Episode 67 You Are Not Your Pain | How To Validate Yourself Without Creating An Identity Around Chronic Pain: Interview With Destiny Winters

Jun 15, 2022

Can a mind-body approach to therapy help heal chronic pain and illness? Can building healthier relationships ease chronic pain?

MEET Destiny Winters

Destiny is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Clinician Rehabilitation Counselor in Atlanta, GA. She specializes in helping people with chronic illnesses find joy and meaning in their lives despite daily, persistent physical and emotional pain.

Destiny practices through the lens of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Feminist Theory, and social justice to help clients learn to advocate for themselves in a system that has largely left them out. Self-care and compassion are at the heart of her work because without them, we cannot do the hard work required to make big changes in this world.

 

Find out more at The Chronic Illness Therapist and connect with Destiny on Instagram

IN THIS PODCAST:

  • How does chronic pain affect our relationships? 1:48
  • Connecting with others to help with our self-care 6:28
  • Validating your chronic pain or illness 16:17
  • Self-compassion and chronic pain 28:42

How Does Chronic Pain Affect Our Relationships?

  • Different ways that chronic pain shows itself
  • How to educate your partner on chronic pain 
  • Why do we create such a strong identity around chronic illness?

Connecting With Others To Help With Our Self-Care

  • Understanding the effort it takes to create routines and self-care regimens
  • Creating sustainable habits by relying on others more
  • Balancing our needs and others’ needs
  • Moving towards community and connection

Validating Your Chronic Pain Or Illness

  • Learning to just observe our pain
  • Changing our mindset on what pain really is
  • Techniques to accurately assess and manage your pain

Self-Compassion And Chronic Pain

  • Understanding how society looks at chronic pain and illness
  • Finding your self-worth and engaging with what you are good at

 

Connect With Me

Instagram @holisticcounselingpodcast

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Resources Mentioned And Useful Links:

-Find out more about Destiny on The Chronic Illness Therapist and connect with Destiny on Instagram and her podcast

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Self-Care for the Counselor - a holistic guide for helping professionals by Christine McDonald , MS,NCC,LPCS