68: Navigating Chronic Illness with Compassion

Sensitive Stories

Sensitive Stories
68: Navigating Chronic Illness with Compassion
Feb 03, 2026 Episode 68
April Snow and Nadine Pinede

Do you live with a chronic illness? In this episode, I talk with Nadine Pinede about softening into compassion and:  

• Adjusting to a diagnosis of chronic illness as a highly sensitive person  

• Listening to the body’s signals with curiosity instead of frustration  

• Learning to pace yourself and find community to live more sustainably 

• Finding the wisdom and resilience in health challenges  

Nadine Pinede is the daughter of Haitian exiles, an award-winning author and poet, and a mindful self-compassion guide whose work explores healing and belonging through story and nature. A Rhodes Scholar and lifelong creative, she teaches others how to reconnect with the natural world as founder of “Coming to Our Senses” retreat in Arles, which was inspired by her recent diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Her debut novel When the Mapou Sings was named an Américas Award Honor Book. Her forthcoming publications are the anthology Earth is a Living Thing: Black Poets and the Natural World, Uprooted: A Journey in Poems, and Soundwalker: A True Story of Making Music with Nature. 

Keep in touch with Nadine:
• Website: https://nadinepinede.com/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadinepinede 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadinepinede  

Resources Mentioned:
• Coming to Our Senses Retreat: https://www.comingtooursensesretreat.com
• When the Mapou Sings by Nadine Pinede: https://bookshop.org/a/63892/9781536235661 
• Uprooted: A Journey in Poems: https://www.terranovapress.com/books/uprooted   
• Self-Compassion Break: https://self-compassion.org/practices/general-self-compassion-break-2 
• EDS Society: https://www.ehlers-danlos.com  

Thanks for listening! You can read the full show notes and sign up for my email list to get new episode announcements and other resources at:
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This episode is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for treatment with a mental health or medical professional.

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Episode Artwork 68: Navigating Chronic Illness with Compassion 48:01 Episode Artwork 67: Finding Joy in Grief 37:58 Episode Artwork 66: Reconnecting With Your Authenticity Through Myths + Magic 37:17 Episode Artwork REPLAY: Emerging Into Your True Self as a Sensitive Person 45:34 Episode Artwork REPLAY: Unhooking From Overgiving and Overfunctioning as an HSP 58:13 Episode Artwork REPLAY: Trusting Yourself at Work as a Sensitive Perfectionist 39:51 Episode Artwork 65: Slow Down to Be More You 41:38 Episode Artwork 64: Finding Inner Gifts Through Story Work 52:11 Episode Artwork 63: Nurturing Your (Inner) Highly Sensitive Child 34:51 Episode Artwork 62: Releasing Pressures to be Perfect 39:24 Episode Artwork 61: Breaking the Cycle of Self-Sacrifice 43:27 Episode Artwork 60: Protecting Sensitivity With Spirituality 39:08 Episode Artwork 59: Pros + Perils of Parasocial Connections 47:45 Episode Artwork 58: Finding Your Authentic Self 48:22 Episode Artwork 57: Nourishing Your Way Out of Burnout 50:41 Episode Artwork 56: Living at Your Own Pace 34:39 Episode Artwork 55: Liabilities of Being Highly Sensitive 39:22 Episode Artwork 54: Healing in Safe Relationships 48:51 Episode Artwork 53: Unlearning Perfectionism + Embracing Softness 43:49 Episode Artwork 52: Feeling Deeply + Living Out Loud 52:48 Episode Artwork 51: Enjoying Sex Worth Having 44:56 Episode Artwork 50: Balancing Work and Creative Passions 44:20 Episode Artwork 49: Tidying Up + Letting Go of Overwhelm 56:18 Episode Artwork 48: An HSP’s Infertility Journey 48:15 Episode Artwork 47: Honoring Your Thresholds as a Black HSP 46:33