Entrepreneur Interview: Cyndii Sinex with Chronic Illness Hotline

We are speaking with Cyndii Sinex, founder of the (new) Chronic Illness Hotline. The hotline provides a listening ear for those with chronic illness during the current pandemic and beyond. Chronic Illness Hotline gives a safe place to vent negatives, celebrate positives, practice advocating, build a journey story, set goals, help identify resources, and much more.

Viewer challenge! Donate via PayPal to [email protected] … Every amount helps small nonprofits like this continue to provide critical services, and I know personally your donation will be put to good use and be responsibly used. Send the cost of a cup of coffee a week!

You can connect with the Chronic Illness Hotline:

• Text “care” to 202-596-6520
• Visit https://chronicillnesshotline.org/
• Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/chronicillnesshotline
• Follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/IllnessHotline
• Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chronicillnesshotline

Show notes:

• 0:20 Introducing Chronic Illness Hotline
• 1:09 Cyndii’s background, and how one small slip and fall took her down a healthcare rabbit hole
• 2:10 Diagnosis #1 – fibromyalgia
• 2:45 Prescribed anti-depressant SSRIs, which put serotonin at a toxic level
• 3:10 Nerve damage, cardiac arrest, respiratory failure caused by medication were attributed to anxiety
• 3:50 Medical community was aware of serotonin syndrome but it wasn’t widespread understanding
• 4:30 Eight years to diagnose serotonin toxicity, several more for additional diagnoses
• 4:47 The toll it took on her life
• 5:27 With other hotlines, callers want to take their life, but Cyndii calls because she’s afraid her life is being taken, so she felt like she didn’t fit
• 7:00 It must be in your head
• 7:45 Just prescribe medicine
• 8:30 Why another hotline? How CIH is different and why a specific hotline is important
• 9:45 Why even our most supportive and loving friends and family can’t always provide the support we need
• 10:15 Why would a hotline caller want to celebrate?
• 11:05 Five of the common reasons people reach out to the hotline 12:00 Why it’s hard when someone asks “how are you?”
• 15:15 Getting the nonprofit started
• 16:39 What sparked the idea
• 18:11 Nonprofit work is like 10 full-time jobs (don’t I know this!)
• 18:42 The impact of Covid-19 on their startup plans – starting early and pivoting marketing
• 26:55 What it takes to recruit
• 27:46 Your challenge … even small donations add up – paypal link is above!
• 30:55 There’s two types of people on social media
• 33:03 Social media fairy, please visit! How you can help with the hotline’s social media marketing
• 34:00 The best thing you can do for a friend who has a chronic illness or pain
• 35:00 One of the best things you can do if you’ve been diagnosed or are going through trying to be diagnosed
• 37:00 General mental health tip
• 39:00 Stages of grief when your body is failing you
• 39:30 How to connect with the CIH
• 40:30 Why not to share our social posts by tagging a friend – send a private message instead
• 41:21 All aspects of your life affect your chronic illness
• 43:04 Information on how you can support the cause
• 43:53 Cyndii’s question for me about the beast that is SEO

Vicky Wu

Vicky is the CEO and Chief Creative Strategist of Vicky Wu Marketing. She draws from 30 years of experience at the CMO level, the CEO level, marketing for Fortune 500 companies and multi-million and multi-billion-dollar organizations, PLUS strategies learned helping startups and nonprofits with limited budgets … now focusing on providing SMBs with effective and efficient marketing strategies – giving them access to the same level of expertise as the really big guys with deep pockets, that they may not otherwise be able to access.