How to Find Joy When Life Is Hard | The Power of Gratitude

What if the voice telling you to do more, try harder and never give up is the very voice keeping you exhausted? In this episode, I sit down with integrative psychotherapist Tara McSweeney to talk about self-compassion, the inner critic, and why slowing down can feel so hard when you’ve spent your life achieving and putting everyone else first. We talk about: Why high achievers struggle when they can no longer keep pushing

October is Facial Pain Awareness Month, and October 7 is Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day. In this special episode of The Michele Roys Show, I’m shining a light on trigeminal neuralgia — an invisible condition that can cause severe facial pain, including shooting, stabbing, burning and electric-shock-like sensations. For those of us living with TN, everyday things that most people never think twice about — a breeze on your face, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, talking or eating — can sometimes trigger pain. And yet, from the outside, you may look completely fine. 💙 LIGHT IT UP TEAL — OCTOBER 7Around the world, buildings and landmarks are lighting up teal for Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day. Here in Ireland, I talk about some of the incredible places joining the campaign, including University of Limerick, Cork Airport, Kilkenny Castle, Rock of Cashel, St Stephen’s Green Monument and EPIC/The Custom House area — and there are landmarks lighting up around the world too. If you see somewhere lit up teal, take a photo, tag me and share it. Let's help shine a light on trigeminal neuralgia and show people living with facial pain that they are not alone. This episode is about more than awareness. It's about the reality of invisible pain. It's about being believed. It's about compassion and understanding. And it's about community — because none of us should have to walk through difficult seasons alone. If you live with trigeminal neuralgia or another facial pain condition, share your story. Your voice may help someone else realise they aren't the only one. And if you know someone living with invisible pain, reach out, ask questions and see how you can support them. You are not alone. 💙 Watch. Share. Raise awareness. Light it up teal. So today, if you see something lit up teal, take a picture. Share it. Tag us @michroys @facialpainassoc Add #LightUpTeal #TrigeminalNeuralgiaAwarenessDay #TrigeminalNeuralgia

What if the diagnosis that changed your life didn't have to define the rest of it? At 27, Amy Behimer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It wasn't her first autoimmune diagnosis either. She had already been living with vitiligo and Graves' disease, and suddenly she was facing a future she never expected. Her first thought? "My life will always be worse now." But Amy didn't stop there.In this honest conversation we talk about what it means to grieve the person you thought you were going to be, live with an invisible illness, and find a new way forward without pretending everything is fine. Amy shares how she learned to control the controllables, focusing on what she can influence while accepting what she cannot. We talk about: Being diagnosed with MS at 27, on top of two other autoimmune conditionsThe grief that comes with a life-changing diagnosis Living with invisible illness and looking fine while struggling inside Redefining what health actually means Everyday habits that support wellbeing, food, movement, rest and mindsetWhy your health habits don't need to be perfect Creating a daily "date with yourself"One of my favourite moments is when Amy says, "Different is good." Sometimes the life we didn't plan for teaches us to live more intentionally. If you're living with chronic illness, autoimmune disease, or simply trying to make healthier changes, I think there is something here for you. 💬 What is one thing in your life you need to stop fighting and start accepting, and what is one thing you can control? Tell me in the comments. 📖 Connect with Amy 🎙️ Autoimmune Health Secrets Podcast 📱 Instagram: Amy Behimer Coaching 🌐 amybehimercoaching.com 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts #MultipleSclerosis #AutoimmuneDisease #InvisibleIllness #ChronicIllness #TheMicheleRoysShow #MSWarrior #InvisibleIllnessAwareness

My audiobook launches tomorrow. And this week, I got overwhelmed. Not with the recording. Not with the editing. But with everything else it takes to bring an event like this together. Invites, registrations, the host, the guests, a hundred small moving pieces all at once. I had to sit down with my journal and ask myself honestly, Shelly, what's going on with you? And it brought me back to something I have learned again and again on this journey. The power of small things. When I set out to write my book, the whole idea felt too big to hold. So I broke it down to 250 words a day. Those small words compounded into 117,000 words, later trimmed through editing. The same thing happened this week with the launch. I could not send a thousand invites at once, but I could send ten. I could not do everything, but I could do one small thing that moved the needle forward. In this episode I talk honestly about getting overwhelmed, what helped me come back from it, and why small, doable steps matter more than we give them credit for, whether you are healing from chronic pain, working toward a goal, or just trying to get through a hard week. My audiobook launches tomorrow. If you have not registered yet, its free, the link isbelow: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/but-you-look-just-fine-audiobook-launch-celebration-with-andrea-hayes-tickets-1998429646870?aff=oddtdtcreator 💬 What is one small thing you are going to do for yourself this week? Tell me in the comments. 📖 But You Look Just Fine: micheleroys.com 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts #PainAwarenessMonth #ChronicPain #InvisibleIllness #TheMicheleRoysShow #SmallSteps #Kaizen #ChronicIllnessCommunity

What do you do when your health is failing, your business is drowning, and you feel like you've got nothing left? For Amy Lacey, the answer wasn't to give up. It was to go deeper. Amy was diagnosed with lupus and Sjögren's syndrome and reached a point where chronic pain left her unable to walk normally. She was using a scooter, had undergone multiple foot surgeries, and was struggling with the reality of not being able to be the mother she wanted to be. Then came an unexpected idea: cauliflower pizza. What began as a way to bring a family tradition back into her home became Cauliflower Foods, and remarkably, an eight-figure business within 16 months. But the biggest turning point came when Amy found herself deep in the negative and on her knees praying for God to shut the business down. Then she had a dream about a single mother and her daughter, and the story she shared about them went viral overnight. That wasn't the end of the story either. In this conversation Amy also opens up about childhood trauma, EMDR, chronic illness, depression, losing her company and her team, journaling, gratitude, her mother's breast cancer, and learning to see rejection as God's protection and redirection. We talk about: Living with lupus, Sjögren's syndrome and chronic pain