Flare-ups in chronic illness can reopen feelings of grief. Clinical psychologist Dr Antonia Repollet shares her journey with Crohn's disease and how it informs the way she helps patients navigate the emotional challenges of long-term health conditions. Learn ways to maintain your identity despite symptoms, how to come back from comments like "you don't look sick," and how a GI psychologist can be an ally in managing life with a relapsing-remitting condition.
Key chapters and timestamps:
[00:00] - Introduction: Meet Dr Antonia Repollet, GI psychologist
[02:18] - Navigating Crohn's, bullying, and school without accommodations
[05:28] - Bridging mind, body, and lived experience to land in GI psychology
[07:25] - When and why Dr Repollet discloses her health journey to patients
[11:19] - The 7 Stages of Chronic Illness Grief and why the cycles aren't setbacks
[14:46] – Coping with invisible illness stigma and responding to "you don't look sick"
[19:31] - Reclaiming identity and purpose outside of managing a chronic illness
[21:23] - Rejecting the dichotomy of toxic positivity and worst-case scenarios
[25:48] – How evidence-based tools such as CBT, gut-directed hypnotherapy, and support groups can help patients cope
[29:35] – Closing on how pets, such as cats like Pearl, Bubba Bear, Loki, and Freya, are important allies in managing hard days
What you'll learn:
Why new anger or sadness during an active flare isn't an emotional setback.
How the 7 Stages of Chronic Illness Grief can help process complex issues.
Ideas about responding to remarks like "You're too young to be this sick."
Steps to reconnect with your values and passions despite managing chronic illness.
Why performative wellness sparks burnout and how vulnerability creates true connection.
How GI-tailored mental health modalities address the biological gut-brain axis.
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