home-body podcast
Words by Francesca Pietkiewicz (she/they)
home-body is a podcast centred around the experience of living with chronic and invisible illnesses and disabilities. home-body is a haven for the chronically ill and disabled bodies that are consistently bound to their blankets and bedrooms.
home-body is for anyone who has ever suffered in silence. It will be a channel of voices to uplift the unheard, unseen narrative of living life played at a lower key. A podcast to promote self-care, love, and connection with the hopes of a world filled with transparency and balance. A space for us all to realise we’re allowed to look after ourselves, and health and well-being are not linear.
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Kia ora, I’m Fran, one of the Salient Co-Editors. You may know me from the editorial or from flicking too far back to the team’s page when you’re searching for the puzzles.
Before I got this gig working in the big boy box alongside the wonderful Maia and our excellent designer Bella, I was in the Salient Podcasts game. I started in 2020 as Podcast Producer/Support alongside my freelance podcast work, and then became the Salient Podcast Manager from 2021-22.
Anyway, this isn’t a CV, let’s move on…
I’m back to take over this page for ‘Health and Disability’.
For the graduate project in my Communications degree, I created the pilot episode of a podcast project about invisible chronic illness and disability called home-body. I spoke about my own journey, and interviewed five guests about their experience and expertise on the matter.
I’ve always had a strong interest in health, particularly mental health. Coming from a refugee background, I grew up with mental illness consistently present. I always hated how physical health was prioritised and taken more seriously than mental health. I felt this more intensely when I grew to also combat my own mental illness (anxiety, depression, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder). I hadn’t come to terms with it during the creation of home-body, but I am also neurodivergent, another invisible chronic condition.
I suffered from a concussion in 2021. I had consistent post-concussion syndrome, and it completely changed my life. I completed most of my degree on a different schedule and from a distance, even when Covid restrictions had been lifted. I had very little energy for a social life or work and spent most of my time in health appointments, taking supplements or pain relief. I was in and out of A&E and the hospital. When I had the energy to come to work or uni, or see friends, it was confusing to others when I needed to leave suddenly. No one could see my illness.
Diving deep into the chronic illness community, I realised my mental and hormonal conditions could be considered invisible chronic illness or disabilities. I wanted to use the final part of my degree to create positive action with communication. A podcast was the best format, as reading can often be a lot of mental effort when you’re fatigued. I wanted to share my story alongside the advice of others. I wanted the stories to be honest and vulnerable yet not entirely focused on the hard hitting reality of living with a chronic condition. Instead, I wanted these stories to illuminate the successes, connections made, and lessons learnt within this experience. The root of the problem is that health isn’t spoken about in a way inclusive of invisible conditions and disabilities. ^home-body, I decided, would start that conversation.
Ignorance within health discourse leads to the deep stigma, misunderstanding, and mistreatment surrounding mental illness, neurodivergence, hormonal health, chronic pain or illness, and disability (visible or invisible). With the rise of internet communities, as well as the adaptations to Covid-19, we are seeing slight progress pushing through the mainstream. There has been a rise in mental health and well-being and spiritual practices being promoted through social media. The Covid-19 pandemic has made a significant difference in how institutional, educational, and workforce structures see the health and well-being of their students and staff. For example, there is now more leniency with sick leave, work via correspondence, and due dates.
For the most part, however, there is still a huge gap in the universal understanding of health and a deep stigma surrounding disabilities and chronic illness: mental, physical, invisible, visible, neurotypical or divergent. The current health system’s main solutions are quick-fix, band-aid solutions. They don’t seek to examine each individual and their health and lifestyle holistically to support them toward a better quality of life. There is a strong need for podcasts like home-body, to centre the voice of those who experience the largest effects of this stigma. Although it is focused on spreading awareness for ICI and disability, this podcast is for everyone. It seeks to promote a culture that allows us all to communicate openly and honestly, understanding that health, well-being, and ability fluctuate for everyone, and that is okay!
One of my guests, Jess Brien, and her podcast That’s So Chronic, was a huge inspiration for this project. Here is the podcast blurb and a link if you wanted to check out another great honest yet lighthearted, conversational podcast about chronic illness:
Sharing patients’ stories and discussions while having a laugh and keeping it real. A weekly podcast where Jess Brien interviews some incredible people from around the world that are thriving—and sometimes only just surviving—with chronic illnesses, life-changing injuries, and potentially disastrous diagnoses.
https://open.spotify.com/show/7KfSmk5TuFIPUQzOfwLWqO?si=2eba708f7d184977