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Bouncing Back Podcast

Bouncing Back Podcast

By: Melissa McCurley
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Bouncing Back Podcast: Professionals Thriving with Chronic Illness is hosted by Melissa McCurley, a resilient professional living with multiple chronic illnesses like Hashimoto’s, IBS, Psoriasis, ADHD, and more. Melissa creates a compassionate space for professionals to share stories of perseverance and success. Through inspiring conversations and practical insights, the podcast explores mindset shifts, support systems, and advocating for workplace accommodations while thriving with chronic illness. #autoimmunediseasewarriorMelissa McCurley Economics
Episodes
  • Living with Lupus: Identity, Faith & Motherhood | Shedrica Holmes

    Living with Lupus: Identity, Faith & Motherhood | Shedrica Holmes
    15 Oct 2026

    Can you rebuild your identity after lupus takes away the life you planned at 21?

    On the Bouncing Back Podcast, Melissa McCurley, a 7th-generation North Texan REALTOR and fellow autoimmune warrior, brings real conversations to professionals thriving with chronic illness. Guest Shedrica Holmes, a movement coach and founder of Clarity That Moves, was diagnosed with lupus in 2006 at age 21 and had to relearn how to walk and talk.

    You’ll learn how therapy and acceptance helped Shedrica Holmes rebuild her identity, how faith and mindset shifts keep her going, how she planned motherhood with lupus, and how pen, paper, and creativity bring her clarity.

    🎧 Hosted by: Melissa McCurley

    🎤 Featuring:

    Shedrica Holmes is a movement coach, teacher, and the founder of Clarity That Moves. She offers one-on-one coaching built on a step-by-step clarity framework. She also creates journals, planners, devotionals, ebooks, and coloring and activity books for adults and children.

    💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

    ✔️ Therapy helps you navigate the grief and envy of a chronic illness diagnosis ✔️ Thriving with chronic illness can mean accepting its highs and lows ✔️ Faith can be the reason you refuse to let lupus win ✔️ Mindset shifts for chronic illness start with what you listen to ✔️ Motherhood brings an identity shift toward caring for more than yourself

    ✔️ Pen-and-paper planning and vision boards can turn goals into results ✔️ Creativity and play belong in wellness alongside fitness and nutrition

    ⏳ Timestamps (Click to Jump!):

    📌 00:00 - Lupus at 21: Relearning to Walk and Talk

    📌01:23 - Identity, Family & Faith After Diagnosis

    📌03:26 - Lupus (SLE) Symptoms Explained

    📌05:21 - Faith on Hard Days

    📌06:19 - Invisible Illness & Weight Changes

    📌09:41 - Accepting the Highs and Lows

    📌10:30 - Why Therapy Came First

    📌13:11 - Told Not to Have Kids, Now a Mom of Two

    📌14:28 - Planning Pregnancy with Lupus

    📌17:49 - Vision Board Goals Reached in 6 Months

    📌21:58 - The Clarity That Moves Framework

    📌26:17 - Just Pick One and Move Forward

    💡Key Questions Answered in This Episode

    Q: How can you prepare for pregnancy with lupus?→ A: Shedrica Holmes, a mom of two living with lupus, waited until her kidney specialist confirmed her lab markers were good. She then took folic acid and vitamins, prepared mentally, and chose a partner who understood her health might change.

    Q: What is systemic lupus (SLE)?→ A: Systemic lupus (SLE), as Shedrica Holmes describes it, can affect every organ, including the skin, kidneys, liver, and brain, unlike lupus that stays in the skin. Her symptoms included joint pain, hair loss, a butterfly rash, hives, and seizures.

    Q: Why can lupus treatment cause weight gain?→ A: Shedrica Holmes explains that the steroids she took for inflammation and pain “blow you up,” and another medication made her eat more. Her weight has ranged from 80 to almost 200 pounds.

    📇 Connect with Shedrica Shant’e

    • 📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshedrica/

    • 📷Instagram: Business → https://www.instagram.com/lupusspeaks/

    • 🔗Website: https://shedricaholmes.com/

    • 🔗Website:https://dreamandsow.com

    🎙 FOLLOW MELISSA & BOUNCING BACK:

    📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouncingbackpodcast/

    📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/melmccurley/

    🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-mccurley/

    📺 Youtube → https://www.youtube.com/@BouncingBackwithMelissa

    📱Pinterest → https://www.pinterest.com/bouncingbackwith

    🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!

    #BouncingBackPodcast #MelissaMcCurley #ChronicIllnessWarrior #AutoimmuneWarrior #ThrivingWithChronicIllness #eXpRealty #MindsetMatters #ResiliencePodcast #ChronicIllnessAtWork #InvisibleIllness

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    28 min
  • Chronic Illness Mindset Shifts: Life Is a Play | Carly Alyssa Thorne

    Chronic Illness Mindset Shifts: Life Is a Play | Carly Alyssa Thorne
    1 Oct 2026
    What if you could edit your life like a film, even after 67 surgeries and five-plus autoimmune diseases?Melissa McCurley brings stories like this one to everyone navigating work and life with long-term health conditions. Director and producer Carly Alyssa Thorne shares how she blends Reiki, Ayurvedic herbs and Western medicine to live with congenital rubella syndrome.This chronic illness podcast episode gives you practical mindset shifts for boundaries, emergencies and hard seasons.🎧 Hosted by: Melissa McCurley🎤 Featuring: Carly Alyssa Thorne is a director, producer, actor, author and speaker with over 30 years in the consciousness transformation space. Born with congenital rubella syndrome, she has had 67 surgeries and now offers transformational breakthrough coaching and one-on-one medical advocacy. She contributed chapter six to the anthology Breaking Silence: Voices of Survivors. 💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✔️ Thriving with chronic illness: gratitude comes before receiving more ✔️ Chronic illness energy rule: do it, delegate it, or delete it ✔️ Mindset shifts: handwrite one intention 3, 6 and 9 times daily ✔️ Food boundaries: be honest and bring your own safe food to gatherings ✔️ Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness ✔️ Living will and DNR talks belong early, not after a crisis ✔️ Eastern and Western care can work together, with your physician's OK ⏳ Timestamps (Click to Jump!):📌00:00 - Preview: Prayers, Not "I'm So Sorry" 📌00:28 - Welcome: Carly Alyssa Thorne 📌 01:45 - 67 Surgeries & Congenital Rubella Syndrome 📌 03:05 - Port Hydration, Pulsed Red Light & Chi Machine📌 07:17 - Weight Swings, Daily Gym & Gastric Bypass 📌 11:20 - Saying No When People Push Food 📌 15:25 - Accepting Prayers, Not Pity 📌 16:28 - Living Will, Living Trust & DNR 📌 18:48 - 3 Medical Papers for Emergencies 📌 21:09 - Support Groups & Asking for Help 📌 23:56 - Reiki, IET, NLP & Hypnosis📌 25:25 - Breaking Silence: Voices of Survivors 📌 31:23 - Breaking Generational Trauma 📌 33:46 - Do It, Delegate It, Delete It + The 3-6-9 Writing Habit 💡Key Questions Answered in This EpisodeQ: How can I practice Reiki on myself for self-healing?→ A: Carly Alyssa Thorne, a Reiki master with 30+ years in consciousness transformation, practices Reiki and Integrated Energy Therapy (IET) on her own; family can learn too. She says hands and feet are large chakras: pull hands apart, push them together, feel the energy, then fine-tune with symbols to meditate on.Q: What is the difference between red light therapy and pulsed red light for inflammation?→ A: Regular red light warms skin; pulsed red light goes deeper into cells, says Carly Alyssa Thorne, who uses it 20 minutes daily. Her inflammation markers are now normal; check with your physician first.Q: Why should I carry my DNR order everywhere?→ A: Carly Alyssa Thorne advises keeping your do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order in your wallet and car, because responders automatically resuscitate you. Carly, who's had a DNR and living will since 20, says if it's your true wish, keep it everywhere.📇 Connect with Carly Alissa Thorne🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyalyssathorne/📱Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlyathorne📘Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlyalyssathorne📱Webside: https://carlyathorne.com/🎙 FOLLOW MELISSA & BOUNCING BACK:📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouncingbackpodcast/📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/melmccurley/🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-mccurley/📺 Youtube → https://www.youtube.com/@BouncingBackwithMelissa📱Pinterest → https://www.pinterest.com/bouncingbackwith🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!#BouncingBackPodcast #MelissaMcCurley #ChronicIllnessWarrior #AutoimmuneWarrior #ThrivingWithChronicIllness #eXpRealty #MindsetMatters #ResiliencePodcast #ChronicIllnessAtWork #InvisibleIllness
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    37 min
  • Misdiagnosed for 10 Years: Christina Brookman's Chronic Illness Reframe

    Misdiagnosed for 10 Years: Christina Brookman's Chronic Illness Reframe
    17 Sep 2026

    Diagnosed at 28, divorced, and misdiagnosed for a decade, how Christina Brookman rebuilt a life chronic illness tried to erase.

    Melissa McCurley, a 7th-generation North Texan REALTOR and fellow chronic illness warrior, built Bouncing Back Podcast for professionals thriving with chronic illness who are tired of clinical, sanitized conversations. This episode is a case study in exactly that: Christina Brookman spent nearly ten years misdiagnosed before getting real answers, and she's turned that decade into hard-won wisdom about grief, self-advocacy, and reframing.

    Together, Melissa's real-estate-and-autoimmune-disease lens and Christina's theater-and-rare-migraine-disorder journey unpack what it actually takes to keep going from finding free state disability resources to accepting the dreams a chronic illness takes off the table.

    🎧 Hosted by: Melissa McCurley

    🎤 Featuring:

    Christina Brookman is an actress and host of the podcast Speaking in Spoons. She was diagnosed with a genetic disorder at 28 after leaving a full-time career in theater, and spent nearly a decade misdiagnosed with a rare migraine condition before getting answers.

    💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

    ✔️ How to keep self-advocating through a decade of misdiagnosis until you get real answers

    ✔️ Why grieving your old life is part of thriving with chronic illness, not a sign of failure

    ✔️ Reframing chronic illness as improv instead of a script you have to follow perfectly

    ✔️ Finding invisible-disability accommodations and free state resources, no federal diagnosis required

    ✔️Turning your own health journey into a podcast or community that helps others heal

    ✔️ Practical coping tools (Calm/HBO narrated meditations, somatic breathwork, adaptive journaling tech) for pain and brain fog

    ✔️ Extending grace to yourself and others while navigating chronic illness at work and in relationships

    📇 Connect with Christina Brookman

    🔗 LinkedIn: http://www.linkdin.com/in/christinabrookman-speakinginspoons

    📱Website: http://www.speakinginspoons.com/

    📘Dacebook: https://www.facebook.com/speakingnspoons/

    The state based government resources:

    • https://disabilityrightstx.org/en/home/

    • https://www.twc.texas.gov/programs/vocational-rehabilitation

    • https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/disability/independent-living-services

    🎙 FOLLOW MELISSA & BOUNCING BACK:

    📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouncingbackpodcast/

    📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/melmccurley/

    🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-mccurley/

    📺 Youtube → https://www.youtube.com/@BouncingBackwithMelissa

    📱Pinterest → https://www.pinterest.com/bouncingbackwith

    🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!

    #BouncingBackPodcast #MelissaMcCurley #ChronicIllnessWarrior #AutoimmuneWarrior #ThrivingWithChronicIllness #eXpRealty #MindsetMatters #ResiliencePodcast #ChronicIllnessAtWork #InvisibleIllness

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    34 min
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