Self-Love is Blind: Recent Episodes
Jillian Gillis
Self-Love is Blind podcast is where we discuss all things self-love related; the challenges, the self doubt that can get in the way, sharing suggestions on ways to overcome the obstacles and build a community that encourages one another to fall in love with their true self.
The structure of the podcast will be around me sharing my story living with a disability and other challenges that life has thrown my way. I was born with a rare eye condition that leaves me with only 10% of my eye sight, making me legally blind. you might not realize it if you met me on the street though because I see well enough that I don't need a guide dog or a white cane to get around. you won't find me walking into things or getting lost but there are ways that it impacts my day to day life and I'll be diving into those. I will be bringing on a new guest each week to discuss their unique journey with self love and the difficulties they have faced along the way.
Lets break the stigmas surrounding mental health, disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, body positivity, you name it I want to talk about it!
Everything kind of feels like humpty dumpty right now, just trying to put the impossible pieces back together again, sort of like my most recent recording that I’m still attempting to glue it back together. In this host episode I discuss the roller coaster that was May, which was also mental heath awareness month and how I used it to explore resources. Some exciting things and some stressful things going on recently. I also try opening up conversation about the tragic discovery of 215 indigenous children’s bodies at a residential school in BC.
IRSSS (Indian Residential School Survivors Society) Emergency Crisis Line is available 24/7 for those that may need counselling support
1-800-721-0066
or 24hr Crisis Line 1-866-925-4419
https://reconciliationcanada.ca/about/history-and-background/background/
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Episode ten, double digits, I am so impressed with myself! Some quick updates and check in with me on what’s happening and what’s to come.
Motivation and morale are low for a lot of us right now with the third wave kicking our butts but we are trying! If each day feels a bit like a drag you’re not alone. 6 ways to overcome pandemic fatigue – https://www.heartandstroke.ca/articles/covid-fatigue-here-are-6-ways-to-overcome-it
AMI on YouTube – In Focus with Laura Bain
Visit AMI website https://www.ami.ca/new_ami
You can access mental health help and resources at https://wellnesstogether.ca/en-CA I did the mental health check in to keep an eye on my personal wellbeing.
I chat with my friend David Light about his work in acting and how it has been impacted by the pandemic, the tragic disappearance and loss of his twin brother, mental heath and suicide. We discuss breaking down stigmas as well as ways to both ask for help and offer help to those in need. www.instagram.com/daviddelight/
Note: This episode discusses suicide. If you are having thoughts of suicide and require help please dial: 833-456-4566 or visit https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/ Canada Suicide Prevention Service | Crisis Services Canada
211 Nova Scotia You can call this 24 hours a day for health and social service info. Nova Scotia Mental Health and Addictions (nshealth.ca) Mobile crisis line 1 888-429-8167 Self Help Connection – Shaping Healthy Communities
If it is an immediate emergency call 911 or proceed to local emergency dept.
Kids help phone
https://kidshelpphone.ca/
call 1-800-668-6868
text 686868
Visit www.Selfloveisblind.com Support the show on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some awesome perks
On this episode I chat with Leanne McLaren, my friend and on air broadcaster for Move 103.5 in Vancouver. Leanne tells us about her self love journey, living with ADHD, battling depression and anxiety, her identity as a biracial indigenous woman, and the turning point when she decided to love herself.
I talk about a recent panic attack I had after an emergency situation and also a fan girl moment I had that was a small victory for me.
Support me on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some sweet perks
I sit down with Kenn to discuss everything from how to manage with a parent suffering from dementia, to growing up and coming out in a conservative family in the USA, to how he embraces nature for healing. Kenn Orphan is a wonderful artist, writer, radical nature lover, antiwar and anti-capitalist activist, sociologist, spiritualist and hospice social worker. https://kennorphan.com/
Support me on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some sweet perks
Visit www.Selfloveisblind.com designed by Jillian Gillis
Support me on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some perks
Visit www.Selfloveisblind.com
Support me on Patreon www.patreon.com/selfloveisblind and get some perks
Support the show on Patreon patreon.com/selfloveisblind
This is the second episode of my two part conversation with Claudette so if you haven’t heard the first part I suggest going back to episode 3 called queen of quotes part 1, https://selfloveisblind.com/podcast/003-the-queen-of-quotes-part-1/
March 8th was International womans day and I wanted to highlight Catherine O’Hara’s interview on the CBC podcast More with Anna Maria Tremoni.
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/catherine-ohara-has-never-had-a-plan/id1494930679?i=1000463821836
How to recognize anxiety in yourself and others
https://www.anchortherapy.org/blog/2018/3/18/-anxiety-counseling-hoboken-newjersey-therapist
Me and Claudette continue our conversation about depression, the relationships in our lives and the boundaries we need to hold. Encouragement, removing negativity, suggestions for how to empower yourself and others and lots more quotes from the queen of quotes.
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Hi Friends! You’re listening to Self-Love is Blind I’m your host Jillian and I’m legally blind. Self-Love is Blind is a podcast where we discuss all things self love related, the challenges, the self doubt that can get in the way and sharing suggestions on ways to overcome those challenges. I don’t think of myself as being disabled and my friends don’t really think of me as being disabled either, everyone has challenges, some more than others.
– shout out Hadley for being my first patron, thank you!
It’s be almost two weeks now since the podcast was live and I am absolutely overwhelmed by the fantastic response I’ve received so far, thank you to everyone who reached out, subscribed, and rated the podcast on iTunes. It is so cool to watch the number of listeners grow, and I can also see there are people listening all over the place, in Ireland, Romania and the US.
I’m also a bit overwhelmed in general, I’m driving this bus by myself and it’s kind of like if I was actually driving a bus, I’m blind, that’s scary for everyone. I actually have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m doing it, I’m a little behind only because I just realized I was doing something manually when I didn’t need to. So, I should be able to get on track with my weekly Tuesday releases. it’s all a learning experience for me at this point. I’ve been told I sound confident, let’s just say I know how to put on a show, I’m not nearly as confident as I sound. Fake it till you make it.
Self-Love tips for the week- Music is everything, if I put on something that I know that will make me dance a little it will make me feel better. When I was in school a couple years ago and just totally drowning, I would play 3 little birds by Bob Marley on repeat. every little thing will be okay.- When I started to get anxious, I just remind myself it’s a temporary feeling. I also had to step away from editing because I was feeling overwhelmed it was taking me so long. This actually helped because I was able to stop and think there had to be an easier way. Turns out there was and I was doing something manually that I didn’t need to
Every storm runs out of rain, there is a quote for my next guest who I’ve dubbed the queen of quotes. I know she is a super busy woman so I am grateful Claudette donated her time to have this amazing conversation with me. I swear she is like superwoman or something. I met Claudette through her son Matt who is one of my close friends. He is one of the sweetest and most considerate guys, he always offers his help to guide me if I have trouble seeing, although there may have been a time or two I’ve had to guide him in a straight line.
Another quote for the queen, Martin Luther King Jr said “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” I resonate a lot with Claudette as she talks about taking leaps in life.
– We untangle some of her fascinating life story, dig into the different awakenings she’s had and talked a lot about empowering ourselves and other woman, although the reality is its valuable information for just about anyone.
– Her job titles. She was a Municipal Councillor and Deputy Mayor, Dental assistant, Former Commissioner of Oaths at Nova Scotia Supreme Court, to name a few- some of her biggest accomplishments are her work having a council recognize Lyme disease as a priority and participation with the first Lyme conference held in Bridgewater.
– with the empowering women theme in mind for today’s episode and it is black history month I wanted to highlight a local resource that I came across recently.
– Mentorship program for Black women in business starts during pandemic
https://www.
I am so pumped to be doing this! I combined all my skills together to make this happen. my IT diploma taught me how to teach myself how to learn and use the editing software and putting my website together. It’s almost complete! My Marketing diploma I thought had gone to waste will help me to promote the podcast and deal with advertising, which is what would have done if there had of been opportunities here in Halifax, Nova Scotia. My ten plus years of customer service in various roles helped me to develop my communication skills. My social personality allowed me to build my network. Once I started my self-love journey, I really started believing in myself, when you believe in yourself so deeply that’s all that seems to matters. After finishing the first episode I was proud of myself, no one had even heard it yet but I felt incredible.
I will admit though there were a few moments I had to talk myself down when self-doubt pops up and I start having negative self-talk and thinking like will anyone really actually care? but then when I seen the finished product it made me so proud.
In the name of Self-love I will start trying to give examples of how I show myself self love each week. I am starting to identify my inner saboteur faster and shut it down more quickly now that I realize that’s what’s happening.
To be honest I almost recorded the intro to the first episode a 3rd time because I was being nit-picky and thought it felt a bit scripty but then I heard one of my fav podcast hosts say it is normal to be nervous when you first start doing something. So, I was like no I’m fucking doing this and I am so proud of what I have accomplished.
I went for a couple walks, and smiled at some people out walking but mostly just their dogs. I also Decided to unfollow the news pages that I follow on FB because I find all the negative comments just really disappointing. If I want to look at the news I will download the apps for them or go to their website. No one is ever happy in the comments, just stay away from there. I wish those pages were just able to shut down the comments section all together, do we really all need that commentary?
I think when things are going well in your life it’s easier to let things roll off your back. So when things aren’t great just remind yourself that its only temporary. Self-love and self-care is more than taking a bath and lighting a candle, that is one small piece of the puzzle. It’s hard work examining yourself and finding your voice.
I recently seen a really cool clip last week of a blind contestant on MasterChef spoiler alert coming up. I have personally never seen the show but I wanted to mention it because it was so inspirational to me. I Shared the link on my fb page self-love is blind if you’d like to see it. The contestant, Christine Ha, had a really interesting story and she spoke very powerfully. Super incredible and happy to see that she won. A couple things that she said stuck out to me, she said “everyone is more capable than they think they are. Don’t be afraid to dream big, your chances of attaining something are 0% if you don’t try. The greatest rewards come at the biggest risks.
I think I am a good example of what someone who has faced issues with disability and mental health can accomplish if given the chance to properly heal. I realized I don’t need to have perfect eye sight to have a vision.
My next guest Norbert is a great friend of mine who I met working at the call center that I spoke about in the first episode with Steph. Before throwing to today’s conversation, I wanted to add onto the story from episode one, I think I was so nervous my first time recording that I totally blanked on some of the details. I couldn’t remember what had led me to take my issue to the HR departm
In this episode I discuss my rare eye condition that causes me to only have 10% of my eyesight, the challenges that come with that and how I’ve made it work for me. The mission of Self-Love is Blind podcast is to facilitate conversations where people share their unique journeys with self love. My best friend Steph and I break down the symptoms of the eye condition and what I experience living with a disability. We also touched on my experience with depression and anxiety, and how it has ultimately led me here delivering my podcast baby.
My name is Jillian Gillis the host of Self-Love is Blind podcast where we discuss all things self-love related; the challenges, the self-doubt that can get in the way, sharing suggestions on ways to overcome the obstacles and build a community that encourages one another to fall in love with their true self. The foundation of the podcast will be around me sharing my story living with a disability and other challenges that life has thrown my way. I was born with a rare eye condition that leaves me with only 10% of my eye sight, making me legally blind. you might not realize it if you met me on the street though because I see well enough that I don’t need a guide dog or a white cane to get around. you won’t find me walking into things or getting lost but there are ways that it impacts my day-to-day life and I’ll be diving into those. I will be bringing on a new guest each week to discuss their unique journey with self-love and the difficulties they have faced along the way. I have a dream guest list of over 80 people I know personally that I would love to have on the show some day.
Self-love is a lifelong journey and we constantly have to work at it. Your relationship within yourself is the most important one you have, you will always be the one constant in your life so nurture and be kind to yourself. We all have that negative self-talk and we are all our own worst critics. I want to Help to remind people they aren’t alone by having conversations, sharing knowledge and strategies. I don’t want to be too serious though so I want to add a bit of comic relief. Self-love is blind and so am I.
Join me by listening to self-love is blind podcast on Spotify or apple podcast, Lets break the stigmas surrounding mental health, disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, body positivity, you name it I want to talk about it!
Learn more about the podcast at selfloveisblind.com