Ep. 203 - Navigating Disability, Stigma, and Strength (Featuring: Alison Hayes)

Air Date: April 15, 2025Host: Krystal CaseyGuest: Alison Hayes, founder of Thriving While DisabledIn this powerful and eye-opening conversation, Krystal sits down with Alison Hayes — coach, educator, and founder of Thriving While Disabled — to dismantle the silence around disability, financial survival, and the crushing stigma of social welfare systems.Alison shares her raw, real journey of navigating life with a Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) and the identity shift that came with accepting herself as a disabled woman. From her first diagnosis at age three to her battle with ableism, Alison pulls back the curtain on what it's like to live within — and push back against — systems designed to make disabled people feel invisible.This episode is a must-listen for anyone ready to challenge their assumptions, build true empathy, and understand what it means to thrive because of, not in spite of, disability.💥 What We Talk About:What disability really means (and why the identity is so misunderstood)The lifelong impact of ableism, both subtle and overtThe emotional toll of navigating Social Security Disability (SSDI)The societal shame around being poor, disabled, or needing helpWhy self-efficacy matters — and how social systems can destroy itAlison’s upcoming book Thriving While Disabled: Navigating Disability Finances🔗 Connect with Alison Hayes:🌐 Website: www.thrivingwhiledisabled.com📘 Preorder her book: Thriving While Disabled: Navigating Disability Finances (Out April 12, 2025)📣 Facebook Group: Disability and Independence: Thriving Despite the Broken SystemsIf this episode shifted your perspective or helped you feel seen, we’d love to hear from you.💬 DM or tag @iamkrystalcasey with your thoughts🎧 Catch all episodes at krystalcasey.com/links🔁 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear itDisability, disability finances, SSDI, Functional Neurological Disorder, ableism, social stigma, social welfare systems, Thriving While Disabled, Alison Hayes, Taboo Talks Podcast, Krystal Casey, disability coaching, mental illness stigma, invisible disabilities