Claim OwnershipPrecarious
Subscribed: 5Played: 67
Subscribe
© Copyright MHNR Network, LLC
Description
Life. Playing by the rules, doing the right thing, working hard and striving to be a good person can give us a sense of control and security. At least that is what Leah believed until she was diagnosed with advanced ovarian and breast cancer when she was 46 years old. She quickly realized that life is truly precarious - filled with uncertainty and dependent on chance. Through hearing other's stories of their precarious moments, we realize that this is actually what connects us as human beings. There is beauty in the struggle.
Leah Barrett, MS, LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice in Colorado where she lives with her husband and a few fur kids.
Leah Barrett, MS, LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice in Colorado where she lives with her husband and a few fur kids.
99 Episodes
Reverse
Forgiveness, to forgive. Why is it so hard to do? Is it that we think we are condoning the person's behavior if we forgive the person? What do we gain by not forgiving? What do we lose by not forgiving?We lose a great deal when we hang on to resentments. Science shows it's bad for our health- physical and mental.In this episode of Precarious, I explore forgiveness: its definition and and give an example of "how to" forgive.Why this topic? As I get closer to dying, society gives the message that part of gettting my affairs in order is to ask for forgiveness as well as forgive others.PS - I turn 57 on July 28th. I didn't think I'd live this long once I was diagnosed with cancer back in 2013. Life if full of surprises.
What is Awe? When is the last time you experienced it? Even I questioned whether it is considered an emotion? It is an emotion that absolutely can improve our quality of life. Yet, it takes paying attention and being open to it.In this episode of Precarious, I reference Dacher Keltner's book, AWE. The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. He outlines 8 sources of AWE and how we can access this beautiful emotion.As my life comes to an end, I have experienced more moments of AWE than I have in my life time. It's not too late to expreince more AWE in your life right now.
Susie Steiner, a writer for the Guardian, published an article about a nurse who documented the top regrets of the dying.She wrtites, "Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chai, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.Ware writes of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gain at the end of their lives, and how we might learn from their wisdom."I would love to hear from you. Join the conversation. If you were to die soon, would you have any of these regrets? Do you currently have any of these regrets?email me: leah@leahbarrett.com
It can be lonely in the podcast land. I'll admit that having a one-way conversation has its advantages. And, facing my mortality can be lonely at times. So, I've decided to invite you into the conversation. In this short episode, I pose a number of questions about life and death and living and dying. I realize this can be a difficult topic, so be gentle with yourself if you feel uncomfortable. Email your responses to: leah@leahbarrett.comI look forward to hearing from you.
The chidren's book, The Velveteen Rabbit, was first published just over 100 years ago. The book is packed with life lessons or least encurages the reader to go inward and explore what it means to be REAL in this world that rewards us for being something we are not. I'm finding that illness and eventual death is a beautiful pathway to becoming real. In this episode of the podcast, I explore this connection. When you are stripped of your armour, you are left naked and vulnerable. The Skin Horse explains this process of becoming REAL to the Velveteen Rabbit. I see the parallel process in living in a body that is growing weak and moving closer to death. What might seem scary (and it is at times), is actualy a beautiful evolution of becoming through love.
I've struggled for a long time attaching my value to my health. This struggle has been amplified these past 9 + years since I was diagnosed with cancer. The emotion that comes up strongly is shame. Shame and guilt are cousins in the emotional world. Guilt means "I did something wrong" while Shame means "I am wrong". How many of us carry this message? I'd be curious to know. I unpack some of my thoughts about this concept.Friendship can be protective shield against adopting the shame indentity. I'm not talking about the number of friends you have. It truly comes down to the quality of these relationships. There are all types of friendships which meet a varity of our needs. I explore the types of friendships that help us witness who we really are in this world and how this can help us guard against adlopting the messages that our culture dishes out which is so painful and damaging when you are living with a chronic illness or injury.
I've been receiving a newly FDA-approved drug since December. My hope has been to give my body the chance to see if the disease responds to treatment in order to improve my quality of life. As it turns out, this treatment has been very difficut for me to tolerate. It's brought into question so much for me. Every day I wake up feeling grateful to be alive. Everyday I look for the beauty.In this episode of the podcast, I share a story of a beautifull moment I had with one of my nurses as I was receiving supportive care on a very difficult day. These moments fill my heart. We landed on that in the end, "kindness matters".In the last half of the episode, I'm excited to announce a new project. It's called the Precarious Project. It's a companion to the podcast and an invitation to share how life's precarious moments have impacted you. You can find details on the website: www.theprecariousproject.com The goal is to create community around life's precarious nature.
Every wonder what its like to work in cancer care? As a nurse? How it affects that individual? How it changes her/him? I do. You'd think I'd have those questions answered living with cancer for almost 10 years. Nope. All of my heath care providers show up professionally with appropriate boundaries. Sitting down with Monica, one of my oncology nurses, and having the opportunity to ask her all of these questions was eye-opening. You will love her honesty and transparency. She brings her humanness with her. I left the conversation feeling like I was in the presence of one of the purest forms of love and it was contagious.
I have decided to come clean and let you in on how my path towards death has evolved. I admit, I was purposely not disclosing some information. And, in this episode I lay the foundation for my rationale - or at least I explore my rationale. I'm at a crossroads. And, yes, I return to the concept of suffering becasue it's one of my measuring sticks. I ask all of us to visit our relationship with it: what does it mean to you? How do you mange it? Do you try to avoid it? Embrace it? Someplace in the middle? Suffering doesn't necessarily mean "bad". If not, then how do we live with it has humans?Join me in this BONUS episode. I am sharing my precarious life decisions in real-time. If that's not an act of vulnerability, I don't know what is.
Here's another BONUS episode of the Precarious podcast. I'm tossing these out there as I feel moved to share with you an "audio journal" version of my experiences living and dying. I guess you could say I'm letting you in to my inner workings as I travel down this path.These audio journals are not meant to replace the original Precarious podcast format. I do plan to interview guests as long as I am feelng well enough and can recruit guests to interview.In this episode, I share my reactions to a Mary Oliver Essay titled "the Bird". This is a magical story at every level: the original story she wrote, my story, the serendipity of the intersection of these stories. Boundless beauty wrapped in hope.
In this episode of BONUS EPISODE of Precarious, I share my experiences about how my not knowing how much time I have left to live has beautfully transformed my relationship with time for the better. I have a different relationship with time. Cancer has made that clear to me. Have you thought about your relationship with time? How do you view time? Do you chase it? Lose it? Wish you had more of it? Wish you were better at mastering it? Listen to the language we use around the concept of time and you realize that we have made time a commodity. There are entire industries based on helping you learn skills to better use your time. Only humans would take time and make it a business venture. We have sadly veered off course.
I met Jeff Eagan a couple of years ago. He is a physical therapist specializing in oncology. What does that mean? Research demonstrates that moving your body and exercising through cancer treatment decreases fatigue, increases mood and improves quality of life. Over the years, Jeff and his colleagues have built an incredible program which has blossemed into a community of people living with cancer "working out" together. What he didn't ancticipate is the healing goes above and beyond rehabing the body. This community of people living with cancer is really Rehab for the Soul. Listen to us swap stories of love, connection, and mutual support that falls into it's own category of "magic".
I've been living with cancer (ovarian and breast and now ovarian) for nine years. I've been grateful to have periods of life with out active disease. Now - I'm approaching the end of my life. If someone told me that I would live nine years beyond the day I was first diagnosed, I would not have believed them. It's hard to capture all that I have learned about myself, others and what it means to be human through facing my death by living my life. But, in this episode, I try my best to share this "wisdom" with you. There is nothing special about me. I happened to be diagnosed with a terminal illness, like so many and others who have experienced trauma and tragedy. It's my hope that you gain some of these insights without having the terminal diagnosis. I believe it's possible. Give it a try.
I've stopped treatment for my cancer. And, honestly, didn't plan on recording another podcast mostly because I did't think I'd still be alive. In this episode of the Precarious podcast, I took advantage of my "aliveness" and sat down with my dear friend, Michelle Faris. She has shown up for me in ways that bring tears to my eyes: such acts of beauty. I wanted to capture an organic conversation and share this with you. Over this past month, we have explored all sorts of topics revolving around my illness and imminent death. Don't be frightened to listen. This conversation is filled with hope, love and peace. I'd go as far to say it's an optimistic take on how we face our final act as humans.
I love sitting down with Skye C Cleary because I love philosophers and especially female philosophers! This was a treat for me. Not only is Skye a philosopher, she is an author - her most recent book "How to be Authentic. Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment". She also teaches at Columbia University and the City University of New York. I could go on and on about her achievements. But, what I want you to know is that our conversation revolved around a well-known existential female philosopher (Simone de Beauvoir) and how her beliefs are relevant today. What is fulfillment? What does it mean to be authentic? What is happiness? How does our impending death inform us about the lives we lead? How do women perceive these concepts and major milestones in life differently from men?
I recorded this episode in mid-September and am just releasing it now (my cancer/treatment got in the way).Cissy White is a writer, speaker and advocate all things trauma. She is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse and abandonment and has created a platform to raise awareness of the devastating lingering impacts resulting in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).A few years ago, Cissy was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer - something we share in common. She has taken her passion for advocacy for healing the shame that comes with our trauma and talks about how she is harnessing this as she moves through treatment for cancer. She admitted that it feels easier to live with the PTSD from cancer than it does from childhood sexual abuse. What I most appreciate about Cissy is her optimism in the power of healing in the midst of struggle.
What if this is as good as it gets? What if our best days are behind us? I think about this often as I'm constantly adjusting my definition of what it means to be fulfilled, successful, or even happy (I'd settle for content). Join me as I explore the benefits of accepting what is and what shows up in our lives. There is a down side to perpetually striving to be better than good. And ,if this sounds depressing, it's not. It might actually provide relief.
Dr Keith Kahn-Harris has been living with Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) since his early twenties. He acknowledges that he is privileged in that he was able through support of his family to complete his graduate studies and become a professor, researcher and writer. Despite his accomplishments, he continues to strive to balance his chronic illness and live his full life. I was intrigued by an article he published in The Guardian: "I gave up hope of a cure for my chronic condition. And it’s made me happier than ever before." We talk about the idea of hope - when it is helpful and when it is hurtful. Maybe leaning into accepting what is may be more helpful than hoping for something that will never be.
Joe Sooch is 29 years old and has been living with Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a very rare genetic connective tissue disorder characterized by the abnormal development of bone in areas of the body where bone is not normally present such as the ligaments, tendons, and skeletal muscles. He has lost 95% of his mobility and relies on others to help him with daily functions. But, talking to him, you wouldn't know it. He has a way of living with this disease that puts it in the background which is impressive given how this has physically shaped his life. And, this is not living in denial. He very much lives in his reality. He just doesn't let the illness overshadow what's important to him. We talk about relationships, sex, podcasting and living a full and big life. Joe left a huge impression on me. I'm a better person for it.
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States