What Opting Into Your Life While Living with Chronic Illness Means with Brianna Greenspan

If you've ever felt alone while living with chronic illness, or you felt like, is this all there is? Like, am I doing this right? Or if you've ever felt like, man, this is so hard, I just don't know what to do. This episode is for you. This episode was recorded over a year ago with this amazing, beautiful soul, Brianna Greenspan.

She is a co-author of multiple books, including the Miracle Morning series.

She is also a chronic illness warrior who was born with chronic illness and was not diagnosed until she was in her 20s. And she's made it her determination, I feel, of really stepping in and empowering herself and others to take ownership of their own physical, mental, and emotional health. And I am just really excited to have her on the show finally, to air this episode. She has been, uh, like, this episode gets, gets a lot emotional. It could be a little triggering, but in a good way of feeling affirmed and also feeling like you're not alone. She shares her own journey of finding other modalities to help support her in this journey. She's really real and authentic. And I met her on Clubhouse over a year ago, and that was during the time I was using Clubhouse a lot. And Brianna still is on Clubhouse hosting her own rooms, which she will talk a little bit about in this episode. But most importantly, this story is really for all my chronic illness warriors out there. Like, so much, so much validation and affirmation and also tips and tools on how to create a circle of people and to how to say yes to those people and how to say yes to you, to yourself, when it comes to living with chronic illness. This is a bit of a long episode, but everything she says in here, for the most part, from my perspective, is a gem, a golden nugget to help you in your journey of living with chronic illness. So stay tuned. You're listening to the She's Crafted to Thrive podcast, and this is your host, Nikita Williams. On this show, we're talking about what it's like to start, grow, and scale a business while living with chronic illness. You will hear from other creatives and CEOs as they share their stories and the lessons that led them to learn to lean more into what works for them. You'll discover that success does not mean perfection, and fear, negative thoughts, and challenges are all a part of the journey, but there's always an abundance of wins. So stay tuned and you'll find the inspiration and tools you need to craft a life and business that thrives.

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All right, let's hop on into this new episode.

Enjoy.

Brianna, I am so excited to have you on the show because like, How in the world did we come into each other's world? It's like amazing. It's amazing. Clubhouse. Um, I'm sure everybody's listeners have heard me talk about this multiple times through the podcast. Clubhouse is the bomb. Um, it has its issues. I'm not going to lie. We still have some accessibility things we got to clean up with that app, but meeting amazing women like Brianna has been a real treat.

So welcome to the show, girl.

Oh, thank you so much. And I feel the same way. Clubhouse has been such a blessing in my life because I've been able to meet extraordinary people. And the people that have— I've always felt just like yourself. I felt like we've known each other for years. The level of depth and connection that we've been able to build, the serendipitousness of the amount of, you know, the amount of overlap in our stories and the ways that we're showing up and the ways that we can encourage each other. It's just Clubhouse is the bomb.

It's so interesting because I feel like— I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because I run my business on social media. I have— I, since Clubhouse has come into our world, I feel like I am meeting so many people that are like-minded in the concept of like free with sharing their chronic illness journey, like how that's working for them, how they're like doing amazing things while the fact that, you know, pain and all of those things are happening. And I'm like, where were— and then I know that I find you on Instagram after Clubhouse. So I'm like, where have you been? Where have you been? So I'm just excited about that. Well, before we go into the whole conversation, because this always happens, tell everybody who you are, what you do, and do a little intro.

My name is Brianna Greenspan. And that who you are conversation is such an interesting one. Or like what I do. The truth is I just try to do all the good I can in all the ways I can. At all the times I can for all the beings I can as often as I can. And that kind of shows up in various different ways when I'm following my intuition, who I'm meant to help, what I'm meant to, you know, what ways I'm meant to serve. And with that, my like professional work in air quotes is at the cross-section of medical genetics and elevating the consciousness of humanity. And so I'm the advisor for the Miracle Morning movement, which helps people um, understand what it looks like to fill up their own cup before they go out and serve the world with foundational habits surrounding silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing. And then my like super professional work, um, I'm the official collaborator for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease on a condition that causes people to be in a chronic state of allergy. Um, it's called hereditary alpha tryptosemia. So I coordinate the research with academic institutions across the globe and educate researchers and physicians that this condition exists, people are suffering, and that we shouldn't be misdiagnosing them or leading them on a path of mismanagement as a result, because then they get even more debilitated than they already were. And I understand that from my own health journey as someone who has lived with, lives with a chronic illness. And so I have a lot of heart for making sure that physicians are able to help patients in the most effective way possible.

Girl, yes, you are like so many things. It's so funny. It's so funny, but not funny, but so real. When you walked in, walked in, voiced in into a room on Clubhouse one night and you were just sharing such, such like so much of your heart and like why this is like, this is a new journey for you. Like this aspect of life of how you're showing up now is a little bit different. Can you tell us a little bit about why and what has changed?

You have changed. You— the why is you and your Clubhouse room. So for all the people who are listening that are on Clubhouse, you better get into Nikita Williams' room because she is kicking everybody's butt into gear, really, she basically called me forth and said, like, what are the ways that you can level up? And, you know, when we set, when we set our intentions, and when I started sharing that I've worn a mask my entire life, I've been ashamed and uncomfortable with the chronic illnesses that I experience. And I, because of my childhood, past traumas, etc., I didn't really want people to see me as sick Bree. I wanted them to see me as any anything else. So I, you know, like, I literally— I'm Advisor Bree, Champion Bree, like, Cheerleader Bree, whatever that is, so that they didn't see the, the other sides of me that I was uncomfortable with. And what really transpired in one of your rooms that I'm so grateful for is that you basically reminded my soul that I'm not allowing people to fully see and hear me, fully connect with who I am as a whole person because I only showed up as my professional self and my half self. And as a result, like, it's actually our vulnerabilities and our struggles that make us the most real. But I wasn't really being fully authentic, because I was only showing up as my, you know, strong self, which is a huge part of my wellness journey. But it is not the whole story. And, you know, so I am so grateful for you and many others who have been saying for years, when are you going to use your voice? When are you going to get on podcasts? When are you you're gonna show up and play at a higher level. And I've just said, I'd love to play small, I love to hide, I love to advise you and help you on your mission, et cetera, et cetera. And your room was such a catalyst for me stepping into who I'm meant to be fully and loving who I am at my core enough to say, I accept the experiences that I have and I'm not gonna be ashamed of half of my life Literally half of my life. It's not like I could just will the chronic illness away. It's not like it goes away based on how, you know, how strong I become. There are also many experiences that knock me over, even though I now have a ton of tools to be able to pick myself up in a quicker timeframe. But, you know, to not showcase that side of me, I, I had a full unmasking and unmuting by joining your room and hearing the depth of authenticity that was being brought forth by these ladies and met you and other amazing ladies that I was so inspired by. And it's kind of catapulted the, the transition and how I'm showing up on Clubhouse and how I'm showing up in real life to say yes to things and share stories that I would never have shared in a public setting, where I'm like, happy to help all these researchers, happy to talk to all these patients, happy to individually make an impact. But knowing that I could make such a bigger impact by leaning in and being my full authentic self. So you are the catalyst, basically.

Girl, I have so many goosebumps right now. It's not even funny. Like so many goosebumps. Wow. Like, I, first and foremost, I think what you do for what—

how—

let me get my words together. I think for what you do and all of the things that you go through— and excuse my cat, he has been a brat today. You're going to hear him meowing. He— you've just really— like when you said in that room, like, I'm removing my mask, I'm like, you are already doing such great work. Like you're already filling other people's cups, learning, like teaching them how to embrace like life in a sense, regardless of the different challenges and life hurdles that our people are going through. So it just felt so disconnected when you were like, "Yeah, I don't like to be in the front of everybody." I was like, but you are, you already are, you just haven't accepted it. To me it was like a— I felt like you were like, "Oh yeah, I guess technically I am, but I didn't realize it." It was such an interesting thing to watch you, like watch you or listen to you, like come to the aha moment there. Like, oh, huh. And I guess after like looking at that, like after that moment, did you like sit back and journal and like kind of be like, wow, what is, what is going to happen from now on?

Yeah. So you're so great. This just goes back to Clubhouse is the bomb. Nikita Williams' rooms are the bomb. You gotta get in them if you're not to really, unpack the narrative that you've been living in that isn't serving you. And, you know, for me, I've known, I've known where I needed to go. I've known the ways that I was meant to show up. And sometimes I have in little tiny spurts, and then I hop back into my cave to play small. And, and so it's been this interesting dance. And I, in my visualizations, have been calling forth those that I'm meant to know in order to have the army in my corner to remind me to continue leaning in. And there you were. And so when, when we had this conversation, it just affirmed for me that you were meant to be the catalyst. You were meant to be that angel in that moment to say, hey, Bree, you are receiving what you've just requested, you know, which is like a very God moment. It's like, thank, thank gosh for all of the ways that we, you know, ask, ask universe, ask a higher power for support so that we can live into our purpose and then, you know, be so humbled and grateful when those things transpire. And so it was just a huge reflection and insightful, um, moment where I recognized that I was on the right path. I took one step forward. I— you were about to close out the room, and then she's like, I'm about to close out the room, and then I hopped in, and then I raised my hand, and then you just like called forth all these beautiful insights within me that, um, led to this moment. And so it's just a beautiful reflection of how we are all walking the path together. And that, you know, I did drop in and into a deep state of gratitude and reflected on all the ways that I have been called forth that I've opted out of and all the ways that I'm being called forth that I can, you know, opt in. And so, you know, just the next day, I think we did a room together when I was really uncomfortable. And then And I didn't even want to schedule it. You were like, "Okay, I'll schedule it if you're too uncomfortable, but it's really no big deal." And then 2 days later, I did a room on the Miracle Morning, which I now do a room every single day at 7:00 AM Central. And it's crazy to see the ways that people are so inspired to take the nuggets of wisdom that they learned in the room and implement them in real time and then come back to another room and share how that's helped them. And that's exactly you know, I'm doing that for so many, as the ripple effect of what you did in your room for me and so many others.

Yeah, I think, I think that so this theme, this theme of doing something before you're ready, like I feel like sometimes we think we're not ready, but 9 times out of 10, we are ready. We just, we just need to have the the humility and the audacity to make the decision. Like, that's to me what it usually takes sometimes. And sometimes that means you have to— like, sometimes that means someone needs to come into your path to be like, hey, go do that thing. Like, you know, you need to do it. And I think that's beautiful. So I want to talk a little bit about your journey living with a chronic illness. Like, what is it? How has it impacted your life to be in such a field, like, because you're in two different roles, which is one of the things of why I wanted you on the show is because you're on the side that most chronic illness people are not on, like in the research, the doctors, like understanding or getting to hear all about that world on top of living with a chronic illness. And then on top of teaching people how to manage having a chronic illness through daily habits and routines. And it's like, I always joke, but I'm dead serious. I'm like, I feel like doctors when they give you a chronic illness diagnosis, they should hand you a pamphlet that says, okay, so here's how you manage this from an emotional state. I don't understand. To me, it's just as important as if you tell someone they have a mental health issue and they're like, okay, here's a pamphlet. We don't get those pamphlets when you get a chronic illness diagnosis. It's just like, this is what you have. All right, go, go, go, go now. Tell us a little bit about your, your experience.

Yeah, thank you so much for the opportunity. You know, when I think about my experience, I, I go back to my childhood. I'm not one of those people that like a chronic illness developed. I'm one of those kids that I was born different. And as a result, I never stopped crying until I could talk. I was a real difficult child. And You know, by the time I could talk, it was like, "Ouchie, bobo." And I'm like pointing to bruises, pointing to things, being like, "This hurts, that hurts." And I was like, "How is it possible that the fabric that you wear hurts you? How is it possible that you can't sleep under sheets?" Like, she fundamentally could not understand what I was saying because it just didn't make sense. But I was, you know, that, that, um, super sensitive kid. Like, oh, you touch me and I break out in hives. Oh, I turn this way and this joint pops out. Oh, I just, you know, I take off my pants and my mom's like, where did all those bruises come from? Like, I don't know, this just happened. And yeah, I have no idea. Like, nobody hurt me, I didn't hurt myself. But like, you know, and I— as I've evolved to understand what I experienced, there's now a lot of labels, which they had a lot of labels as a child, but none of very accurate. And they had what I call lower-level diagnoses. And there was just kind of like a label for every single thing that I experienced. And so I was constantly in and out of specialists' offices, and none of the specialists spoke to any of the other specialists. So none of them were connecting the dots on what I was experiencing. And, you know, flash forward, the first 20 years of my life were just like riddled with horrific. And there was a lot of emotional trauma and physical trauma, and there was a lot of like social trauma and anxiety that came from that, from recognizing that I was different and different was not cool. And like, even to the point that when I was in elementary school, the little girls started like an I Hate Brianna club because they said sick was gross and like, I shouldn't be part of the club. And, you know, as I'm unpacking trauma, I recognize like, how much would— how much must I have hated myself for them to have been a mirror for that for me?. And it's like, you know, when you, when you step out of a space of blame and anger and resentment and you step into a space of gratitude and unpacking the awarenesses below the surface, you know, I really learned that one, everything is happening for me, not to me. And that, um, although, you know, my first 20 years were like a full-on state of hopelessness and despair and uncomfortableness and like just wanting people to like me and to fit in and for someone to not be like, oh, you're gross. Like, oh, you throw up a lot. Oh, you have seizures. Like, whatever that was that I was experiencing. And so that kind of all contributed to me being so masked. I was like, oh no, like, what if people that I like, what if people that I respect have the same reaction as these little kids? And obviously, that is, as I became an adult, that didn't happen because I learn to love myself in my own skin. But as a kid, there was no pamphlet for like, you're different and that's beautiful. And you know exactly what you're saying. It was just like, you're different and here's a drug. You're different and here's— Exactly. And here's an assistive device. You're different and here's a prescription, prescription, prescription, prescription. And none of those things served me. And so I was like in a constant state of highness. And my mom's like, please don't say that. You were like, Mom, I was so drugged. She's like, no, you were just taking the medication. Patients, the doctor said you needed to be alive. And I'm like, also known as drugs, just to clarify that even though—

Your poor mom, your mom's like, I was just trying to help.

And she was. And, you know, that's the heart of the situation with having a genetics, a genetic illness. My mom also has the same experience that I do, although what we have is progressive. And as a result, the things that I was getting when I was 10, she was getting at 30. The things that I'm experiencing now, she's experiencing or is has experienced in her recent past, even though she's in her 60s now and I'm in my 30s. And so we can easily see that her childhood, she was klutzy, clumsy, but she was, she was kind of fine. I mean, she had the allergic reactions. She was basically fine. She was like, she could totally skate by. And, you know, my childhood was not the same. And so, you know, all that to say, when I was 20, I had a really traumatic experience where I had lost the ability to walk after a failed L5-S1 fusion surgery. And that was— that surgery was the result of a physician making the wrong call. They did a test to see if I was a good candidate for surgery. And then they did that because I was misdiagnosed. They made the wrong call on what tests I should do, and they didn't understand how my body healed. And so flash forward, in retrospect, I kind of went on this journey to figure out what is the right call and when is that appropriate for what types of situations. And that might be different for each person. But if there isn't critical thinking within medicine, we're not going to really understand what to do and when and how that's going to affect the patient and their long-term experience. And so when I was 20, I had lost the ability to walk after a failed surgery. And then the day I went to the neurosurgeon for a checkup and they just kept giving me drugs, they kept saying like, here's another steroid pack. You know, you're not working hard enough with the physical therapy. And, and that day I got a phone call that one of my dearest friends from college had OD'd and died from prescription medications that he bought off the street. And I went to the physician and they said, um, oh, you're a medical anomaly. We can't figure out why your surgery didn't work, but here's some OxyContin and a wheelchair until we can figure it out. And I just— a light bulb went off and I said, um, couldn't these drugs kill me? And they said, oh, they were made for you to help you with the experience that you're having. And I said, I want to figure out what it could look like to live a life where I don't feel what I feel, and also don't need these things that cloud my brain, or I don't think I need to be alive. It was a very— I was done, or at the beginning of a completely different path. And so I left college, like in a state of, of like, devastation. My friend had just passed, my whole world had been rocked. Because before that, even though the physicians weren't working, I I naively thought that, like, you listen to the doctor and they're gonna— like, I had this sense of hope that, like, we were always chasing another doctor and, like, figuring out another thing. And then I got on the other side of that and thought the only thing that matters is me being able to take a step. The whole goal is to be able to walk up a flight of stairs. So I went through a 378-hour therapy program to be able to learn how to walk up a flight upstairs. And eventually I could. And then that catapulted my entire wellness journey where I learned that there are thousands of different modalities and therapies and, um, tools and resources out there and habits and rituals that can support with every single symptom that I experienced and either shorten the duration of the symptom or, or eliminate it for that time being or possibly for the future. And so I just kind of like catapulted on this searcher journey, so to speak, to figure out what are all these modalities? How can I add them to my toolkit? When are they appropriate? What, like, and how do I pull them out when needed? And what are the crutches that I've been hiding behind? And then eventually I got an Ehlers-Danlos syndrome diagnosis, and then, which is like a connective tissue disorder that affects collagen in your body. And then eventually They, they called the allergic reaction something called mast cell activation syndrome. And then eventually I started having these, this autonomic dysfunction where I'd stand up and I'd feel dizzy, or I'd stand up and I'd faint, or I'd feel like I just ran a mile when I was just like sitting on the couch. And they diagnosed that as a form of dysautonomia called POTS. And then I learned that there were a lot of these comorbidities that went along with having EDS that are super common in patients and, you know, then there was a lot of other labels for whatever issues were happening. But what, what I learned is that no matter what the label is, the label is a catalyst for you feeling validated and seen and heard so that you can jumpstart your wellness journey. But if we're in searcher mode for so long, or if we're in seeker mode to feel validated, then we don't actually from an emotional perspective, opt in to the offerings that are on the table because we feel like everybody keeps saying, oh, it's in your head, you're crazy. Like, there's this whole misvalidation situation. So you just want to be validated. So the thought of like actually doing something to better yourself where you don't experience the symptoms anymore, but you really just want the validation, you can't actually conceptualize doing something good for yourself to not feel in the state that you're in, or even conceptualize that even being a possibility because you're in such a state of despair. And so I love that diagnoses don't matter in my, like, in my personal opinion, because it's actually what you do with the symptoms. It's what you do with the experience that really does matter because all that actually fundamentally matters, and just in my opinion, when it comes down to it, is how you're able to show up each day. Are you gonna let the symptoms that you have, that we all have, even if they're varied, knock us over all day, all week, all month? Or are we gonna figure out what therapies and tools can help us pick ourselves up a couple hours later, a day later, you know, whatever that, whatever that looks like. And so that is like a little bit of, you know, the labels, the journey, the where I sit today.

Oh my gosh. Ah, you There's so many things in that that could be a whole series of another multiple conversations. But I— the last, specifically going into the last part of just that journey. And I think, first of all, I'm going to go back before I even get there. So the last thing I want to— the other thing I want to go back to is that moment. I feel like a lot of the listeners and a lot of people in general, whether it's a chronic illness or just a moment in life where you have this reality of what life could be and what it could be if you did something else. You make a choice. Like you just, you get to that point, you make a choice. And I think, you know, some, a lot of people make the choice to, you know, persevere and to do something different. And then some of us unfortunately make the choice the other way around. And I think that that always like, that's always like a, I'm always fascinated by that from a psychology place because people ask me this all the time. And I think people always— if you live with a chronic illness, they're like, well, how do you just do this all the time? How do you do— how do you say to a doctor in that moment of, yeah, I don't want to be in pain. You're offering me pain medication. But I also know that my dearest friend has just died because of those same pain medications. And you want me to think that that's the solution to my problem, but I know that that's not my solution. And I know that that is not where I want to be. And God forbid, I, if I do go down that road, I'm not strong enough right now to not say I won't end up in that, in that place. And I think the question I have for you is like, what was the determination, obviously beyond realizing that eventual reality of that potential, of death, right? Like death in a completely different way. What am I trying to say? There's death as in, I'm just going to accept this miserable reality of what my life is going to be like, and wherever it ends is where I will be, versus the choice to live, and not just physically, mentally and emotionally that choice. So what in that moment pulled you to that realization?

I can't take any of the credit, I'll be honest. Like, and that's, that's one of the things I talk about so often. Who's in your front row? Who are the people that see your potential beyond what you see? And how are you allowing them to support you? And so there was a woman, one of my parents' friends, and she came to them and said, your daughter is going to kill herself or she's going to die very soon if you guys don't make some drastic decisions. She doesn't need to be in school right now. She doesn't need to be on all these drugs. She needs to be in a very serious therapy program and she needs to learn how to walk again, take steps without it feeling like she's dying or she will leave this planet. And she was so aggressive. You know those fierce ladies, those mama bears who were like, you know what I'm talking about? She came with this level of, this is your wake-up moment. You're either gonna opt in or you're gonna lose someone that you love. And so she really saw in me what I didn't see in myself at that point. And she brought this gentleman to, she had a vision and she was like, this guy is gonna be the guy that provides enough modalities that will be able to help your daughter. And the first thing that he— the first, like, requirement of his program was I couldn't take any Western or Eastern medications for 9 hours a day because he wanted to see where the pain was. He was like, oh, if it's masked, I can't really do all this work. And what that was— this was just crazy. But I was also in this, like, heartbroken emotional state over my friend passing, and I had this new awareness of that the medications probably weren't ideal. But then I'd also been taking them my whole life. I'd been taking, you know, 20, 40, 60, 100 pills a day. Wow. Like 3 to 5 doses of medication, sometimes like 2 every 2 hours, every 3 hours, all these meds that basically each doctor felt were imperative to my, um, me being able to thrive, but actually they were not. And so after this experience, it was a 6-week therapy program. And from there I just started retiring each medication. I was like, what does it look like to insert a different therapy or modality where I had a drug? And then retiring more and retiring more. And then eventually, um, within 6 months of that experience, I just stopped taking all medications. And there have been times that when I got the dysautonomia, I actually lost the ability to see and walk So that's a whole nother story. And I met this amazing angel who said, oh, you need this medication. You need to go to this doctor. You need to have this test and you need this medication. And eventually you won't. And I took this thing called Midodrine every 3 hours for about 12 weeks. And that was a huge moment for me because I would— I at that point was like on my high horse. Oh, I don't take pharmaceutical medications. I've retired that side of me. I'm so strong. And you know, what I learned is that there's a time and place for everything, but never use anything as a crutch. And, um, so, you know, I haven't taken medication in an exceptionally long time. Um, but it's, it's an ever-evolving process. And I know that if there were a time that there were one specific thing that would be life, life-saving at that exact moment, You know, I might be open to it for that moment, but knowing that nothing is set in stone, like that our knowledge is ever evolving, our level of comfort with the knowledge that we're acquiring is also evolving. But to do what's right in that moment, it's really, you know, it was, it was a team. This woman, Paula, shout out to Paula, because I really saw in me what I did not see, and my parents believed in her energy. They were like, oh, we gotta take her serious. That's exactly right. They were— and she came with that same energy when I got my first back brace when I was 12, which is another situational in itself. And I— they had this back brace, they, they, they put plaster on my whole body and down my whole leg, and they made this custom back brace, and I had this metal bar, and I walked with a limp. Not like— not because I had a limp, but because they literally created a limp based on this— based on this bar being there. And she came came with the same intensity back then and was like, "You can't wear a backpack. It's gonna hurt you for your whole life. You need a backpack on wheels." And I was like, "Do you know how nerdy I already am?" I was like, "Do you understand?" And she's like, "I don't care about the other kids. I only care about you and your future." And so I already remembered from that moment that she was showing up for me in a way that nobody else was to say, Ignore the noise, tap into what you need. Your body is fragile and it will be strong one day, and you need to prepare yourself and do not cause more harm to yourself than you're already experiencing just because you want to fit in to people that you don't even need in your life anyway. Yeah, so I— when she came to my parents with such intensity, I was like, okay, God sent her to me and my parents. And there's something beyond this that I don't see, but I don't care. I don't need to read into it more. I'm just going to be like, whatever Paula says. And if that doesn't work, what's the worst that happens? I've been worse.

Right. Right. Yes. That's— oh my gosh. I say that all the time. I'm like, yeah, so what's the alternative? Yeah, I mean, I can try it this way and it doesn't work, or I could try it the other way, which I already know, especially when it comes to trying different things, like from a standpoint of like Western medicine, like there's always a side effect. So it's like, yeah, I mean, I'm trading the two for, for this potential that might not be as bad. So let me just try that first. But there are so many things too, like that we could spin and unpack there. But I want to hear more about how you came to this beautiful way of helping people now with the— with your journaling and how does that work into your life now and for the ladies? Yeah. And for not ladies, just like people in general, you know?

Yeah. Well, you know, at one point I just thought to myself, what am I going to do with this knowledge that I've acquired? And what are the ways that I can serve those that, you know, my whole childhood, it was very apparent that you can't buy money and you can't— money doesn't buy health and it doesn't buy happiness. And there was no amount of Google searches that my mom did that gave her any insight into how she could help me. And so then I realized that there were so many other people that were in the exact same position that I was in. That's not like what I experienced is unique. It's really not. There's an aggressive amount of chronic illness and it is ever-expanding right now. And so I thought if there was a way for me to best support people, God, please show me that way. And then all these opportunities came up. The Coalition Against Pediatric Pain asked me to support. Mentoring some kids with chronic and terminal illnesses. And then, you know, eventually I learned about the power of subconscious thinking and the negative self-talk that's reinforcing, you know, the space of disempowerment that we don't want to live in anyway. And so I created this positive psychology workbook to teach people, to teach myself, to re-remind myself, and then others what it looks like to be in a different narrative in my head, which eventually became the Miracle Morning Art of Affirmations, which is a positive coloring book for adults and kids that teaches families how to create structured morning routines. So it's now like part of the Miracle Morning brand. And, you know, that was just one of my ways of service that I really realized that if there was somebody that was suffering in a similar way to me and God put them in my path. I was just going to serve them in whatever way I could, whether that was giving them rituals and habits or tools or connecting them to a doctor. And eventually, I got this, got this job with this genetics company and work with the NIH. And as a result, I have a Rolodex of so many physicians that a lot of them are on— I can text them. So I've been able to fast-track for certain people at certain times. It's not like I can do it for everyone all the time, but there are certain times that I have been able to support people people's diagnosis or wellness journey in a really massive way. And so if there's a time that I can serve, I try to. I feel like, you know, those are, um, they're just sent to us and we can either pick up the ball or not. And so that, you know, that's how the coloring book came about. It's so cute too. Look at this. I'm my biggest fan.

So much love.

Look at this.

It's so pretty.

It's so pretty.

You guys will have to, um, when you guys are in the show notes, I'll have some images and stuff like that from that I'll have Brianna share with me that you guys can take a look at in the show notes for sure for those.

And there's like a free version online that we can give everyone the link. But like, you know, when I look at this, this page says the moment The moment I accept responsibility for everything in my life is the moment I gain the power to change anything in my life. And it has this reinforcing conversation next to it. I think where people get caught up with accepting responsibility is when someone else is to blame for a situation. But understand that accepting responsibility is not the same thing as accepting blame. While blame determines who is at fault, Responsibility determines who is committed to improving the circumstances. Don't worry who is at fault. What matters is that you are committed to improving yourself and creating the circumstances you want for your life, regardless of who is to blame. That's the true power of accepting responsibility for everything in our lives. And so, you know, all of— that's why I'm like such a fan of this work, because when we recognize and unpack the narrative in our head, the narrative that's letting us rule our lives, we realize that it's probably not serving us.

Yeah.

You know, you're so right. Um, there probably is going to be a solo cast along this thought, but I'm working with a really good friend who's the reason why I feel like I have even gotten to where I am in my life from a spiritual, not like from an emotional, okay. There is emotional trauma when you deal with chronic illness. Like people, we obviously deal with pain. We deal with all of these things, but what we don't it's already hard enough dealing with the symptoms, but I think the other thing that's even more difficult is dealing with the emotional trauma that we put on ourselves and that are— that's coming at us. And a part of that is learning how to change the— that conversation in your head that you say to yourself. And so I think, um, one of the most beautiful things that you're doing is teaching people that you don't necessarily that you don't necessarily have to, um, you can feel better or find ways to feel better by what you're saying to yourself. Like, that can make a huge difference. And I don't think there's enough of that conversation happening in, in the world, period, about like, you don't have to feel like— you can have pain, you can all those things. But I have noticed, even for my own self, that that if I, for example, if I'm doing some emotional freedom tapping, tapping, I don't know if you guys are familiar with that. But if I'm doing that and I'm like, my practitioner is saying to me, like, where are you feeling the pain? And I start talking about the pain, but what's coming up for me is anxiety and the anxiety of that and all of those different things. That's emotional pain that's becoming that's coming out on you from a physical place. And what you do, and what I've, you know, just love watching you in your journey and you sharing all these different things, is that you're teaching people that yes, you might have a label, yes, you might have a diagnosis, maybe you don't have a diagnosis, but you still have the power to shift how you can feel and how you, how you show up for yourself and for others in the world. And that And that's really why I want you to be on the show so that other people can hear that and have that beautiful place to go and see that there's a way to do it. There's multiple different ways to do it. This is one way with the Miracle Morning using positive affirmations. But there are so many different modalities, so many that I'm even learning to this day. So I am just so thankful that you came onto the show. Thank you so much for sharing your journey. Me, um, sharing your, your work and what you're doing. Um, I just appreciate you.

I so appreciate you and helping me step into this new evolved space where I'm more comfortable sharing this type of wisdom with larger audiences versus on an individual basis. And what I'll just end with is, is to, to tack on to what you just said. When do we change the conversation in our head? We remember that we are in control of our lives despite whatever we experience, to the point that we put ourselves back in the driver's seat. We are in control of how we breathe. We are in control of how many, you know, how much water we consume. We are in control of so many things that we forget because we live in a disempowered state based on the circumstances that we're experiencing, But when you say to yourself, despite what I'm experiencing, what can I do? Then, you know, sometimes I literally can't even leave the house. Sometimes I'm like, I'm really struggling, struggling to stand, struggling to walk. And then I just say to myself, well, what if I just took 100 steps from the bedroom to the bathroom and to the hallway and back? What if I, what can I do? Maybe I can't get down to the gym. Maybe I can't do, you know, a 10-minute workout. Maybe, You know, but whatever I can't do shouldn't stop me from what I can do. And how might I recognize what I can do in this moment? And so when we put ourselves back in the driver's seat, we learn that we have so much more power than we thought we did.

Yes. Oh my goodness. So much. Yes, yes, yes. Well, Brianna, tell everyone how we can find you. Everybody knows we'll put all this stuff in the show notes, but tell us if they can find you on Instagram, where they can find this beautiful book.

You can find me on Clubhouse @bregreenspan. And you can also find me on Instagram, like breegreen1111. And then, you know, I also have like a Facebook page, but in general, I'm on Clubhouse every day hosting a Miracle Morning room at 7:00 AM Central. And you can find me in Nikita's rooms supporting and learning and growing alongside her. And, you know, I have a website. It's not very active. Um, you can find me on Instagram, DM me.

All right, y'all, that's a wrap. Thank you for listening, and I hope this conversation inspired you. Be sure to visit craftedtothrive.com to check out our show notes, connect with our guests, and grab some of those goodies. Join us for the next episode, and in the meantime, remember, yes, yes, yes, you are crafted to thrive.