Chronic Illness, Trauma, and the Nervous System: Finding Strength Without Pushing Through

Send us Fan Mail This week on Beyond My Diagnosis, something special is happening. Michele is handing over the microphone to guest host Ramona Kossowan, a Certified Women’s Empowerment Coach, Gentle Trauma Release Practitioner, and Fitness Trainer. Rather than a traditional interview, Ramona is taking listeners through lessons she has gathered from more than a decade of working with women who have faced chronic health conditions, physical limitations, trauma, and significant life challenges. She is careful to acknowledge that every person and every diagnosis is different, so her invitation is simple: consider what is helpful for you and leave what is not. At the heart of the episode is an important distinction between acceptance and resignation. Ramona shares the story of a woman living with a progressive breathing condition who had been doing everything she could to prevent her health from worsening. When oxygen became necessary, she initially experienced it as a failure. Through their work together, Ramona watched what happened when the woman stopped using all of her energy to fight her current reality and began finding ways to work within it while remaining curious about what might still be possible. That same idea appears in Ramona’s experiences working with women living with rheumatoid arthritis and other physical limitations. Rather than measuring success against what someone “should” be able to do, she describes adapting movement and strength training to the body in front of her. One client who could not comfortably hold a five-pound dumbbell eventually reached a point where she could say something far more meaningful than a number on a workout plan: “I feel powerful.” Ramona then takes the conversation deeper into an area central to her work: the nervous system. She shares why she believes nervous system support should be considered alongside other aspects of wellness, particularly when someone has spent years living in survival mode. She discusses her work with women experiencing chronic pain and fibromyalgia and explains how trauma, stress, identity, relationships, self-care, and health can become interconnected. Importantly, this is not a conversation about blaming trauma for illness or suggesting that nervous system work replaces medical treatment. It is about widening the lens and asking what else may deserve attention when someone is trying to care for their whole self. Ramona also shares practical examples of what creating greater safety and breathing room can look like in everyday life. It might mean creating a transition between a stressful workday and the evening, noticing patterns of over-functioning, allowing yourself to receive help, eating more mindfully, spending time with safe people, connecting with pets or nature, or simply asking, “What can I do today to show up for myself?” What You’ll Hear Why Ramona Kossowan is taking over Beyond My Diagnosis as a special guest host The important difference Ramona sees between accepting your current reality and resigning yourself to it Why constantly pushing against physical limitations can sometimes take more from us than it gives How Ramona has adapted strength and movement work for women living with chronic health conditions Why progress does not have to look like someone else’s version of success How curiosity can coexist with acceptance when navigating a diagnosis Why Ramona includes nervous system support in her work with women How years of stress and survival mode can affect the way someone cares for themselves Why receiving support can be difficult for women who are accustomed to over-functioning How small moments of safety, rest, connection, and nurturing can become meaningful forms of self-care Why the question “What can I do to show up for myself?” can be a powerful place to begin Ramona’s Free Gentle Trauma Assessment During the episode, Ramona invites listeners to explore her Gentle Trauma Assessment, a free resource designed to help you notice physical, emotional, and cognitive patterns that may be connected to trauma and begin connecting some of the dots in your own experience. Take Ramona’s Free Gentle Trauma Assessment About Guest Host Ramona Kossowan Ramona Kossowan is a Certified Women’s Empowerment Coach, Gentle Trauma Release Practitioner, and Fitness Trainer whose work focuses on helping women reconnect with themselves and move beyond limiting narratives, past experiences, and patterns that may be keeping them stuck. Her approach grew from both professional training and personal experience. Inspired by her mother’s work in holistic health, Ramona knew she wanted to create a heart-centered business of her own. Her entrepreneurial journey began after maternity leave, when returning to a job that no longer felt meaningful prompted her to find another path. She began mentoring other mothers in herbal wellness, opened her private fitness studio in 2017, and became a certified Empowerment Coach in 2020. Today, her work brings together empowerment coaching, movement, strength, and gentle trauma release practices. Ramona believes that when women have the opportunity to heal, reconnect with themselves, and become more empowered in their own lives, the effects can extend into their families, relationships, and communities.