different hormone
treatments for endometriosis andnothing was helping.
(11:47):
I was in bed pretty much all day, every day.
If I could make it to work, I would just go to work, come
home, lay in bed. And that was my whole life.
So again, isolating, dealt with a lot of religious blame and
shame during that time. And then on top of that, when I
started doing hormone treatments, that was when my
(12:09):
mental health was kind of all over the place.
So one of the overlaps I wanted to touch on today was hormones.
When your hormones are out of whack, obviously your mental
health is impacted by that. And so the worst that I had was
when a hormone chemical injection that forced me through
a chemically induced menopause. And so during that time, it was
(12:30):
like I could see myself being horrible to people.
I could hear myself saying things I would never say under
normal circumstances, but it waslike I couldn't control it.
And I think a lot of times we don't recognize how much
hormones impact our decisions, our mental health, all of those
different things. And of course causing the
(12:51):
endometriosis flare ups and pain.
So hormones are a huge factor with inflammation too that can
cause mental health symptoms. And so even things like
allergies can impact your blood and fog hormones can cause
allergy flare ups. So all of these things
intermingle in ways that we don't often think about, and
especially as people who are women identifying or gender
(13:17):
nonconforming. When you add in the medical
gaslighting on top of that, plushormones and physical health
issues, it can be a lot for anybody to handle.
Right. That makes a lot of sense.
I mean, you know, you're a mental health professional, but
it's like everything is in one body.
So, yeah, you can have a chronicillness, you can have chronic
(13:37):
pain, but things like trauma andmedical gaslighting and
hormones, which is like something I didn't even think
about, can negatively or like, negatively impact your
experience as someone with chronic illness.
If not, like there are certain diagnosis I know that are not
only like exacerbated, but some people believe are like a direct
(13:59):
correlation to mental health or trauma, like being stored in the
body. So yeah.
Yeah. And a lot of that is just so
fascinating. So women especially tend to
carry our trauma and our anxietyand our guts and in our pelvic
floor. And that's something I have
struggled a lot with because I've experienced medical trauma
(14:21):
with my endometriosis and hysterectomy.
And so obviously a lot of like pelvic floor guarding, pelvic
pain, but then sexual trauma on top of that.
And so one of the things I struggled with in in recent
years was pelvic floor muscles starting to fail and having to
do a lot of physical therapy to be able to retrain those muscles
(14:46):
to work in the way that they should.
And so again, that's the overlapof physical health issues that
were caused by physical factors that trauma on top of that
causing those physical health concerns too.
Same thing. I think with mental health, like
you said, a lot of times people will think if there is anxiety,
(15:06):
then that means we're making it up.
But you can have anxiety and physical health.
Anxiety can cause physical health issues.
Physical health can cause anxiety.
And sometimes there's an overlapwhere it's hard to tell what's
the chicken and what's the egg. But just because we have those
anxiety caused symptoms doesn't mean they're fake or that
(15:26):
they're made-up. My gosh.
Yeah, I always think it's so funto talk to people who are
professionals in their field. And so it's always, it's just so
crazy to hear you say things that are so real and like you
(15:46):
get them from personal experience.
Like you're saying, like, you know, the doctor goes, OK, it's
anxiety and you go, yes, I do have anxiety.
However, that's not why my pelvic floor hurts right now.
Like that's, it's just, so I think validating is the word
that I'm looking for 'cause it'slike, I personally have El
health OCD. And so like, I struggle a lot
(16:10):
with like finding that balance of, yeah, is it the chicken or
is it the egg? Like is there actually something
going on? And so my OCD is latching on to
that or is my OCD just flitting about while I'm supposed to be
focusing on other things? So like, I really appreciate you
saying that kind of stuff. And I, I really wish that there
was more mental health training with medical professionals
(16:34):
because you're always just kind of like, OK, so great.
I have to educate you on my physical health conditions and
be like, oh, you don't know whatEDS is.
Cool. Let me educate you real quick.
And then on top of that, be like, OK, so I am struggling
with depression. However, you would too if your
body hurt all the time. Exactly.
Yeah, and you know, with the medical gaslighting too, again,
(16:58):
women, gender non conforming individuals far more likely to
have that medical gaslighting. Research shows us that men are
far more likely to have their pain taken seriously and get
treatment quicker. And so it's very frustrating
when we go into professionals often having to wait months and
months to even get in with a specialist only to be teased or
minimized or whatever else. You know, I could tell story
(17:21):
after story of times where typically male doctors would try
to tell me there was nothing wrong with me.
I had one recently that I came in and he said, yeah, I'm not
really worried about your symptoms 'cause you're young and
healthy. And I said, did you read my
chart? And so he looked at my chart and
then he was like, oh, OK. And then he took me seriously.
(17:42):
You know, I had another time where I went in and literally
couldn't move my neck. And the doctor was like,
sweetie, you just pulled a muscle.
Take some ibuprofen. You'll be fine.
And I had pinched nerves and damaged discs all down my spine.
So just things like that where you have to sort of force
someone to take you seriously, which if you're coming in for
(18:03):
medical treatment, that should not be the case.
But it happens over and over andover again.
And so I say the same thing for physical health providers, but
also mental health. It's OK to fire your provider if
someone is not taking you seriously.
If you're not clicking well, it's OK to find somebody else
(18:23):
therapist especially too. I've had gaslighting you in from
other therapists and so I told clients it's kind of like dating
and it's OK if you just don't click with somebody.
Doesn't necessarily mean they'rea bad therapist or that you're a
bad client. It just means you're not good
together and that's OK. Yeah, wow, yes, I I love the
(18:43):
advice that you can fire your doctors, your therapist, like,
and I really love that analogy of it is kind of like dating.
What is it like swipe left, swipe right, OK, Like if it
doesn't fit, it doesn't fit, it's fine.
Just like deal with it, OK. Also, I the story that you
shared about how you, you know, they said like you're just young
(19:08):
and healthy and you're like, didyou look like, did you look more
than 5 seconds? And they go, oh, shoot, my bad.
I feel like first of all, super relatable.
That happens to everyone all thetime.
They're like, Oh no, you're fine, you're young.
And I'm like, dude, well, I justrealized this is a audio podcast
and I just rolled my eyes. So that was really silly, but
(19:29):
that's what I did the. Eye roll.
We can hear the eye roll. You know, I really hope you can
hear the sarcasm of my voice, you know, but one of the things
that I've learned from the chronic illness community and
like, I'd love to hear your tipsand tricks for stuff like this.
But he's asking for stuff like adifferential diagnosis or like
asking them to document it in your chart.
Because it's like, yes, in the moment, it's scary as cuss to
(19:52):
sit there and be like, they already think that I'm faking.
They already think I'm being melodramatic because I'm a girl
and having to be like, OK, well,like, is there like a
differential diagnosis or like, can you note in your chart that
you. Just think that this is like a
bruise or like a tweaked muscle.And it's like, yeah, they think
(20:12):
that you're being difficult, butat the same time, you end up
with situations like yours whereit's like, yeah, they told me
that it was something really minor when in fact it was not.
Yeah. And that's where, again, I think
it's always OK to get a different opinion or a second
opinion. But like you said, even with
that same doctor, can you document it?
Can you check? Can you do an extra test?
(20:35):
One thing I do discourage is coming in diagnosing yourself.
I tell clients your symptoms arealways valid, but sometimes it's
not what you think it is. And so I kind of get the analogy
of like if I go to the doctor and I have, you know, a cough,
sore throat, upset stomach, fever, that could be a cold,
(20:56):
that could be the flu, that could be COVID, that could be a
million different things. So those symptoms need treated.
But if I go in and tell them it's COVID, when it's the flu,
the treatment's going to be verydifferent and I might not get
the help that I need. Same thing with neurodivergence
in general. There's so much symptom overlap
and sometimes there are multiplediagnosis.
(21:18):
But I score really high on screeners for autism because of
my OCDI don't believe that I have autism, but my OCD is off
the charts. And so sometimes it's not so
much about the specific label, but it's about how are we
treating these symptoms and how do we know that we're treating
them the right way. So being open to a different
(21:39):
label, but making sure someone is taking your symptoms
seriously, regardless of what we're calling it.
Stabs for that. That was great.
That was amazing, yeah. And and again with the
gaslighting, like I said, story after story, but I had one
situation where I went to the ERand I literally thought I was
dying. I was having heart episode, you
(22:03):
know, extreme like difficulty with breathing, tons of pain and
I thought I was having a heart attack because I knew I was
already I already had a heart condition.
And so when I went into the ER, they just did not take me
seriously at all. I tried to tell her that I had a
heart condition and she said I don't see how that's relevant,
which to me is like. Yeah, it's relevant.
(22:24):
Symptoms. Heart condition?
Probably something you should know.
And they basically just said I was having like acid reflux and
sent me home and told me to taketums and I ended up needing 2
emergency surgeries to have my gallbladder removed because I
had so many stones they had fallen out and we're blocking
other things internally. So again, like make sure your
(22:46):
symptoms are taken seriously andif your pain feels worse than
what they're telling you, get a second opinion.
That could have been devastatingif I hadn't gone to a different
hospital and gotten that second opinion.
Yeah, yeah, I do really love that you said your symptoms are
always valid, but it may not be what you think.
But you're right, 'cause that does totally go hand in hand
(23:08):
with like, go get a second opinion.
Like there is always an option. And like, yes, financially and
like medically and like insurance, like all that stuff,
It's always kind of hard to be like, I need to go get a second
opinion. But there's always options of
like you can like look online, there's like low cost clinics
near you or like Zocdoc or something like that.
(23:30):
Like we live in the 20th century, 21st century, 21st
century. So like you can always be like,
hey, I think something's up. And I mean, the nice part at
least, which maybe actually thisis kind of contradicting what
you said, but like with the chronic illness community, you
can hear other people's experiences and be like, oh,
like, I really relate to that and not being like, oh, I have
(23:52):
that, but being like, hey, let me go ask my doctor.
My friend has EDS and I have allof the same symptoms.
And I would really love to test for that.
Yeah, and, and I definitely don't mind.
You know, I think there's a difference with coming in and
saying, here's the symptoms thatI have, here's the evidence for
that. Can you confirm or deny and
(24:12):
being open to that versus peoplecoming in and saying I have this
because I watched TikTok or, youknow, because like you said, you
might have the exact same symptoms and similar
experiences, but it could be caused by something different or
it could be exactly the same. And I do think it's good that we
have that research, research outthere.
It's kind of a double edged sword where there's so much
(24:35):
information, but also so much misinformation.
And so having a professional that you trust that can sort of
analyze that and untangle it foryou is super helpful.
But I also know, like I said, there's lots of providers who
don't do that or who won't take things seriously.
And so like you said, as far as you're able by means and
(24:56):
finances and time, getting that second opinion and and finding
someone you trust is, is a majorhelp.
Right. And finding someone who can be
on your side, like finding an advocate, whether that's like a
therapist, which is always awesome, like having a
healthcare team including your therapist is great.
But yeah, also just having like a good friend or like your mom
(25:19):
for God's sakes, like take him to your appointment and be like,
hey, can you like validate my symptoms right here in front of
this medical professional? And it's like, stuff like that
is so important. So like the things that that
you're doing, I like, I commend you.
It's so cool that you are a mental health professional and
(25:40):
you are able to give like give clients an experience that's
like positive because you get it.
Yeah, and I know that's not always necessary, but I think
when somebody knows you have a personal connection to the work
you do, it makes them take a little bit more respect from the
the get go rather than having tolike wait and see.
(26:01):
You had mentioned having someonein your appointments to validate
your symptoms and I think that can be super helpful.
Another thing that I always recommend for clients is
document your symptoms. Now with OCD and related
disorders that can get to an extreme, but I think it's really
helpful to have it an app or a tracker or something that you
(26:21):
can use when you are having flare ups to see if there are
patterns. The app that I use is called
Dalio. It's DAYLIO and there's a free
version and a paid 1, but I justuse the free version.
Where it's been really helpful for me lately is it tracks your
moods, but it also has a place at the bottom where you can
write a note. And so like I mentioned, I had a
(26:43):
hysterectomy when I was 26. I'm 34 now.
And so I haven't had a cycle in probably a decade with all the
treatments that I had before thehysterectomy.
So now I'm having pelvic pain again, having struggles with,
you know, about a week, a month,I'll have mental health symptoms
(27:04):
just feel really down. And so I started charting it and
figured out it is the same week every single month, so it's
likely hormone related and I canbring that information to my
doctor and show because it's charted in the app, these are
the days I'm having the symptomsand pain.
This is how often it happens andfor how long.
(27:26):
This is your friendly reminder that you are listening to this
for free, learning about chronicillness, mental health, and
other important topics for free.But this does cost time and
money to make, and you could be getting a lot more.
Click the Patreon link in the description to get access to
video episodes, free merch, and bonus interviews where we may
(27:50):
talk about things that have to be cut from the main apps.
And did I mention that there's no ads?
Not only do you get these very cool things, but you can also
support the pod because like I said, you're listening for free.
Give me a dollar and I will giveyou lots of cool stuff in
return. That's my pitch anyway.
(28:21):
Wow, yeah. Super helpful.
Yeah, I mean, symptom trackers are like such a godsend and
like, we do really live in a time where, like, God bless, we
don't have to write this all down in a notebook and figure it
out ourselves, but OK, So you said you use daily.
O yeah, I've used quite a few. I think I'm on, I'm using Guava
(28:41):
right now, which I know a lot ofpeople use, but like I think I
literally used one called Chart.My pain.
I was like, wow, really hitting the nail on the head there.
OK, yes, I love that. Yeah, symptom tracking is so
important to like, validate yourself and be able to be like,
(29:02):
Oh my gosh, yes, it's actually happening.
I'm not crazy. But then also being able to
like, print it out, be like, hello, doctor friend.
Yeah, I'm not crazy. Yeah.
I don't know if you've had anyone cover this too, but have
you ever talked about the medical ID on iPhones before?
I know about it, but no, I don'tthink I've had anyone talk about
it. Please.
So I use the medical ID feature on the iPhone and why I like it
(29:26):
is because when your phone is locked, there's a little button.
Most people have probably noticed it where if you touch
the screen, it says emergency atthe bottom and it lets you call
911. But you can also touch that
button and it opens your Med ID.And so for me, there was one
time where I had a heart episodeand it was impacting my speech.
And so I couldn't tell the doctor or the EMT that arrived.
(29:51):
These are my symptoms. This is what I have.
But I just touched the screen, touched the Med ID and handed it
to him and he was able to see mymedical and surgical history, my
meds, all those things. Some EMTs are trained to look
for that, others aren't. But it's a nice thing too.
If you were ever, you know, incapacitated or passed out,
(30:13):
they're able to access that information and get your, your
history and your emergency contacts through that little Med
ID. Wow.
I mean sorry I'm like strugglingnot to fully try to open my
phone right now and see what howupdated mine is.
Wow, I forgot that that was evena thing because yes, you're
(30:33):
absolutely right. Like I know that like the Apple
health app and things like that,like you can put in your
information, but wow, what a good reminder.
This has been such a helpful episode and I'm not even I'm not
even listening to it. I'm just like in it right now.
Thank you. That was such a good tidbit of
information. I feel like this is such like a
good tool kit kind of episode, you know?
(30:57):
Yeah, yeah. I think for mental health as
well, if I can do a little pitch, but I am trained in EMDR
and ERP, and so those are some of the leading treatments for
trauma and for OCDI would recommend.
Especially I think for people who don't like talking about
(31:19):
their issues, EMDR can be super beneficial because you can share
as much as you want or you don'thave to share much at all.
And your brain still processes things.
And so one of the things that's really cool with and kind of
bad, I guess about trauma is that it can impact your brain at
a neurological level. And so it changes things even
physically when we go through trauma.
(31:40):
And that's why it's so hard to break out of it.
It's kind of like if you're walking down the same path over
and over, that path gets worn down and it's easy to take, but
when you try to take a differentpath, it's going to be much
harder. And so with EMDR, it's able to
help you rewire those neurological connections so that
it permanently changes them and helps you heal from that trauma
(32:02):
in a physical and permanent way.So like I said, you don't have
to talk a lot in it. I think some people are hesitant
to go to therapy because they don't want to talk about what
they've been through, but you can share so that people who do
want to verbally process, you'reable to do that.
And so I think EMDR is a great choice for people who have been
through really difficult things and aren't sure where to go
(32:23):
next. OK, yeah, I think that's, that's
a really good point to make because you're right, therapy, I
think for a lot of people, but specifically for older
generations, I know that that's like kind of hard 'cause they
just, yeah, they're like, well, I'm not like crazy or like, I'm
not, I'm not like that bad mentally.
(32:43):
And you're like, yeah, it's, it's hard sometimes to talk
about stuff that you've gone through, but you're right,
there's absolutely other other options.
There's also tons of different types of therapy.
Like, you know, that like there are people who do more like
cognitive behavioral therapy. There's people who are more
like, they incorporate more likesomatic stuff, so.
Yeah, and EMDR does a little bitof most of those things, which I
(33:07):
I really enjoy about it. But it goes back to what we were
discussing earlier with your symptoms are always valid.
I say the same thing with your emotions are always valid.
You might not be responding to them in a logical way or even in
a healthy way, but the emotion is valid.
And so kind of what you were saying, there's a lot of people
who will say, well, I don't wantto go get therapy because so
(33:29):
many people have it so much worse or it's not super severe,
but anyone can benefit from therapy.
It's just showing up. So I think it's worth it.
And if it's important to you, ifyour feelings are important, if
your experiences are are important to you, it matters.
Yeah, agree CC that. Well, Sydney, I really
(33:51):
appreciate you kind of talking through this with me because
like not only do I feel like I know you a little bit better,
like I feel like I've learned from your experience, but also
like I feel like a lot of tools and like tips and tricks have
been mentioned in this episode. And I'm so excited to put it out
because I have a feeling people are going to be like, wow, like,
let me just this is one of thoseepisodes you like, want to write
(34:13):
it down? You know, like while you're
going through, you're like, oh, OK, so EMDR and then ask my
doctor to document second opinion.
Got it. OK.
So thank you. Yeah, of.
Course thanks for having me. I'm glad it's been helpful for.
You, I mean, I hope it's helpfulfor other people, but like fully
if it's just helpful for me, I'mliving my dream well.
(34:34):
For the listeners who maybe enjoyed hearing your story and
maybe related to it at all, is there a place that they can
connect with you? Are you on social media?
Yeah, so my therapy Instagram page is your cozy counselor.
So like I said, I love all the cozy things.
So I try to incorporate mental health tips, but also just cozy
(34:54):
vibes on my Instagram. And then if you search on
Psychology Today for Sydney Pruitt, I'm licensed in
Oklahoma, Missouri, New Jersey and Utah.
And so I can see clients who arein any of those areas.
Wow, yes, we love a therapy plug.
OK, spoonies, in any of those states, you have found a great
(35:14):
person. Great.
OK, well, Sydney, thank you for being on the podcast listener.
That is all we have for you today.
Otherwise, I'm Clark, this is Sydney and this is Ben.
Chronically the sickest podcast you know.
(35:37):
That's all folks. Thank you so much for listening.
If you liked this episode, clickthat follow up button on your
podcast app of choice to get notified every other week.
You can find the podcast on Instagram and TikTok at
Chronically the Sickest Podcast.Let me know if you have any
questions or just want to chat. I love hearing from y'all.
Until next time, I'm Clark, and this has been Chronically the
(36:00):
Sickest podcast you know. Disclaimer, this is a
conversational podcast and whilewe make sure our diagnosis
journey, symptoms and treatment plan, this is not medical
advice. If you have any questions
regarding your health, please reach out to your doctor and
have a great day.
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