Listen to Chronic, our anti-wellness podcast about living well when you’re chronically unwell. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts – just search for “Chronic”. 

Hannah Witton is a sex educator, author and YouTuber. She also lives with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel condition she was diagnosed with in childhood.

This week, she’s joining HuffPost’s Lucy Pasha-Robinson on our brand new anti-wellness podcast Chronic, talking sex after surgery, rebuilding body confidence, and tackling that enduring question – why do people have so many opinions on chronic illness?

Here, Hannah shares five things she has learnt about embarrassment and bodily shame since having a stoma fitted in 2018: 

1. Everybody poops! Just some people might poop in a different way to others.

2. It only takes one person to speak out unashamedly to break the ice for everybody else.

3. People find things that are unusual to them “gross” but normalising the conversation makes difference seem normal. 

4. We shouldn’t feel ashamed of things we have no control over. 

5. The anticipation of embarrassment is often worse in our heads than reality.

Hear more from Hannah in this week’s episode of Chronic, available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts – just search for “Chronic”. 

Follow Hannah Witton on Twitter and Instagram @HannahWitton. And stay tuned for more on all things Chronic by following host @LucyPasha.

Want to reach the team? Drop us a line at chronic@huffpost.com