May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the theme of mental and emotional wellbeing reverberated throughout the May Lymphedema Patient Roundtable. Our patients on the panel discussed the different ways they manage their emotional lows and avoid “comparison traps,” and the therapists talked about the physical effects stress and emotional pain can have on lymphedema.
Catherine Rosenberg brought up the all-too-common conundrum of well-meaning comments coming off more hurtful than helpful, which lead to a discussion around setting boundaries. There was great commentary from attendees in the live chat too, including questions about diet and nutrition, triggers (“Sometimes the condition itself is a trigger for me,” said lipolymphedema patient Angela Jones), and the progression of lymphedema when left unmanaged.
As the hour came to a close, the panelists shared encouraging quotes and nuggets of advice to buoy those who may be going through a difficult time. You won’t want to miss this extra-inspiring episode!
Thank you to the panelists who joined us this month:
- Karen Ashforth, MS, OTR/L, CLT-LANA (@karenashforth_cltlana)
- Kelly Bell, Lymphedema Patient and Advocate (@veteran_fighting_lymphedema)
- Alexa Ercolano, Lymphedema Patient (@lymphielife)
- Angela Jones, Lipolymphedema Patient and Health Coach (@2018gethealthy)
- Catherine Rosenberg, Lymphedema Patient (@crosenberg1982)
- Betty Westbrook, Certified Lymphedema Therapist (@lymphedemapodcast)
Lympha Press is proud to offer these monthly Lymphedema Patient Roundtables and to be a support to the lymphedema community. The Roundtables are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 8:00 PM EST. Sign up to attend any of our live webinars at https://linktr.ee/LymphaPress.