Glass Half Full With Leslie Krongold, Ed.d.

How is the threat of Covid-19 (coronavirus) impacting your life? Beyond fierce hand washing, are you changing how you relate to others? Is social distancing keeping you indoors? Are you second-guessing where you go, what you do, and with whom you spend time? You're not alone. People with chronic illness and/or compromised immune systems need to be vigilant as well as mindful. For a few practical tips, listen to this podcast episode as well as the earlier episode, The Flu is Not for You. Here's a recipe to create your own hand sanitizer. And if you're ready for a little levity, check out this reoccurring segment on The Daily Show.

Being diagnosed with a chronic, debilitating disease can certainly bring stress to one's life. In fact, that stress can be significant enough to be called trauma. How one handles this stress varies. Some people have amazing coping capacity and are hard-wired for resilience while others have more difficulty. None of it is easy. How one handles this stress varies. Some people have amazing coping capacity and are hard-wired for resilience while others have more difficulty. None of it is easy. Mary Holt, a Registered Nurse with a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology, shares her journey of loss and recovery and the profound impact a mindfulness meditation practice has had on her life and work. She brings this practice to the clinics where she helps patients and their families with neuromuscular and Parkinson's disease.

What is a Patient Advocate? A patient advocate can be an actual patient with a mental and/or physical health condition, a caregiver for someone with a health condition, or a paid professional advocating on behalf of others with a health condition. Andrea L. Klein, of Cleveland, Tennessee, has collagen six intermediate congenital muscular dystrophy. She started a Facebook group, Breathe with MD Support Group, for people with a neuromuscular disease who struggle with respiratory health. Recently, she established a nonprofit organization with the same name. Melissa Talwar, of Pasadena, California, has struggled with fibromyalgia since she was 14 years old. Her experiences with different medications and their alarming side effects catapulted her into focused research on the condition and potential treatments. After volunteering with a patient advocacy organization, and  traveling around the U.S. to meet others with fibromyalgia, Melissa also established a nonprofit organization.

Registered Nurse and proud septuagenarian, Barbara Blaser, was the guest speaker at my Northern California myotonic dystrophy support group. With her healthcare background and deep knowledge of medicinal herbs, she spoke about the use of herbal tinctures, edibles, and lotions to help relieve muscle pain, anxiety, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems, and more. Barbara's nursing career was predominantly in the mental health field. But at some point in her 60s she had an esophagectomy and due to complications, she developed septicemia. She turned to natural herbal healing to help her pain, anxiety, and GI problems. Handouts that Barbara provided at the support group meeting are culled from this website.

In 2018, a research study found that at least 36% of Americans were sleeping less than seven hours each night. Inadequate sleep can lead to a number of physical and/or emotional conditions. Some common sleep disorders include insomnia, restless leg syndrome, central or obstructive sleep apnea, and sleepwalking. Have you perfected your sleep hygiene behaviors to achieve optimal rest and sleep each night? If not, perhaps you'll want to hear what sleep specialist, Dr. Catherine Darley, has to say. In addition to Dr. Darley's advice, as well as the sleep hygiene tips I offer at the end of this podcast episode, check out this blog post on Brain & Life's website.

Two friends from grade school share their stories of a diagnosis of a neurological condition. Marc has Multiple Sclerosis and Steve has Parkinson's disease. I have a form of muscular dystrophy called myotonic dystrophy. It's purely coincidental we all went to the same synagogue; there is no correlation between being Jewish and having a neurological condition. Both Marc and Steve maintain positive attitudes. Marc has educated himself thoroughly about MS. Steve has tried different exercise programs customized for people with Parkinson's and now facilitates a support group.

A family physician talks about ways to avoid the flu, and enhance your immunity, during this peak season for influenza. Plus, you might learn some flu factoids for your next flu trivia contest. Stay on top of flu statistics by following the weekly FluView on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. If you provide care for someone with a chronic health condition or an elderly family member, you might want to glean additional flu information from this online article. For the Attitude of Gratitude Give-Aways through December 19th, check the Facebook group for details.

End-of-life planning is a huge topic. In previous podcast episodes we've covered the donation of body tissue for scientific research and attending a life transitions retreat. With three fascinating guests you'll learn about an annual symposium which brings together healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers and others all "committed to generating human-centered, interdisciplinary innovation for the end of life experience," a yoga therapist who trains others to care for the dying with bedside yoga, and a death doula. Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, founder of End Well, speaks about her motivation and the need for the annual event. Molly Lannon Kenny shares how a Life After Loss program evolved into Bedside Yoga. Sarah Miller talks about becoming an end-of-life doula and her work at AARP. For more information about the death wellness movement, check out my article on Spirituality & Health magazine's website.

Dianna Rowley, diagnosed with diabetes type 1, was a professional dancer. Although she had health issues in her childhood she wasn't diagnosed until her early 20s when she experienced a major health crisis. Her journey to wellness and life balance includes a lot of exercise and movement with setbacks and successes along the way. Today she is a Health & Fitness Coach inspiring others with disabilities and chronic health conditions. Heather Brock was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 nearly three years ago. An endocrinologist put her on medication which caused an adverse reaction. Determined to find a better way to manage the condition, Heather began reading books about reversing diabetes. Inspired by physicians like Dean Ornish, Michael Greger, and Joel Fuhrman, Heather adopted a plant-based diet and reversed the disease. She highly recommends Mastering Diabetes and Chef AJ.

Practicing Pilates can be done on a mat or with any number of devices such as the Reformer. Shannon Knorr, a yoga and Pilates instructor, talks about therapeutic Pilates to help with body alignment, pain relief, and more. Julia Carver, a Pilates and Movement Therapist, works with veterans who have experienced PTSD and other trauma to help them with neural reconnection. For people with muscle weakening conditions, like muscular dystrophy, Pilates can help strengthen core muscles.

Imagine if your physician not only understood your invisible chronic illness but also had experience healing her own autoimmune conditions. That physician could be Cynthia Li. Dr. Cynthia Li talks about her book, , and answers my questions covering everything from autoimmune illness, functional vs. integrative medicine, the writing process, to the role intuition played in her healing process and now plays a role in her medical practice. Dr. Li mentions the organization, HeartMath Institute, in this episode.

What is prayer and how do we do it? How does prayer differ from meditation? How can prayer impact healing? These are a few of the questions addressed by three podcast guests. The Jewish perspective of prayer from a rabbi who has faced cancer and chronic pain. The Christian perspective of prayer from a Baptist pastor whose late wife battled autoimmune disease and young son is in remission from cancer. And the perspective of a yoga therapist who has studied Christian mysticism. To learn more about the Unity World Day of Prayer (September 12), visit their website. Guests featured in this podcast episode are Molly Lannon Kenny, Rabbi Robin Leonard Nafshi, and Pastor Jay Holland. An earlier podcast episode is with Dr. Lamar Hardwick - The Autism Pastor.

Approximately 20% of Americans have hearing loss. This can be a result of any multitude of situations -- a symptom of a health condition, tinnitus, viral infection, acoustic trauma, or side effect from a medication. Dr. Lilach Saperstein, an audiologist with her own podcast, discusses issues related to the outer, middle, and inner ear. Learn how to best protect your hearing as well as communication strategies to use when there is hearing loss. This podcast episode -- as well as future and all previous episodes -- will be available with captions at the Glass Half Full YouTube channel.

Four women with different physical abilities talk about what fashion means to them and how they deal with fashion challenges. Cheryl and Lainie both have Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT) and wear AFO leg braces. Lainie explores fashion hacks and DIY solutions in her blog, Trend-Able. Keisha has Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, studied fashion, and launched her company, Girls Chronically Rock. Kirsten Passmore has Cerebral Palsy and has been enjoying CosPlay for the past five years. Learn more about her organization, CosAbility, and see which conventions they'll attend by liking their Facebook page.

If you have a physical or mental health condition that has altered the way you look or behave, it may scare people. Have you had friends or family members change how they interact with you or perhaps distance themselves? A recent incident with an old friend got me thinking about this topic. In the Glass Half Full Facebook group some have shared their stories. I invite you to share your experiences either in Facebook or in the podcast notes on the Glass Half Full website.

Any style of yoga can be made accessible and provide healing for someone with a physical challenge, someone experiencing anxiety and/or depression, or someone with a larger body. Three yoga teachers - skilled in making yoga more accessible - share their stories. Rose Kress, of LifeForce Yoga, experienced relief from years of anxiety and chronic pain when she began a yoga practice. Her teachings focus on mood management incorporating both yoga nidra and the use of mudras, or hand gestures. Erica Chaney, of Big Bliss Yoga, began her yoga journey in a restorative class where she felt like she learned to breathe more deeply. Today Erica's teaching focuses on making yoga more accessible to people with larger bodies. Clarissa Hidalgo was first introduced to yoga by a fellow patient at a Multiple Sclerosis clinic at UCSF. Now Clarissa primarily works with private clients with a range of health conditions, i.e. fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, cerebral palsy, as well as MS. To learn more a

Vocal problems can occur for people with all types of conditions -- Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy, stroke. Acute laryngitis is very common while chronic laryngitis affects over 20% of the population. Christine received a diagnosis of spasmodic dysphonia and now experiences some relief with botox shots. Hanna, who has SMA type 1, uses assistive technology to help her communicate. Check out her website to watch a video demonstrating how she uses the technology.

We've got Jill Nussinow, R.D., The Veggie Queen, sharing tips about nutritious and medicinal mushrooms as well as Adam Strauss, creator of The Mushroom Cure, talking about his years of treating anxiety and OCD which led to his discovery of psilocybin's therapeutic powers. To dig deeper into the awe-inspiring mushroom world, check out weekly online articles at Spirituality & Health.

Just a few things to mention. It's your time to catch up on missed episodes while I'm away. Check the website for links to The heat is on: how weather affects our health and Accessible Yoga. For more tips on how to beat the heat, visit the Brain & Life website. Don't forget to sign up for the email newsletter and subscribe to the YouTube channel.

In this third of a series podcast episode, Valerie Sans shares how her cancer experience had a dramatic impact on her life. After surgery and chemo treatment, she left a career of teaching to co-found a travel company, French Escapade, and explored alternative healing modalities including the Budwig Protocol, homeopathy, immunotherapy, Beljanski Protocol, acupuncture, Papimi, and a more plant-based diet. For those of you unfamiliar with sophrology -- which includes me -- here's an introduction. Valerie talks about meeting with a sophrologist as routine in the French healthcare system.