The SpoonFull Show- A Chronic Illness Podcast by SpoonFull of Strength
The SpoonFull Show- A Chronic Illness Podcast by SpoonFull of Strength

The SpoonFull Show- A Chronic Illness Podcast by SpoonFull of Strength

Rachel

Overview
Episodes

Details

The SpoonFull Show (formerly SpoonFull of Strength) is hosted by Rachel, who has lived with Multiple Sclerosis for 10 years and Type 1 Diabetes for more than 25. Each episode blends heartfelt Spoonie conversations with insightful expert interviews, exploring what it really means to live with chronic illness. From the struggles of diagnosis and the mental load of daily symptoms, to the victories of advocacy, resilience, and finding joy, this podcast offers community, encouragement, and the reminder that even a spoonful of strength can carry you through.

Recent Episodes

Healing Together: Navigating Illness as a Family
DEC 17, 2025
Healing Together: Navigating Illness as a Family
Living with chronic or mental illness can feel incredibly isolating — but the truth is, illness doesn’t just affect the person diagnosed. It impacts families, relationships, and the people who love us, often in ways no one is prepared for.In this episode, Rachel is joined by Michelle Sherman, licensed clinical psychologist and expert in family systems and mental illness, for an honest and compassionate conversation about the shared experience of illness. Together, they explore what it’s like to live with mental illness while also navigating the emotional responses, misunderstandings, and challenges that arise within families.This conversation bridges both perspectives — the person living with illness and the loved ones trying to support them — offering insight, validation, and practical tools for better communication, healthier boundaries, and deeper empathy on all sides.Whether you’re managing illness yourself or struggling to feel understood by the people closest to you, this episode is a reminder that healing doesn’t have to happen alone.In this episode, we discuss:Why illness creates emotional ripple effects within familiesWhat to do when loved ones don’t understand or believe your illnessHow guilt, frustration, and grief show up on both sidesSetting boundaries while maintaining connectionFinding compassion — for others and for yourselfThis episode is for anyone navigating the complicated space between loving someone and being the one who needs love.Follow Michelle at https://www.instagram.com/michelle_sherm/Her website: https://www.seedsofhopebooks.com/You can find her books and great resources for families.Follow SpoonFull of Strength at:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/spoonfullofstrength/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@spoonfull.of.strength⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop SpoonFull's Etsy shop at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SpoonFullofStrength.etsy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use code PODCAST for 25% off your entire order
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40 MIN
The Body Remembers: Chronic Illness, Disordered Eating, Medical PTSD, and Healing
DEC 10, 2025
The Body Remembers: Chronic Illness, Disordered Eating, Medical PTSD, and Healing
In this episode, Rachel sits down with therapist, educator, and author Tammy Gangloff, whose work bridges chronic illness, trauma, eating disorders, and lived experience. Tammy shares her personal story of growing up with scoliosis, undergoing multiple spine surgeries, and navigating years of recovery from an eating disorder, alcoholism, and PTSD.What began as a simple survey on social media became meaningful research, professional training presentations, and ultimately her new book—highlighting the mental and emotional layers of chronic illness that are so often overlooked.Their conversation explores the turning points in Tammy’s mental health journey, including her decision to seek inpatient treatment when PTSD became unmanageable. She opens up about the role of talk therapy, EMDR, safe relationships, and the rare but life-changing impact of seeing someone fully recovered.Together, they unpack the struggle between independence and needing help, redefining interdependence as a healthy, human way of surviving the unpredictable reality of chronic illness.Tammy also shares vital insight into medical PTSD—why it’s so common, why it’s so misunderstood, and what she wishes doctors and medical professionals knew about the patients who walk into their rooms already carrying fear, exhaustion, and past trauma.A powerful, validating conversation for anyone living with chronic illness, supporting someone who is, or working in healthcare.Follow Tamie on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/authortamiegangloff/Find Tamie's book, Chronic Illness and Eating Disorders: Assessment, Clinical Skills, and Lived Experiences, here:https://a.co/d/0wV7XCaFollow SpoonFull of Strength at:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/spoonfullofstrength/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@spoonfull.of.strength⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop SpoonFull's Etsy shop at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SpoonFullofStrength.etsy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use code PODCAST for 25% off your entire order
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40 MIN
Hormonal Health & Chronic Illness: What Women Need to Know
DEC 3, 2025
Hormonal Health & Chronic Illness: What Women Need to Know
In this episode of The SpoonFull Show, Rachel is joined by Melissa, a registered nurse with over three decades of experience in women’s health and autoimmune conditions. Together, they dive into the often-overlooked relationship between hormones and chronic illness — how stress, cortisol, thyroid function, and even basic nutrient absorption can shift the way Spoonies feel day to day. Melissa breaks down why hormones are the body’s chemical messengers, why they matter long before menopause, and how issues like insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction, and cortisol dysregulation can hide behind chronic symptoms. She also opens up about her own journey with Hashimoto’s, the importance of comprehensive testing, and why understanding your “baseline” numbers can be a game changer for long-term health. The conversation also touches on perimenopause in younger women, the role of nutrition, and the power of having a supportive community — including Melissa’s own Menopause Skool platform.  It’s a wonderful Facebook-like community for women to learn and support each other. All ages are welcome. It’s an empowering, eye-opening discussion designed to help Spoonies advocate for themselves and better understand what their bodies are trying to say.Enroll in Melissa’s Skool here ( It’s a wonderful Facebook-like community for women to learn and support each other. All ages are welcome.)https://www.skool.com/navigating-through-your-pause/aboutFollow Melissa on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/melissa_thyroid_rn/Follow SpoonFull of Strength at:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/spoonfullofstrength/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@spoonfull.of.strength⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop SpoonFull's Etsy shop at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SpoonFullofStrength.etsy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use code PODCAST for 25% off your entire order
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48 MIN
Fighting Fatigue: Uncovering the 5 Root Causes
NOV 26, 2025
Fighting Fatigue: Uncovering the 5 Root Causes
In this powerful episode of SpoonFull of Strength, Rachel sits down with Dr. Jenny Tufenkian, a naturopathic physician with decades of experience treating complex chronic illness, and someone who has personally survived multiple severe crashes of ME/CFS, long COVID, and hormone-triggered fatigue.Dr. Jenny opens up about her early health struggles, a devastating medical-school crash that left her bedridden for months, the emotional and spiritual breakdown that followed, and the remarkable healing that came from subconscious work, hypnotherapy, and rebuilding her body from the inside out. She also explains what happened when she relapsed years later during perimenopause, and again after COVID, and how those experiences shaped the work she does today.Together, we explore:• The 5 core energy drainers (root causes of chronic fatigue)• How stress and the hormone triangle (adrenals, thyroid, ovaries/testes) create the “gateway” to chronic illness• Why viral reactivation happens (EBV, parvovirus, and more) — especially after stress or infection• The role of the gut, mitochondria, toxins, and immune dysregulation• What long COVID teaches us about ME/CFS• The unexpected power of subconscious healing, hypnotherapy, and emotional release• How to honor your body when you’re in a crash — and why relapses don’t mean failure• What true remission looks like, and how to protect itIf you’ve struggled with chronic fatigue, long COVID, ME/CFS, or unexplained exhaustion, this episode offers validation, clarity, and hope — plus practical places to start.Learn more or apply to work with Dr. Jenny at drjennyteufenkian.com.Follow Dr Jenny on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/dr.jennytufenkian/Follow SpoonFull of Strength at: Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/spoonfullofstrength/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@spoonfull.of.strength⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop SpoonFull's Etsy shop at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SpoonFullofStrength.etsy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use code PODCAST for 25% off your entire order
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40 MIN
Life Before and After Diagnosis: Rewriting Your Story with Chronic Illness
NOV 19, 2025
Life Before and After Diagnosis: Rewriting Your Story with Chronic Illness
In this Spoonie Chats episode, Rachel is joined by Christina Lisk, one of the top-downloaded guests from episode 6 of the SpoonFull of Strength podcast.Christina shares big updates since her first appearance: her ovarian vein transposition surgery has now been declared a success, and she’s received formal diagnoses of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) and POTS. What once felt like “bad luck” running through generations is now understood as genetics—and that shift changes everything about how she sees her past, her body, and her future.Together, Rachel and Christina explore what it means to live a life that feels split into “before diagnosis” and “after diagnosis.” They talk about:The shock of a diagnosis that shatters your story overnightWhen your body slows down but your mind is still go-go-goRedefining success after you can’t work the way you used toLearning to ask for help and respect your limits (instead of self-abandoning for productivity)Advocating with doctors, using research wisely, and getting clear on what you want from your careChristina’s powerful concept of “catastrophic reconstruction”—rebuilding your identity after everything you believed about yourself breaksIf you’re still in the “before” phase—searching for answers, feeling gaslit, or terrified of what a diagnosis might mean—or if you’re trying to figure out who you are after everything changed, this conversation will make you feel seen.What’s one way you’ve changed—for better or for harder—since your diagnosis?Follow Christina on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/therunciblespoonie/Find her collaborative book here: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Seasons-of-Sisterhood-The-Magic-of-Our-Journey-to-Cameroon-Paperback-9781957296395/14151274823?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=2222222229214151274823_0_0000000000_569516217&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=72843111714422&wl4=pla-2324642460507122%3Aaud-815770365&wl5=49079&wl6=&wl7=&wl10=Walmart&wl11=Online&wl12=14151274823_0&wl14=seasons+of+the+sisterhood+book&veh=sem&gclid=a35792ca181f1ca827dafbd6980e9b57&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=a35792ca181f1ca827dafbd6980e9b57&sid=125a186c-449c-43ad-b2c5-7a7dcbab99c1 Follow SpoonFull of Strength at: Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/spoonfullofstrength/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@spoonfull.of.strength⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop SpoonFull's Etsy shop at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SpoonFullofStrength.etsy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use code PODCAST for 20% off your entire order
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43 MIN