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Christina P. Kantzavelos 🌼 Integrative Chronic Illness Therapist

@beginwithintoday

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ᕱ Healing Beyond Diagnosis ✦ Lyme • CIRS • ME/ CFS • POTS • EDS • MCAS
✦ Trauma + Neurodivergent Care
🍄 Integration
✿ #BeginWithinJournal
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The Trauma of Chronic Illness: The Psychological Toll of Living with Physical Illness

Living with chronic illness can affect far more than physical health. Ongoing symptoms, uncertainty, medical procedures, difficult healthcare experiences, and the loss of a familiar way of life can all have a profound emotional and psychological impact. For some clients these experiences can be deeply traumatic.

For psychotherapists, understanding the relationship between chronic illness and trauma is important to providing care that validates both the physical realities and the psychological impact of chronic illness.

In this webinar, therapists will gain a deeper understanding of the intersection of trauma, chronic illness, and nervous system regulation. Christina will also explore how trauma-informed and somatic approaches can support clients living with chronic illness.

About Christina Kantzavelos

Christina P. Kantzavelos, LCSW, is an internationally based psychotherapist, coach, educator, writer, and chronic illness advocate.

She specializes in the intersection of trauma, chronic illness, nervous system regulation, and mind-body healing, integrating somatic approaches, trauma-informed care, neural retraining principles, and holistic wellness practices into her work.

Christina’s work draws from both professional expertise and lived experience with Lyme disease, POTS, mast cell activation issues, celiac disease, and autoimmune diseases.

Christina founded Begin Within Today, created the Begin Within Journal and Within Me App, and frequently speaks on the intersection between mental health and chronic illness.

DATE AND TIME:
North America: Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 2:00PM-3:00PM Pacific/5:00PM-6:00PM Eastern
United Kingdom: Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 10:00PM-11:00PM
Australia (Sydney): Thursday, October 22, 2026, 8:00AM-9:00AM
New Zealand (Auckland): Thursday, October 22, 2026, 10:00AM-11:00AM

Watch your email for the Zoom link if you've already signed up for the support webinar series.

If you're not already on our email list for our free support webinar series, CLICK THE LINK IN OUR BIO 👉 👉 👉

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“One therapy style will not heal everyone - and if it didn’t work for you, that does not mean you’re broken.”

Tag someone who needs to hear it. A lot of trauma survivors get told, “this approach heals all.”

That’s just not true. Some people need:
a body-based approach
a mind-based approach
a spiritual repair approach
a combo of all three

And with psychedelic work, trauma training matters even more.

Preparation, support, and integration are not optional - they’re what make the work safe.If one path stalled, it just means you haven’t found your path yet. There are many ways to heal.

#TraumaHealing #TraumaInformedCare #PsychedelicIntegration #HealingJourney #MentalHealthMatters

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If you’re curious about psychedelics, save this—because the real work is not the substance, it’s the person holding the experience.

A psychedelic can open a door. It can also open wounds you weren’t ready to look at.

The medicine is powerful, but it’s not magic. And if you treat it like a shortcut, you can miss the whole point.

What do you think people misunderstand most about psychedelics?

Full conversation in bio.
#psychedelictherapy #mentalhealthmatters #healingjourney #integrationmatters #wellnessconversation

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A giant thank you to our sponsor

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In life, we all encounter experiences we never would have consciously chosen, and sometimes those experiences can change the entire course we thought we were on.

Grief, shock, trauma, confusion, and sadness can alter the way we move through the world. They can leave us feeling lost, exhausted, angry, afraid, or disconnected from the person we used to be. They can make ordinary moments feel overwhelming and familiar people and places feel strangely unfamiliar.

Sometimes, we mourn not only what happened, but also what we thought our lives would look like. We grieve the future we imagined, the sense of safety we once had, and the version of ourselves who existed before everything changed.

We don’t have to call those things “blessings,” and we don’t have to believe they happened for a reason. We don’t have to rush to find meaning in our pain or pretend that we are grateful for what hurt us.

Some days, simply getting through is enough.

Healing may not look like returning to who we were before. It may look like learning to trust ourselves again, making room for complicated emotions, and slowly discovering that joy and sorrow can exist in the same heart.

What we often realize through the process is that we are still capable of creating something beautiful from a life that didn’t unfold exactly as planned. Not because the pain was beautiful, but because we continued to live, feel, hope, and move forward despite it.

The rocks may change the way the water moves, but they don’t take away its ability to flow. ❤️

P.S. #orridodibellano is the epitome of bello 🇮🇹

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"Curiosity and fear cannot coexist."

My guest Christina Kantzavelos, LCSW, shares why being curious is an important part of healing.

She explains that taking the time to research the nervous system or start a journaling practice can directly benefit your recovery. You deserve to get to know yourself as best as possible.

Listen to our full conversation to learn more about managing medical trauma and chronic stress.

🎧 The link to the full podcast episode is in my bio!

#MedicalTrauma #NervousSystemRegulation #TraumaRecovery #ChristinaKantzavelos #MedicalTraumaSupport

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Have you ever wondered why everything feels scary after a medical trauma?

It is easy to think there is something wrong with you when you are experiencing a chronic stress response. But the truth is, your nervous system is just having a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.

In my latest podcast episode with Christina Kantzavelos, LCSW, we discuss how medical trauma causes your nervous system to become hypervigilant. We also talk about how learning to soothe your nervous system can increase your window of tolerance, allowing you to experience joy and gratitude again.

Swipe through to learn more about how your body responds to trauma, and remember that you are always the expert on your own body.

Listen to the full conversation on the Medical Trauma Support Podcast. 🎧 The link is in my bio!

#MedicalTraumaSupport #NervousSystemRegulation #TraumaRecovery #ChronicIllness #ChristinaKantzavelos

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Coming soon — GRIEF Ladies #52: The Connection Between Unprocessed Grief and Physical Illness with @beginwithintoday

Grief can make a feeling seem like it will last forever.

In this clip, Christina Kantzavelos shares the perspective that helped her keep moving: everything is temporary. The good, the bad, and everything in between will shift and change.

That doesn't mean grief necessarily gets easier or better. It means that what you're feeling today does not have to define what you'll feel forever.

Sometimes, knowing that things can change is enough to help us stay present through what we're experiencing.

🎧 Episode 52 drops September 16 — link in bio.

#grief #griefsupport #griefjourney #healingjourney #griefpodcast

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✨ New Episode— GRIEF Ladies #52: The Connection Between Unprocessed Grief and Physical Illness with @beginwithintoday

When you're in the middle of grief, it can be hard to imagine ever feeling differently.

In this clip, Christina Kantzavelos shares a reminder that helped her move through difficult moments: everything shifts and changes.

That doesn't mean the pain disappears or that grief suddenly becomes easier. But the way you experience it can change over time.

Sometimes we don't need to know exactly when things will feel different. We just need to remember that today is not necessarily forever.

🎧 Episode 52 is now available — link in bio.

#grief #griefsupport #griefjourney #healingjourney #griefpodcast

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Coming soon — GRIEF Ladies #52: The Connection Between Unprocessed Grief and Physical Illness with @beginwithintoday

Finding the right therapist can take time—and that's okay.

In this clip, Christina Kantzavelos compares finding the right therapist to finding the right bathing suit. Sometimes the first one fits perfectly. Sometimes you have to keep trying until you find the right fit.

And the therapist who supported you through one chapter of your life may not necessarily be the right person for another.

Grief can bring different needs, questions, and experiences. Finding someone who understands grief and makes you feel safe enough to take off your mask can make all the difference.

🎧 Episode 52 drops September 16 — link in bio.

#grief #griefsupport #therapy #mentalhealth #griefpodcast

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Have you felt like something is “wrong” with you after a stressful medical experience?

Learning about your nervous system is a powerful step you can take to feel better.

I share how recognizing my body's natural stress response helped me realize my physical reactions were completely normal. Understanding your nervous system empowers you to soothe yourself and reduce anxiety.

Listen to my full conversation with Christina Kantzavelos, LCSW, to learn how understanding your body can support your recovery.

🎧 The link to the full podcast episode is in my bio!

#MedicalTrauma #NervousSystemRegulation #TraumaRecovery #ChronicStress #MedicalTraumaSupport

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Coming soon — GRIEF Ladies #52: The Connection Between Unprocessed Grief and Physical Illness with @beginwithintoday

Sometimes the emotions we're most afraid to face can feel much bigger than they actually are.

In this clip, Christina Kantzavelos uses a powerful image: big shadows on a wall made by a tiny hand. The emotions we work so hard to avoid can feel enormous, but sometimes facing them helps us see them differently.

Avoiding grief doesn't make it disappear. Sometimes, healing begins when we're finally willing to look at what's underneath the fear.

🎧 Episode 52 drops September 16 — link in bio.

#grief #griefsupport #griefhealing #mentalhealth #griefpodcast

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You are not the only one feeling this.
If nobody’s told you lately - you’re not alone, and healing is still possible.

Comment “I needed this” if this hit home.
The isolation can make it feel so much heavier than it is.
But the moment you find your people, everything starts to shift.

Community reminds you that your struggle is real, but it is not the whole story. Recovery gets lighter when you stop carrying it by yourself.

Feeling better can start small - and still be real.

#mentalhealthsupport #healingjourney #youarenotalone #communityheals #selfgrowth

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A giant thank you to our sponsor

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