Pacing 101— Stop the Boom-Bust Cycle Before It Stops You
Release Date: 09/10/2025
MCAS vs Histamine Intolerance Why Your Body Reacts to Everything (And You’re Not Crazy)
Dear body, I’m listening
“A reaction is not a moral failure— it's information. Your body is just responding to something, and right now it's giving you signals that it doesn't want that or it needs some extra help.” —Donna Piper When every meal feels like a risk and symptoms seem to come out of nowhere, it can start to feel like the body has turned against us. Many in the chronic illness community are stuck between labels like “histamine intolerance” and “MCAS” while still getting no clear plan or validation. This conversation names what is happening in the body and why it is not “all in...
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Rest Without Guilt (When Your Worth Got Tied to Output)
Dear body, I’m listening
“Rest isn't a character flaw. It's what your body needs in order to heal from these invisible illnesses. And for some of us, it's also a grief process, because we're not just resting from task; we’re resting from the version of ourselves who thought we had to earn love through output.” —Donna Piper Ep 36 Shownotes: Podcast Platforms We talk about rest like it is simple, but for many bodies it brings guilt, fear, and shame. When worth gets tied to productivity, stopping can feel dangerous even when the body is breaking down. This conversation meets the tension...
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Is It POTS? When Standing Up Feels Like a Trap
Dear body, I’m listening
“You're not making it up. You're not weak, you're not failing. Your body is working hard to keep you upright, and you deserve support that matches the reality of that.” —Donna Piper Standing up should not require strategy, recovery time, or mental math. When heart rate spikes, dizziness hits, and showers wipe us out, the hardest part is not the symptom. It is being told nothing is wrong while our body says otherwise. Donna shares lived experience with POTS, dysautonomia, and multiple comorbidities, blending physiology with trauma-informed insight. Her work is shaped by years...
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Traveling with Chronic Illness: Germany Edition
Dear body, I’m listening
“If you're traveling with chronic illness, I want you to hear me. There is nothing wrong with you. You just have to prepare a little bit. You deserve to travel in a way that doesn't punish you, that helps you, that makes you feel good.” —Donna Piper Travel takes more out of the body than most people admit. For those living with chronic illness, the cost shows up before the suitcase is even packed. Energy drains through lines, noise, time pressure, swelling, and the fear of crashing far from home. Donna shares her real-time approach to spending a month in Germany while...
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Pack, Move, Fly, Heal: Why I’m Choosing Germany for Lipedema Surgery
Dear body, I’m listening
“Movement and less pain is why I'm doing this and why I've chosen to go to Germany.” —Donna Piper Big life changes rarely wait their turn. When health decisions collide with exhaustion, logistics, and uncertainty, clarity matters more than certainty. Donna shares the personal and medical reasoning behind traveling to Germany for lipedema surgery while managing multiple chronic conditions. This episode traces how lived experience, failed conservative treatments, and the need for long-term care shaped a choice rooted in mobility, pain reduction, and nervous system safety. Press play...
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Lipedema Surgery Vs. Non-Surgical Care… Do I Have To Choose?
Dear body, I’m listening
“Anything you choose is not weakness. It's the best for you… Instead of thinking surgery or no surgery, try this question: ‘What would make my next step safer?’... Safety is a step, not a switch.” —Donna Piper Pressure around medical choices can turn care into panic. When the body is complex and money, time, and fear are involved, certainty starts to feel like a deadline. This conversation slows that moment down and gives it room to breathe. In this episode, Donna shares her lived experience navigating lipedema and the long road of conservative care, research, and...
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Hot Flashes, Heavy Legs: Lipedema Meets Perimenopause & Menopause
Dear body, I’m listening
“Lipedema is not a willpower issue. Shame is not a treatment plan. Late diagnosis does not mean late reality. It means late recognition. Your best advocate is yourself. There's nothing wrong with you. You've just been navigating a body that hasn't been understood by the medical world yet. Be gentle with your capacity. Meet yourself where you are.” —Donna Piper Bodies can change in ways that do not follow the rules we were taught. Pain, swelling, and heaviness show up, and the explanations never quite fit. Many women carry this quietly for years, assuming it is just weight or age....
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How Trauma Rewrites Pain Part 4: Flare or Trauma Response? When the Body’s Signals Get Confusing
Dear body, I’m listening
“Flares and trauma responses often look the same because fascia remembers, the nervous system protects, and the immune system overreacts to help defend itself, and the body is trying to keep you alive, not confused. So your job isn't to decode perfectly. Your job is to offer safety consistently, because when the body feels safe, the symptoms soften, and when the symptoms soften, the story changes, and when the story changes, the healing becomes possible.” —Donna Piper The body can shift from steady to overwhelmed without warning, leaving confusion about what just took over. Pain,...
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Transformation Boundaries: Protect Energy And Design A Purposeful Life with Didi Selwa
Dear body, I’m listening
“Move forward, take action. It may happen, it may not, but it's just about putting one step in front of the other— doing that is so important. When you go forward, you realize, ‘oh, that's not for me’, but in the process, you discover what is.” —Didi Selwa Drop the guilt of being stuck and discover a movement that meets your body where it is. Press play to hear how embodiment, faith, and small practical steps shift shame, chronic illness limits, and stalled dreams into forward motion. Didi Selwa went from a 25-year banking career to a Certified Transformational Life...
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The Science of Feeling Safe: Gentle Practices to Regulate Chronic Stress with Ann Diment
Dear body, I’m listening
"We are the experts in our well-being and our own bodies, and it's important for us to advocate for ourselves. We're not defined by our past. Our past is gone. It's in the past, and the beliefs we formed about ourselves based on what we've been told by other people or experienced in the past aren't necessarily true." —Ann Diment Some seasons of life push us past our limits, and the body keeps score long before we understand why. Many of us try to outwork the chaos, yet the real shift begins when we finally question the version of resilience we were taught to admire. There is a quieter...
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"No one's handing out a gold star for the most depleted woman in the room… Rest now, rest every day, build that in. The rest is the healing aspect." —Donna Piper
Tired of feeling great one day, then totally wiped out the next? Maybe it’s not about trying harder but about finding a pace that actually works for you.
Donna’s been there—pushing through, crashing hard, and wondering what she was doing wrong. Now she’s all about helping folks with chronic stuff find a better way, using real-life tips and a lot of honesty. Her big message: pacing isn’t giving up, it’s how you start feeling like yourself again.
Want to break out of the boom-bust cycle for good? Hit play for straight talk on energy budgets, the Visible app, post-exertion crashes, and why rest is actually part of the workout plan. You’ll get real stories, smart tips, and a little nudge to be kinder to yourself.
Connect with Donna:
Website: https://www.donnapiper.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnapiper
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lipedema_donna
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedonnapiper
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedonnapiper
Episode Highlights:
02:49 The Importance of Pacing
07:11 Learning to Pace
16:43 The Science Behind Pacing
18:37 Myths and Realities of Pacing
23:47 Practical Tips for Pacing
27:04 Support and Resources
Resources:
🤔Got a question for me? Every month, I do a listener coaching episode—and I’d love to hear from you!
Send your questions, stories, or flare-up confessions to donna@donnapiper.com, and you just might hear your answer on the show.
💰Discount
Visible Get $20 off: https://join.makevisible.com/73784699c7db3e
🎙️Podcast
Ground Control for Bendy Bodies: How to Move Without Pain (Finally!) with Dr. Melissa Koehl: https://www.donnapiper.com/podcasts/dear-body-i-m-listening/episodes/2149069513
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Feel like your body’s running on empty? You’re not alone. Check out this week’s episode for real-life pacing tips, energy tracking, and honest talk about chronic illness.
#DearBodyImListeningPodcast #Lymphedema #lipedema #MCAS #ChronicIllness #Pacing #EnergyManagement #RestIsHealing
Quotes:
27:06 "You're not lazy, you're not weak, you're not broken, you're simply learning a new rhythm, one that will actually sustain you." —Donna Piper
04:37 "Energy isn't a gift card you have to use up in one go— it's a budget. When you are dealing with an invisible illness, you have a budget. Some days you've got a hundred bucks, and some days you've got twenty, and some days you're in overdraft. I realized I had a choice: spend smarter or keep going broke." —Donna Piper
10:16 "Pushing through was costing me way more than just sore muscles. It was costing me days of my life." —Donna Piper
10:32 "Learning to listen instead of push is what gave me back a sense of control and confidence." —Donna Piper
12:08 "Women need more spaces where modifying isn't shameful, pacing isn't optional— rest is built into the program, not treated like a weakness." —Donna Piper
13:49 "No system gets sick alone and no system heals alone." —Donna Piper
15:02 "Pacing is essentially a nervous system rehab. It tells your cells you're safe." —Donna Piper
23:08 "Rest is part of the training, saying ‘no’ is a part of the workout, and stopping early before the crash is the bravest thing you can do." —Donna Piper
23:30 "No one's handing out a gold star for the most depleted woman in the room… Rest now, rest every day, build that in. The rest is the healing aspect." —Donna Piper
28:58 "Rest isn't quitting. It's healing. Sometimes the bravest thing you could do is stop before you crash." —Donna Piper
Meet Your Host:
Donna Piper is a Relationship Coach, Trauma Expert, and Akashic Records Healer dedicated to empowering successful single women to transform their love lives and attract fulfilling partnerships without sacrificing their professional ambitions.
With a holistic approach blending therapeutic coaching, trauma-informed techniques, and Akashic Records wisdom, she guides clients to release limiting beliefs, heal emotional blocks, and cultivate unshakable self-trust. Her work focuses on aligning mind, body, and spirit to create lasting change—helping clients refine communication, deepen self-worth, and build the foundation for healthy, loving relationships.
Donna’s sessions are a safe haven for those ready to break cycles, embrace vulnerability, and design a love life that harmonizes with their thriving careers. For women committed to both personal and professional fulfillment, she offers tailored strategies to unlock their full potential and step into the relationship of their dreams.