Chronic Illness Moms | Feel Better, Stress Relief, Fatigue, Inflammation, Brain Fog, Healthy Habits, Neurodivergent
Simple Daily Habits To Feel Better As Moms With Neurodivergent Kids
**TOP 2% Globally Ranked Podcast**
Do you wake up already exhausted, no matter how much sleep you get?
Does brain fog make it hard to think straight or keep up with your kids?
Do you feel guilty for resting even though your body is worn out?
Are you trying to take care of your health without adding more stress to an already full plate?
Welcome to Chronic Illness Moms — a podcast for moms living with chronic illness while raising neurodivergent kids. If you’re dealing with constant fatigue, inflammation, and overwhelm, this is your place to find support that actually fits real life.
Here we focus on simple, healthy habits that help you get better sleep, reduce stress, and feel better in your body — without complicated routines or pressure to do more. These are small, doable shifts that work with your energy instead of against it.
I’m Ashley — a wife, mom, and health coach who’s spent years navigating chronic symptoms, burnout, and a body that wouldn’t keep up. I tried the strict plans, the supplements, and the “just push through” approach — and all it did was leave me more exhausted.
What finally helped was learning how to support my nervous system and build tiny habits that actually worked in real mom life. Now I help other moms do the same so they can have more energy, think more clearly, and show up for their families without falling apart.
If you’re ready for natural, realistic ways to feel better — even in the middle of neurodivergent family life — you’re in the right place.
So grab your herbal tea, hide in the laundry room if you have to, let’s start building habits that help you feel better again.
Connect with me:
Email:
hello@ashleybraden.com
Free Facebook Community:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/chronicillnessmoms
Listen on:
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 18, 2023
Tuesday Apr 18, 2023
If you've considered starting a garden in your backyard, but feel like it would be too hard to actually be worth the work, you're going to want to listen in today!
We talk about how it benefits not only our health, but our relationships and families. It's also an amazing educational resource for our kids who are out-of-the-box learners! XO,
Ashley
Greenstalk Planter get $10 off here.
MIGardener: migardener.com
Baker Creek: rareseeds.com
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood
Thursday Apr 13, 2023
Thursday Apr 13, 2023
Do you want to offer your child with Sensory Processing Disorder or food aversions new foods on their plate consistently, but you find yourself getting overwhelmed with what to try next? Or maybe you've tried things so many times with no success so you just feel discouraged about it all and you've given up. But still there's that underlying feeling of guilt that you should be doing more, yet you don't know where to start. Today I share the routine I have implemented that helps me to offer my children new food on their plates daily in a way that feels very simple. I also talk about some tips I have learned along the journey to encourage my children to develop a positive relationship with food. Once I was able to change my own expectations and goals around my children expanding the list of foods they feel comfortable eating, I noticed so much freedom and a much more relaxed feeling around our dinner table! XO,
Ashley
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood
Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
Hey Mamas,
Join me today as we talk about managing stress levels as we parent our special needs kids. Stress is something we know we can't escape, and if you're like me, you also struggle with hypervigilance, constantly on alert with your kids, wanting to make sure they are safe and all is well.
Living in that constant state of stress and anxiety can really do a number on the nervous system. I was finding that to be true in my life, and noticing the negative effects from living in a stressed out body. I started implementing these simple hacks into my everyday life and began to notice my ability to tolerate stress and overwhelm improved. Today I am going to share these 8 tips with you! XO,
Ashley
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood
Thursday Apr 06, 2023
Thursday Apr 06, 2023
Hey, Mamas!!We are back for part 2 of a conversation with my husband about community as a family with Neurodiverse kids. In this episode we share what healthy community looks like and some simple ways you can get started with finding your own supportive community! We hope you are encouraged by this conversation! XO,
Ashley
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood
Tuesday Apr 04, 2023
Tuesday Apr 04, 2023
Hey Mamas,
Join us today for Part 1 of a conversation with my husband about the importance of community and some of the hurdles we have to overcome in order to make it happen while parenting our differently-abled children. We talk about the struggle in finding support, the fear of criticism we have to overcome in order to reach out to others, and share why we've found building a community around us to be so valuable!
I can't wait to share with you a subject that I believe can change your entire family dynamics if you're willing to be vulnerable and step out! XO,
Ashley
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood
Thursday Mar 30, 2023
Thursday Mar 30, 2023
As busy Moms who feel like we are juggling all the things with therapies, food allergies, behavioral challenge, and caring for our home, it can be easy to fall into the cycle of thinking negative thoughts about our life.
We often have feelings of failure, wishing circumstances were different, comparing ourselves and our kids to others and feeling as if we don't measure up. These thought patterns can be extremely draining and are not what God desires for us to fill our days with!
In today's podcast episode I share 4 steps that I take to help break the cycle of negative thinking when I find myself spiraling down that path. Join me as we talk about what the Bible says about our thoughts and how we can replace these negative thoughts with God's truth!
XO,
Ashley
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
Analysis paralysis, brain fog, feeling hopeless or overwhelmed, procrastination....are any of these something you struggle with? If so, it's possible you're facing decision fatigue. It makes perfect sense, we all have so many decisions we have to make in a single day, sometimes it's just too much for our brains to keep up with!
I am going to share 8 tips that have helped me to decrease the number of decisions I have to make in a day. If you feel overwhelmed during meals because you're trying to encourage your child with food aversions to try new things, but it feels daunting to come up with something new, there is a way to streamline that!
I share all about this and many other tips I have found that help me with running my home, parenting my kids, and showing up to life in a way that feels significantly less overwhelming than it used to. I want that for you too! XO,
Ashley
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
Do you find yourself struggling to find time for yourself each day? Does self-care feel like an impossible idea to actually implement in your life?While we care for our differently-abled kids, the reality is that self-care is so important for our own health and well-being, but also so we can show up for our family in the way that we desire to. Burnout while juggling the parenting and caregiver roles is very real. How can we find ways to decrease our chances of burnout and actually make time for ourselves? Is it possible that our thoughts surrounding self-care are stopping us from finding creative solutions? I think so! Join me today as we talk about the real need for time away from our responsibilities, the challenges we come up against to actually make that happen, and some ways we can begin to be honest with those around us about our desperate need to care for ourselves, too! XO,
Ashley
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
Tuesday Mar 21, 2023
Do you find that the busyness of parenting your children with special needs leaves little room for you to connect with your spouse? Have you heard that the divorce rate is higher among those who have a child with a disability, but you don't know how to increase your chances of having a successful marriage? I share my #1 routine for increasing connection and communication in your marriage in a way that doesn't feel unattainable or overwhelming. When we already struggle to find time for ourselves or to find someone to watch our kids so we can consistently go on a date-night, we just need to find a simple routine in order to cultivate that connection in our marriage that we really desire to have. Listen in as I share what that looks like for us! XO,Ashley
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Hey Sister-friend! Welcome back to the podcast! Do you have children who are Neurodivergent, who have some kind of disability, or complex medical needs? Do you find school and their education to be in a constant state of “Warrior Mom Mode" to fight for your kids to get an education that works for their unique learning styles?Been.There. I share in today's episode why we decided to Homeschool our kids and what a beautiful (and admittedly, often difficult) journey it has been for us so far. If you are desperately desiring to step out of the box of what you've been told is the appropriate way to educate your children, but can't overcome that feeling that if you do so, you will be failing them, then you're going to want to listen to today's episode! XO,
Ashley
Resource for Learning Styles: http://carolbarnier.com/learning-styles/
I would love to connect even more with you! Please email me or reach out to me on social media!
Email: hello@ashleybraden.com
Facebook: facebook.com/specialkindofmotherhood
Instagram: instagram.com/specialkind.ofmotherhood