A Chronic Illness Support Group
Weekly virtual support group for adults to help you feel connected while navigating a chronic illness
Facilitated by Dr. Victoria Rodriguez (she/her)
Rise & Revive
YOU DON’T HAVE TO FEEL ALONE
Your illness pretty much runs the show - one day you can feel energized, ready to tackle new projects at work or explore new cities. And the next day, you crash. Your day is eaten away by brain fog, tears, and pain.
You feel the heaviness of caring for your body, overwhelmed with the doctors’ appointments, the medications, and even cooking and showering start to feel too much. You find yourself having to back out of social plans, terrified that the invites will stop coming. Or maybe they’ve already stopped. You hate disappointing others. You value consistency and hate to be seen as “flaky” or a “burden”.
You thought that friends and family would be there. They’ve said “let me know what you need!” - but you don’t even really know what you need.
You’re ready to get off of this emotional roller coaster and feel held by those who understand the cost of chronic illness.
A SPACE WHERE YOU BELONG
What if you had access to a community where you didn’t have to explain how your health issues impact your life?
You wouldn’t feel obligated to hide your pain because others know what it’s like to live with chronic health issues. You could show up imperfectly in your imperfect body and still feel accepted. You wouldn’t worry about being judged or being called “lazy” on days where your energy levels crash. You could feel confident in your identity with chronic illness because you know you have a group that has your back as you navigate doctors’ appointments, work, parenthood, or mental health while caring for your body.
HEALING THROUGH COMMUNITY
Rise & Revive: A Chronic Illness Support Group is a virtual support group for adults helping you feel connected to others who know exactly what it’s like to live in a body like yours.
Through sharing your experiences, anger, and hope, you can learn tools to help you cope with the realities of caring for a chronically ill body.
FEEL CONNECTED - NO MATTER WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOUR BODY
Serving you whether you’re figuring out a mystery of symptoms or managing one or multiple chronic illnesses such as:
➯ Autoimmune / Inflammatory Illnesses (Hashimoto’s, Celiac, MS, etc)
➯ ME/CFS
➯ Hypermobility / EDS
➯ Dysautonomia / POTS
➯ Heart Disease
➯ Asthma / COPD
➯ Diabetes
➯ and many more
BUILD A FOUNDATION OF SUPPORT
Rise & Revive can help you weather all the ups and downs of the medical odyssey
➯ Join a built-in community where others already understand how your day-to-day can change based on your body’s needs
➯ Feel accepted by members as you grieve the parts of being “healthy” you miss - and also grieve the future you thought you might have without illness
➯ Get practical advice from those who have been there on navigating doctors’ appointments and complex medical systems
➯ Learn from members and share your own coping tools for flare ups to strengthen the shared knowledge of the whole group and help members not feel so alone
➯ Gain accountability from group members to stay the course on your treatment plan and not give up even when your medical care feels like it’s at a stand still
A FUTURE OF WELLNESS AND CONNECTION
Imagine a life where you gain the tools you need and feel secure navigating your illness because you know others who have done the exact same.
You go out to restaurants, you rest without guilt, and maybe take vacations or go to concerts again feeling confident in your skills to set boundaries and use your accommodations.
You no longer feel the need to “battle” your illness or be an “invisible illness warrior” - through the support of a chronically ill community, you learn how to be in a conversation with your body.
In the same way you will build connections in the Rise & Revive community, you can build a connection with your chronically ill body that feels safe and compassionate.
3 EASY STEPS TO FEELING SUPPORTED
Step 1: Get on the Waitlist
Complete the email form below to get on the waitlist. This group will be launching in 2025 and those on the waitlist will be the first to join. Only 10 spots will be open for 2025. Groups are $40 per meeting.
Step 2: Join Virtual Meetings Each Week
As soon as you’re registered, you’ll receive a link you can use to join every week and meet others with chronic health issues. Having a flare-up and can’t join this week? No worries! Go rest and join us next week. You only pay for the meetings you attend.
Step 3: Feel Understood
Share your experiences with group members and hear their stories of living with chronic health issues. Learn new coping tools and process your thoughts and feelings each week with those who get it.
Get on the Waitlist
Complete this form online to be added to the waitlist for Rise & Revive: A Chronic Illness Support Group. In January 2025, you’ll receive a message launching this group. Those on the waitlist get priority placement - only 10 spots open for the entire year of 2025! Each group is $40 per meeting.
Meet Victoria
Facilitator: Rise & Revive Chronic Illness Support Group
As a chronically therapist myself specializing in medical trauma, I help people feel safe in their bodies after a scary medical event or while managing a chronic illness. I started “Rise & Revive: A Chronic Illness Support Group” after hearing my clients talk about how much they needed connection to other chronically ill/disabled people. You deserve a consistent community in the inconsistency of living with chronic illness.
Frequently Asked Questions
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“Rise & Revive: A Chronic Illness Support Group” is a drop in virtual group. This means that you can use the link to the group whenever you feel like attending. You can attend once for the whole year, attend every other week, or consistently attend weekly for optimal results. There will be a consistent day and time we meet (i.e. Mondays from 5:00pm-6:30pm as an example). We will meet via SimplePractice’s HIPAA compliant video platform.
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This group costs $40 per meeting. This group will meet weekly, but you get to decide the frequency you attend.
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This group is meant to accommodate your health needs, meaning you don’t pay if you have a flare up and need to skip one week.
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This is a process group meaning each group member is expected to share in a safe and collaborative way. While this group as a whole will decide the topic and direction, we might cover such topics as navigating medical systems, learning to rest without guilt, figuring out career and work with chronic health issues, parenting with chronic health issues, and much more depending on the makeup and experiences of the group.