11/15/2025
Today’s Ted Talk on chronic illness is inspired by an amazing young woman, . We met awhile back when I was on a medical advisory panel and filmed content for a postpartum company. Michaela was the brand’s social media wizard.
She recently reached out to me to help her with images for her own company, . Long story short, Micaela struggled her whole life with misdiagnoses, ultimately realizing she had Lyme’s disease and likely contracted mold in utero. Her chronic illness including debilitating skin conditions that led her, with her mom, Dawn, to start their own skin care line.
Core among their products is a natural tick and mosquito repellent, called Woods Nature Spray. Today, they launched Woods Dog Spray.
Isn’t Leo, the Golden Doodle, distractingly sweet? Anyway... so why am I posting this story here?
There are two big themes in her story I want to share.
Often, people with chronic health issues spend years - sometimes decades - feeling dismissed, confused, or outright blamed for their symptoms. And while I’m not Micaela’s therapist, her story highlights two psychological themes I see all the time in my work.
1. The impact of not being seen or heard by medical providers
Living with chronic illness affects far more than the body. There’s the exhaustion, the pain, the disruption to daily life… but there is also the psychological toll of constantly having your reality questioned.
And within chronic illness, there are layers:
• Chronic illness
A long-term condition reshapes your identity, your routines, and your sense of safety in your own body. Many of my clients describe feeling like they’re living a “double life” trying to function externally while managing symptoms internally.
• Invisible illness
When you “look fine,” people assume you are fine. Partners, coworkers, friends, even doctors may unintentionally minimize what they cannot see. The disconnect between appearance and lived experience can lead to shame, self-doubt, and deep loneliness.
• Functional illness (continued in comments…)
