I love feeling seen and heard in my journey with chronic illness. Feeling cruddy all the time is hard enough without feeling alone in it. That is why I get excited when I find a book, movie, or podcast that helps strengthen my sense of community.
“Spooning with Spoonies” is by far the best podcast about chronic illness that I’ve found as of yet. Noa Porten creates a safe yet hilariously relatable atmosphere to discuss how to have a relationship (or at least have fun dating) while you feel cruddy.
As a young person with chronic illness, Noa is the perfect person to explore how our annoyingly sick bodies often get in the way of our need for relationships. She addresses how to tell a fling you are chronically ill, how to maintain a healthy marriage while making your health a priority, and how to enjoy laughing at yourself (because let’s be honest, you’ve gotta laugh).
Her willingness to discuss the intricacies of maintaining wellness while exuding a bubbly sense of humor is refreshing. Her guests are diverse in their health challenges (UC, Lyme, etc), but are consistent in their openness. I laughed when Natalie Kelley discussed navigating the overnight bag situation without scaring away your date; I cried when Tina Omprakash talked about family members’ requests for her husband to initiate a divorce; I felt extremely seen when Jake Mayers owned up to his self-judgment when it came to achievement and productivity.
Overall, I recommend this podcast for anyone chronically ill, anyone in a relationship with a spoonie, and anyone who just wants to try to understand what we go through.
Check out the podcast “Spooning with Spoonies”, as well as their social media pages below.
Chronically Clever 