Invisible Not Broken - Chronic Illness Podcast Network

Hello Humancare community. I have a very special announcement. I am finally launching a new collaborative segment of the podcast, a project I've been dreaming of putting out there for years now, and it requires your participation to come to life:

Humancare Stories.

An awareness and conflict resolution project.

The Humancare Stories segment will be a collection of anonymously contributed stories from listeners like you, about negative interactions experienced within the context of healthcare – whether that be an interaction with a patient, provider, loved one, or stranger.

For example, submitted stories could be about a disheartening dialogue with a doctor, an offensive conversation with a romantic partner, or even an infuriating exchange with someone in a waiting room. Essentially any person-to-person interaction related to one’s health journey.

After the submission of a story through voice recording, these stories are validated and dissected before being published on the Humancare podcast. (All submissions, will be reviewed although only a select few stories will be chosen to be published.)

For those that are, these episodes will begin by playing the original recording of the story.

Then as the host, I will analyze “what happened” from both a factual and experiential viewpoint.

From there, I will present to you, the listeners, thought-provoking reflection questions paired with insights from a board of advocates, as well as tools and suggested resources

– all of which aim to stimulate a potentially different way of looking at the story told that best serves both parties involved.

The purpose is to be both supportive and proactive.

It isn’t about choosing sides. It isn’t about being right or wrong.

It’s about shedding the labels. It’s about removing the ego.

It's about seeing one’s self as human, seeing that other person as human – as awful as the interaction may have been - and finding a common ground as two humans.

I am looking to encourage listeners, like you, to adopt tools to mentally, emotionally and physically prepare you for similar situations in your lives going forward.

I hope to provide you with alternative options in terms of actions and reactions so that you can feel a greater sense of control going forward.

I believe that if we individually shift our approach to these often angering, upsetting, frustrating interactions, that we can collectively and collaboratively shift the broken relationship dynamics within healthcare as a whole.

Again, it isn’t about choosing sides. It isn’t about blame or shame. No one wins in these interactions. No one.

The way we approach these difficult conversations need to change.

You know it. I know it. We all know it.

At the end of the day, relationships in the context of healthcare are between two humans just like any relationship.

And that’s ultimately the purpose of this project:

to humanize healthcare first through humanizing our stories.

If you are open to sharing your story with the community, text “I want to share my story” to 585-484-0232. From there I will send you the submission requirements.

While I will need to be in contact with you to receive your recording, all stories will be published anonymously.

Thanks again for being supporters of the Humancare podcast and our mission to humanize healthcare.