In Sickness

Mar 11 2025 99 ep. 46 mins 19
In Sickness Podcast artwork

Listen in as Allison Breininger and Justin Bajema, millennial caregivers for their chronically ill spouses, speak honestly about what life is like when there are more days spent in sickness than in health.

  Health & Fitness
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


105: Time Toxicity: Studying the Time Burdens of Caregiving with Dr. Arjun Gupta

Mar 11 2025 55 mins  
Oncologist Dr. Arjun Gupta’s team has coined the term “time toxicity,”which refers to the significant time investment required for cancer patients and their caregivers to undergo cancer treatment and related activities. In this episode, he talks with Allison and Justin about how he came to be invested in the needs of caregivers and what his team has learned and hopes to accom

104: Caring for Multiple People

Feb 25 2025 46 mins  
Many caregivers end up caring for not just one, but multiple family members, often concurrently. In this episode, Justin and Allison discuss how and why this happens, the impact this can have on caregivers, the boundaries that can be established, and the adaptations that can be made, as well as how supporters can help. --- Join us for an online support group related to this episode

103: Who Can We Vent To?

Feb 11 2025 42 mins  
When going through the challenges of caregiving, it’s common for caregivers to struggle to find a safe place to vent. Caregivers may hesitate to share with their loved one, friends may not get it, and some are worried to burden other caregivers with their hard things. Despite all of this, not venting isn’t an option. In this episode, Allison and Justin discuss all of this as we

102: The Impact of Caregiving on our Nervous Systems

Jan 28 2025 57 mins  
Trauma-informed yoga therapist, Jacqueline Vlietstra talks with Justin and Allison about the basics of nervous system regulation, how short and long-term caregiving impacts our nervous systems, and ways in which caregivers can find wellbeing in the midst of it all. --- Yoga for Resilience --- Join us for an online support group related to this episode on February 3 from 6:00-7:15p

101: Finding Opportunities to Maintain Our Agency

Jan 14 2025 46 mins  
As caregivers, it can feel as if our loved one’s health is in the driver’s seat and that there are few parts of our lives over which we have control. In this episode, Allison and Justin share ways in which they have been maintaining or taking back their agency in various aspects of their lives and how supporters can help. --- Join us for an online support group related to this

100: How Far We’ve Come: A Celebration of 100 Episodes

Nov 26 2024 45 mins  
Internet friends who had bonded over caregiving, Justin and Allison set out to record six episodes of a podcast in early 2020. In this, their 100th episode, they look back at how far they’ve come, favorite moments along the way, the impact this podcast has had on them, and what they hope for next as well as listen to messages sent in from listeners.

99: Caregiving Across the Ages

Nov 19 2024 67 mins  
Becoming a caregiver can happen at any age, and while there are some universal truths, the age and stage of life that a person is in when this occurs can impact the way this feels and unfolds. In this episode, Allison (44) and Justin (42) talk with Ella Whitlecroft (23), Glenn Nishida (65), and Harriette Manis (74) about how the age and place in life they were in when they began ca

98: When Our Closest People Don't Show Up

Oct 29 2024 51 mins  
There are people in our lives who, because of biology or proximity, we would expect to show up for us in our times of need, and it can be especially painful when they don’t. In this episode, Justin and Allison talk about the grief and disappointment when people close to us don’t show up, but also the beauty when other, less expected connections, do. --- Join us for an online su

97: Our Needs Matter Too

Oct 15 2024 53 mins  
Caregivers regularly put the needs of their loved ones far above their own, even when that comes at a cost to their own wellbeing. In this episode, Allison shares how, after 14 years of accompanying her husband to a procedure he has regularly, she has made the decision to not attend for the sake of her own mental health. Listen in as she and Justin discuss the steps leading up to t

96: The Myth of the "Perfect Caregiver"

Oct 01 2024 50 mins  
Some caregivers feel there is an unspoken expectation that we only share the positive aspects of our role; that we appear to be brave and strong and grateful. In this episode, Allison and Justin talk about where that misperception may stem from, the damage it can cause, and how supporters can help.