Beloved Community
In the spring, I had a significant health scare: an anaphylactic reaction to a medication, followed by weeks of anaphylaxis flaring on and off. As a result of Covid, I have an immune disorder called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, which causes an increased histamine response, but this was the first time I'd experienced a severe allergic reaction.
My birthday landed the day after the worst reaction, and I wasn't sure if I'd be celebrating or in the ER. I won't walk you through the details, but it rearranged something in me and left me with the clarity that I needed to rally my community for support. I turned to the somatic practice of making an embodied, centered request for help. Despite years of learning and teaching the Strozzi Somatics canon on boundaries, requests, and receiving care, I'd never had to ask from such a vulnerable place, even after a decade of living with chronic illness.
So at my birthday party, we played EpiPiñata.
I asked my community to dedicate time at the party to learning how to use an EpiPen, in case they ever needed to help me.
A friend who is a Nurse Practitioner led a demo, and we sat in a circle while they taught us everything we needed to know. Because this was a grim birthday party topic, I wanted some levity too, so everyone practiced with a trainer EpiPen on the leg of a unicorn piñata - Epipiňata. Watching everyone ask questions and practice as an act of care for me moved me to tears.
My people showed up immediately: they stayed at my house, drove me where I needed to go, and researched my health condition. The shift from carrying too much weight alone to being genuinely held was life changing.
If you're living with chronic illness, chronic pain, or a nervous system that's learned to stay on high alert, you already know the challenges are not only physical but also relational: who can you call, who can you be honest with, who knows how to be with overwhelming challenge and emotion.
Isolation is one of the heaviest burdens of chronic illness/pain and chronic stress. In my work, I've seen that most people with chronic illness lose community over time, because it's hard for others to stay present with symptoms and emotions and feel helpless to fix it. Chronic illness/pain or any kind of deep suffering asks for people who don't question your credibility, blame you, jump to problem-solving, or drift away slowly.
Which is why I tell my clients, especially in their hardest moments: "I don't know what's ahead, but I know you don't have to do it alone." After this summer, I know in a new way what it's like to ask for and receive care from the most vulnerable states.
I run a somatic practice group for chronic illness and pain so you don't have to carry this alone or explain your experience to everyone in the room. This group is for people who have some shared understanding to build beloved community.
To learn more, book a free consult with me today.
