Make Visible: Complex Chronic Illness Explored #21 Living life with energy-limiting conditions - Personal wins & perspective, with Gez Medinger & Emily Kate Stephens
In a change to our usual format, this week Emily Kate Stephens sits down with fellow journalist, podcaster and chronic illness sufferer, Gez Medinger to explore their personal anecdotes and discuss the strategies that have made a difference in the trajectory of their health.
Between them, over the last five years of their illnesses, they have interviewed hundreds of experts to unravel the science and medical advancements in Long Covid and other energy-limiting conditions. In this episode they discuss, reflect on and explore the ways in which they have applied all that they have learned to shape the course of their respective progress.
In this, very personal, discussion they veer away from some of the hard science, despite their remarkable shared knowledge, and reveal how many of the softer, more holistic approaches to healing have made the biggest differences, not only in their journeys towards recovery, but in their outlooks on life.
From fasting to finding acceptance, from psilocybin to breathwork, their discussions reveal that it does not seem to be drugs or medical intervention that has made the difference, rather nervous system regulation, simple grounding healthy habits, a slower pace and compassion that have really proved key tools. Perhaps this is because medicine really does not yet have the answers, but this conversation gives hope that, despite this, there are techniques and practices that can contribute to an improvement in quality of life for those suffering from these illnesses.
Gez Medinger is a science journalist and former filmmaker, author of The Long Covid Handbook and host of his own YouTube channel - Gez Medinger.
Emily Kate Stephens is a broadcast journalist who now focuses on health and medical journalism, and hosts Make Visible every two weeks. She is a TV producer and qualified breathwork practitioner.
Both have had Long Covid since 13th March 2020.