(I had this scheduled to post on December 22nd, 2014. I just saw it didn’t got out! So here it is … a little late for Christmas, but here it is anyway. Enjoy! And Happy 2015!!)
If you read my blog regularly, you may remember me saying I’m working on a membership site for Spoonies – people with ME / CFS and all other chronic illnesses.
If you haven’t heard me talk of it before, basically I’m creating a site tentatively called TheSpoonieSelfHelpBuffet (or possibly TheSpoonieSelfHelpSmorgasbord) – all suggestions welcome!
What is the Membership Site about?
This site will include many audio interviews with various natural / alternative therapists, where I explore with them what their particular treatment / therapy is about, how it works, and how it can possibly help people with chronic illness and pain to manage their health.
There will also be a forum on there where like-minded people who are looking to do whatever they can to help themselves and their bodies be well (or at optimal level) can share tips, insights and experiences with each other – and support each other in general.
Additionally I plan to have lots of links to high quality articles, blogs, research articles on the various therapies, treatments, healthy activities such as juicing, the latest “superfood”, and basically anything related to self-help in managing Spoonie illness.
Why This Membership Site?
I’m doing all this because 21 years ago I would have loved to go to ONE place and have access to all this information.
Back in 1992, there was no Google or internet (not for me anyway!), so I relied on lots of library research and word of mouth info. It was still very overwhelming, especially when every second person I met told me I just HAD to try a certain treatment because it was THE answer to all my problems (or alternatively, they just didn’t believe me!) 🙂
Now with the internet, we have complete information overload, and I think it’s so easy to become overwhelmed when we first get diagnosed with a chronic illness or pain condition – and even at other stages in our illness.
So many times I’ve faced the issue of “what do I try next?”. How do I know whether this therapy is effective or is just another way to waste a lot of money?
I’m hoping my membership site will be that place for Spoonies where you can get a lot of information in one place, but you can choose what information you consume at what time and in what way.
The audio interviews are something I have a passion for because: (1) I love podcasts and all audio because I can listen anywhere, especially in bed! and (2), I think the interview format is a great way to access information, and (3) I’ve been interviewing people unofficially all my life due to my natural curiosity, and officially since 1994 when I had my first journalism job, so using the interview format comes naturally to me (with a lot of practice thrown in!). Oh, and (4) Doing audio interviews means I can interview anyone, anywhere in the world over the phone or via Skype!
I plan to do the interviews and the whole site in the most unbiased way as possible, and cover all sorts of weird and wonderful alternative therapies and treatments. No judgements, just me asking people questions and them answering them. You can then be the judge of whether you trust what you’re hearing and whether you’d like to try whatever they are talking about.
Helping Spoonies To Help Themselves – Taking Back Our Power!
Really, the main aim of the Membership Site is to help Spoonies to help themselves.
We often feel so helpless in this confusing experience of chronic illness and pain, often getting little help from our doctors or medical science, despite them doing their best.
So rather than wait around for our doctors to ‘fix us’ or medical science to discover a ‘cure’, I think it’s time for us to take back our power and do as much as we can in our everyday lives to nurture our bodies and give them the best chance to heal themselves – or at least give ourselves the best chance of experiencing quality of life.
So one of my big goals for 2015 is to get this membership site up and running as early as possible.
The monthly membership will be a very affordable one for all Spoonies / People with ME / CFS. I’m envisaging it being below $20, and possibly even more economical if you get in early.
A Taster of Things To Come – An Interview With An Expert!
As a little taster for what’s to come, I’ve put together an interview I did with my friend, mentor and health professional, Sue Barnes, who is a Natural Therapist who specialises in biological and functional medicine, as well as genetic profiling in the form of epigenetics and nutrigenomics. She’s also a Reiki master and has many other strings to her bow.
The recording I put together with her is a little tapas platter of tips about things you can do right now that will save you time, money and energy – and impact your health positively in the process.
It’s full of so many gold nuggets that are so simple to implement in your health regime. And I can almost guarantee that many of them you haven’t heard elsewhere!
Sue is a font of wisdom and someone who researches her information extensively, as well as continually learning on the job with her many clients.
If you’d like access to this free mp3 interview, please click here and enter your details so we can send you the link to download.
Even if you don’t have time to listen right now, please go to this page and by entering your details you will gain inside information on the progress of the membership site, and have an opportunity to provide feedback as the project comes together.
I’d love to hear your feedback in any way.
What do you think of the membership site idea? Is it something you’d be interested in being part of? Do you have other ideas of what could be included?
Let me know. And if this is my last post before Christmas, please have a great one – as great as you can, while also pacing and managing your health. If you celebrate another tradition at this time year, I wish you the same. For me it’s a celebration of love, generosity, gratitude, family and friends. I do hope you can have some of those things during the festive season.
Merry Christmas
Louise
This post is dedicated to Stella Young – an amazing, inspiring young woman who defied the odds all her life and who spent most of her 32 years fighting for disability rights. She passed away recently. If you want more information on her Google her. I plan to post a number of mp3 links to her radio work at a later date. Stella came from my quasi-hometown of Stawell (where I went to secondary school) and I know her beautiful family. I didn’t know Stella personally, but I remember her being born and I remember her zipping around in her electric wheelchair in the Stawell Mall. I also listened to her on the ABC whenever I could. I just listened to her memorial service. Pure inspiration! Her motto – “You get proud by practising”!!