In this engaging episode of the CFStrong podcast, co-host Brad Dryburgh explores the intricate relationship between cystic fibrosis (CF) and mental health.
The third episode of the series features candid insights from six guests – all in their 20s - as they share their personal journeys and strategies in navigating the complex intersection of CF and mental well-being.
From the challenges of social anxiety and the pressure to explain their disease to others, to the impact of CF on life choices and the importance of seeking mental health support, the guests delve into the highs and lows of their mental health experiences.
This episode sheds light on the often-overlooked aspect of mental well-being within the CF community, offering a refreshing and informative perspective on the unique challenges faced by individuals living with cystic fibrosis.
Tune in to the Podcast to hear first-person stories, gain insights and discover coping strategies.





























Transcript
Voiceover: Welcome to the CF Strong Podcast. CF Strong covers the successes and challenges faced by those living with cystic fibrosis. You'll hear first-person stories, conversations with health professionals, friends and partners. Just a heads up, guests may share their personal views about treatments and health management, but please remember, this is not medical advice, and you should always follow the advice of your clinic team regarding your health.
Brad: G'day everyone and welcome to this incredibly exciting new season of the CF Strong Podcast. I'm your host and fellow CF patient Bradley Dryburgh. And as a 20-something-year-old living with cystic fibrosis, I know that this decade of our life is not only challenging, but rather it comes with some big questions we ask of ourselves. I've taken the time to sit down with six guests who like me, are all in their twenties living with cystic fibrosis as they share their honest and unique perspectives on 10 big questions across 10 separate episodes. I'll ask one question of all six of our guests in this particular order. You can expect to hear answers from Adam, Blake, Caitlin, Ellie, Sam, and Tayla. In this third episode of our series, we'll hear from each of our six guests as they answer whether their mental health has ever been affected by cystic fibrosis and if they have any strategies to help improve their mental health.
Adam: It's a really tricky question, and it's really loaded because CF affects everything that I do, whether I've realized it or not, like in a, in a way, the reason I'm a musician and the, the reason I love art is because I never saw the purpose in, you know, developing a career in something that will only give me money, that doesn't actually give me anything of value. What I value is experience and, and relationships and things that bring me joy or, or passion, you know, things that are like lively and, and really human, you know, rather than money and statistics and, and houses and, and material things. I'm not really into that. That's just not what I'm into. So CF has affected the way I drive my life, and in essence, essentially how my mind works. Like why, why I prefer going for walks, um, why I prefer contemplating things, why I would prefer playing the drums like this is all because I don't see a value in the thing that everyone around me seems to, seems to push towards. Um, but if we get, if we go a little bit deeper, and I think about how CF has affected me mentally, um, there has been a lot of complex trauma and a lot of, a lot of anxiety around things which I'm starting to realize is, uh, is a byproduct of living with cf. Um, you know, things like being underweight, things like coughing in public and being scared that people think that I have COVID, you know, uh, social anxiety. These things have all occurred from having CF and, you know, some days I really don't feel like explaining my disease to people.