EPISODE OVERVIEW

In this episode, I’m joined by Sherry Espinosa for an insightful and full-hearted discussion about how she got more comfortable with her health challenges and started letting faith guide her journey. I met Sherry through the Shine Your Light mastermind I hosted earlier this year, where she conquered her fears and stepped back into the world to build authentic relationships with others. Over the course of her health journey, she’s undergone a major shift from searching for all of the answers to realizing that the answers were inside of her the entire time — all she had to do was stop fighting and learn to love her own heart.

Living with Multiple Sclerosis and low vision, Sherry bravely opens up about the ups and downs of her winding health journey. She’s had to process multiple rare diagnoses from an early age, eventually losing most of her sight after years of medication and surgeries. During the process, she learned that by denying the pain and anger she was feeling, she was also denying a part of herself. When she realized she didn’t need to understand everything, she handed the reins over to faith and started giving herself permission to feel. Whether it’s pain, sadness, or anger, she shares a powerful message we all need to hear: Your feelings aren’t going to kill you.

Sherry embodies pure love as she urges us to be gentle with ourselves and really listen to what our bodies and spirit are telling us. She is a shining example of the positive transformation that can happen when we welcome the fatigue, pain, and emotions that come with chronic illness. Our chat was a breath of fresh air and a reminder that the real healing begins when we stop being so hard on ourselves. During our chat, Sherry and I dig into our shared MS diagnosis, as well as the deep impacts her health journey has had on how she views herself. For Sherry, living with multiple health challenges has allowed her to be more authentic and shown her she has the inner strength to handle anything.

“Coming back out into the world now is exciting, but it's also terrifying.”
— SHERRY ESPINOSA

Highlights

I resonated so much with Sherry’s story and her message of love. Although she’s had more than her fair share of health challenges, that hasn’t stopped her from bravely jumping into things that scare her with an open heart and mind. Her refreshing authenticity shines a light on the damage our self-esteem can suffer along the journey, as well as what it means to be truly comfortable with validating our own feelings and needs. Her ability to show gratitude amidst her health challenges was a much-needed reminder to be kind to ourselves and trust the process. If we stop fighting our feelings and let faith take control, we can be guided to some pretty amazing places. A few of my favorite moments with Sherry include:

Putting yourself first to protect your energy
The grief and loss involved with chronic illness
Recharging our internal batteries
Integrating all the parts of yourself
Chemistry vampires
Saving your spoons
Having a “Feelings Mentor”
Honoring and respecting the process
Authentic positivity
Embracing your inner caretaker
Learning to love your own heart

LINKS

SHERRY’S BLOG

Not For The Faint Of Heart: Life With Chronic Illness

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