Living with pancreatitis affects more than your pancreas. Acute attacks, chronic pain, unpredictable flares, and hospital stays can wear on your mood, your relationships, and how you see your future. Caregivers carry their own share of that weight.
Mission: Cure hosted an open conversation on pancreatitis and mental health, where questions from our community set the session’s agenda. Lara Govendo and Julie Wells answered questions sent in ahead of time and asked live. Lara also led a grounding exercise you can return to during hard moments.
This webinar is for patients, parents, caregivers, and care partners affected by pancreatitis. You don’t need a diagnosis or therapy experience to get something out of it.
Covered Conversation Topics:
Normalizing mental health needs and seeking support while navigating pancreatitis
Exploring mental health resources: videos and toolkits
Role of self-regulation: trying a practice in real time
Community questions, answered live
Including mental health professionals in your care ecosystem
Our Speakers
Lara Govendo, MA, LCPC
Licensed clinical professional counselor specializing in somatic practices, nervous system regulation, and finding hope despite circumstances. Lara also lives with a rare disease, so she understands the emotional side of chronic illness firsthand. She offers private coaching through Hungry 4 Hope Consulting.
Julie Wells
Trauma-informed peer support group facilitator and trainer with Give an Hour, a nonprofit that provides free mental health support. You may know Julie from Part 1 and Part 2 of our mental health video series. She lives with a heart condition herself and is also a caregiver to her partner.
Why this webinar matters
Mental health is part of overall health. Pain, flares, and the uncertainty of a chronic disease can affect sleep, mood, and how you engage with your care. Patients and caregivers have told us they want more support for this side of pancreatitis, and this conversation is one way we’re responding. You don’t have to reach a breaking point to deserve support.
Watch the webinar recording
If you couldn’t join live, the full recording is below. We recommend it for patients, caregivers, and anyone who wants to understand the mental health side of living with pancreatitis and take action proactively to care for their emotional well-being.
We are sharing an encouragement wall with you that includes messages of care, encouragement, and support from people who heard about the disease and wanted to reach out! Visit the encouragement wall.
Resources from the webinar
Here are the resources shared during the session.
From Mission: Cure
- Pancreatitis and Mental Health, Part 1: What You Should Know (video)
- Pancreatitis and Mental Health, Part 2: Coping Strategies (video and free toolkits)
- Online pancreatitis support groups
- PTSD in kids with pancreatitis (blog)
- Meditation webinar
- Meditation for pain management, by co-founder Eric Golden (blog)
- Encouragement wall for the community
Find support
- Give an Hour: self-guided tools and peer support groups
- Lara Govendo, LCPC: private coaching through Hungry 4 Hope Consulting or lara@hungry4hopeconsulting.com
- Psychology Today: search for a mental health provider near you
- Johns Hopkins Pancreatitis Pain Program: created for the pancreatitis community- the first visit needs to be in person in Baltimore
Learn more
- Stress and pancreatitis webinar (blog and video)
- Easing chronic pancreatitis pain: the Johns Hopkins Pancreatitis Pain Program (blog and video)
- Somatic Experiencing 101 (Peter Levine)
- What is Polyvagal Theory? (Stephen Porges)
If you're struggling right now
If you need to talk to someone right now:
- In the US: call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or dial 211 to reach a free, confidential, 24/7 line that connects you with local human and social services.
- Outside the US: findahelpline.com lists free support by country.
Share Your Feedback (we read your responses)
Our short survey takes about a minute, and your answers help shape the topics we cover and the support we offer the pancreatitis community.
Keep Learning
Mission: Cure offers a growing library of free webinars and tools for people living with acute, recurrent acute, and chronic pancreatitis and related complications. Check out our past webinars and videos featuring experts in pain management, nutrition, mental health, and more.
