In this first conversation, hosts Emma Toms and Jen Wilson share how they met through the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine's Voices of Lived Experience group and why they decided to start a podcast built on lived experience and lifestyle medicine.

They talk about radical responsibility after a diagnosis, why hope changes outcomes, and a story about presenting lived experience to a room full of clinicians at an NHS conference. They also share what listeners and future guests can expect from Lived Health Conversations, including how to get involved if you have a story to share.

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Emma and Jen share their own chronic illness stories in full for the first time.

In this first full episode, hosts Emma Toms and Jen Wilson share their own chronic illness stories in full: the diagnoses, the years of getting it wrong before getting it right, and what actually helped them heal.

Between them they've navigated autoimmune eye disease, Graves' disease, Crohn's disease, endometriosis, disordered eating and addiction, and years of not feeling at home in their own bodies. This episode is the origin story behind Lived Health Conversations: radical responsibility, nervous system regulation, and the belief that a diagnosis is the start of your story, not the end of it.

Inspired by David Hamilton's idea to accept the diagnosis, not the prognosis, Emma and Jen talk honestly about perfectionism, control, addiction, grief, and the slow work of learning to trust your own body again.

In this episode:

• What it's really like to get a chronic autoimmune diagnosis young
• Why so many people are shown the worst case scenario and never shown a way through
• How disordered eating and over-exercising can quietly become coping strategies
• What radical responsibility actually means
• Why nervous system regulation is often the missing piece
• How to tell if the people around you are helping or hindering your healing

Got a story of your own to share? Drop us an email at livedhealthconversations@gmail.com

Join us on Substack to continue these conversations: https://substack.com/@livedhealthconversations

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Follow Emma

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www.instagram.com/emmatoms_wellnesscoach

Emma Toms

Integrated Wellness Coach | IEMT Practitioner | Reiki Master Teacher | Certified SSP Provider

After illness hit in her late teens, Emma began a lifelong exploration of healing that took her from NHS clinical work to integrative wellness coaching. She supports people to build balance, resilience and reconnection with their true nature.

"My belief is we all have the capacity to become well and return to balance, but we get stuck in cycles of stress and disconnection. Guiding my clients to access their strength and resilience is my passion and my purpose."

Jen Wilson

Founder of The Healing Rebel | Health & Exercise Scientist | Reiki Master | Author & Podcast Host

Jen has supported women with chronic illness to reclaim their wellness since 2009. Blending evidence-based practice with holistic healing, she helps people reconnect to the body's innate intelligence. Living with eczema, Crohn's disease and endometriosis has deepened her understanding of what true rest and recovery mean.

"Learning to listen to my body and respond to its needs has been my greatest challenge, and my greatest teacher."