Afleveringen
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For the first time in 4 years we are pausing the podcast for a couple of weeks. I love doing it, but sometimes life has other plans. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and while I am ok, I need to free up space for family and medical appointments.
Iâm not fully disappearing and will be recording in advance. While Iâm away we are releasing some of our most listened to episodes.
Trigger warning: Drug crimes and false arrests
This episode is a story that took me completely by surprise and had my jaw absolutely on the flaw.
Our guest is Brenda Denbesten, a chemical engineer with over 15 years' experience in the mining and manufacturing industries, and a Women in STEM advocate and driver for change
Brenda is a best-selling author of âthe FIFO wives taleâsâ and creator of 'Chronicles of a Female Engineer', a YouTube series that demystifies what an engineer does plus how to get ahead in traditional and male dominated fields.
But one day, years so, nearly saw everything she had worked towards snatched away when she was confronted by police about a crime she did not commit.
In todayâs episode Brenda shares:
- The wild story of how she was used and left to take the fall for a crime she didnât commit
- Her dealings with the Australian justice system
- The lessons she learnt from overcoming this enormous challenge
- Her advice for anyone else who has gone through similar trauma
Key Quotes
âWe've all got a unique purpose on this world and the more we copy others you're only dimming down the reason you are on this earth.â
âYour past doesnât determine your future.â
âThe next minute I knew I was getting hand cuffed and being put in the back of a paddy wagon.â
Find out more about Brenda
You can find out everything about Brenda here: www.linktree.com/brendadenbesten
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
For her other business you can find it through the websites:
www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au
Or you can follow them on Instagram:
@Altitudefitnessarmidale
@trialtitudeperformance
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Trigger warning: this episode discusses mental health, depression and anxiety as well as chronic pain.
For the first time in 4 years we are pausing the podcast for a couple of weeks. I love doing it, but sometimes life has other plans. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and while I am ok, I need to free up space for family and medical appointments.
Iâm not fully disappearing and will be recording in advance. While Iâm away we are releasing some of our most listened to episodes.
Jessica Macguire who has worked as a trauma informed integrated physio therapist for 14 years and is currently running programs on the vagus nerve.
She aims to help people get to the cause of the problems, rather than relying on others to treat their symptoms
She has studied neuro physiology throughout Europe, America, the UK and Australia and has learnt from pain researchers, professors in neuro plasticity, neuro scientists and psychologists on how the brain and nervous system change from stress, trauma and chronic pain.
Stress related illness such as anxiety, depression gut disorders, autoimmune issues and chronic pain can arise from dysregulation after chronic trauma and stress
In todayâs episode Jessica shares:
- How the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system can affect our health
- How the isolating techniques of medicine can hinder rather than help diagnosis
- Her advice for learning more about the vagus nerve and how it can help you
Key Quotes
âWe may learn to cut off from sensations and live almost numb from out body. But either that that is creating an inner homelessness.â
âWe really need to lean into the complexities, rather than trying to over simplify.â
âWhat I may find stressful may not be stressful to you, and no two people will have the same experience of pain or trauma.â
If you want to know more about Jessica
You can head to her website: https://www.jessicamaguire.com/
Or you can follow her on social media,
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/repairingthenervoussystem/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/repairing_the_nervous_system/?hl=en
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au/personality-performance
For her other business you can find it through the websites:
www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au
Or you can follow them on Instagram:
@Altitudefitnessarmidale
@trialtitudeperformance
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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For the first time in 4 years we are pausing the podcast for a couple of weeks. I love doing it, but sometimes life has other plans. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and while I am ok, I need to free up space for family and medical appointments.
Iâm not fully disappearing and will be recording in advance. While Iâm away we are releasing some of our most listened to episodes.
Weâve spoken before about the horrifying experience of being in limbo when the medical industry cannot give you a diagnosis.
Well imagine what itâs like when that happens to your new born baby.
In this weeks episode Iâm speaking with my close friend and incredible force of nature Jess Galvin.
After having her first child, Jess and her husband were delighted when their daughter Lucy was born, apparently happy and healthy.
However things quickly changed when small symptoms appeared to indicate there could be other complications.
However as the medical establishment repeatedly dismissed her concerns, Jess had to push further and further before anyone would even acknowledge that something was wrong with her baby. But even when they did eventually admit their was a basis to her concerns, that was just the beginning of her familyâs incredibly long and difficult journey
In todayâs episode Jess shares:
- The first signs she noticed there might be complications with her daughterâs health
- The incredibly long journey they have been on to treat her illnesses
- How this challenge has impacted her family
- The lesson she learnt about using alcohol to help
Key Quotes
âShe said, the good news is itâs not brain cancer.â
âShe said, she has veins on the left hand sign of her brain in excess.â
âTrust your gutâŠyou just gotta keep pushing and pushing. Mums really do know.â
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
For her other business you can find it through the websites:
www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au
Or you can follow them on Instagram:
@Altitudefitnessarmidale
@trialtitudeperformance
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Motherhood can be absolutely exhausting and devastating, especially if you feel like you have no support. That was Stephanie Tretheweyâs experience before she founded a life changing charity.
In 2019, she swapped city life for rural Tassie, navigating the highs and lows of rural motherhood. Her struggles with postnatal depression and isolation inspired her to create Motherland; a national charity changing lives through services that reduce isolation and improve mental health outcomes for rural women.
As the Founder & CEO of Motherland and the 2024 Australian of the Year for Tasmania, Steph is a voice of vulnerability, connection, and hope for women on the land.
In 2022, Stephanie was named the national winner of the AgriFutures Rural Women's Award and in 2023, she celebrated the release of her debut book, Motherland
In this episode she shares:
Why elite sport taught her discipline, grit and resilience from a young age.How leaving a successful journalism career behind to move to a remote farm changed everything.The identity shift of becoming a mum while feeling isolated and without a village.What her mental health struggles looked like behind closed doors.How asking for help became the turning point in her recovery.Why she believes you can turn your pain into purpose.How creating Motherland has helped thousands of rural mums feel less alone.Why success now looks more like balance, family and contentment than hustle.Key Quotes
"I felt very untethered and out of control."
"I really believe that you can turn your pain into purpose."
More about Steph
Follow Motherland on Facebook, Instagram, via their website and listen to the podcast.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
TW: prescription drug use
There are many gateways to drug dependence, but the modern pressures of motherhood are not often recognised as one of them.
Erin Hughes is the founder and visionary behind Here, There, Everywhere, a platform born from her desire to create a space where women can truly be themselves. She is an entrepreneur, businesswoman, wife, daughter and mother of four, who understands the daily juggle of wearing many hats.
It was her busy life, social isolation and motherhood pressures amongst other things that lead to a subtle pathway into reliance on prescription medication and it took her some time to recognise it and act.
In this episode she shares:
- The loneliness and judgment she experienced while raising young children in a small regional town.
- Why she felt pressure to fit a version of motherhood that didn't align with who she was.
- The role prescription pain medication came to play as a coping mechanism during a particularly demanding season of life.
- What it was like recognising she had become emotionally reliant on medication to switch off and relax.
- How opening up about her dependence became the first step towards seeking support and making changes.
- The connection between busyness, people-pleasing and avoiding uncomfortable emotions.
- Why learning to slow down, set boundaries and prioritise herself has been such an important lesson.
- How her experiences inspired her to create a platform that helps women embrace motherhood without losing themselves in the process.
Key Quotes
"I felt like there was something wrong with me because everyone else was loving this and I wasn't loving this."
âI started to associate having pain relief and feeling relaxed and happy and a real hit of things being great.â
"I found that 5:00 PM till 7:00 PM so difficult and challenging that I'd be like, 'I need to take the tablets because it helps me get through it.'"
More about Erin
Follow Erin on her platform Here, There, Everywhere via the website, and Instagram.
And listen to the Here, There, Everywhere podcast.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
The problem with burnout is that it can take an absolute mountain of disasters to truly make us realise how hard we are pushing ourselves and for Janella Purcell it took a major natural disaster amongst other things.
Janella Purcell is an award-winning Naturopath, Herbalist, Nutritionist, Chef, author, and host of the Toxic Silence podcast. With nearly 3 decades of clinical experience, she is considered a pioneer of Australia's natural health movement, helping shape public understanding of food as medicine, holistic healing, and chemical-free, sustainable living. Janella is widely known for her television appearances on Good Chef Bad Chef, The Biggest Loser, and on morning TV in Australia, as well as her five bestselling and award winning books on natural health and wellbeing. She has been awarded a Fellowship by the National Herbalists Association of Australia in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the profession. Today, her work continues to focus on whole-person healing, integrating nutrition, herbal medicine, trauma recovery, and mind-body wellness.
In this episode she shares:
- How a lifelong pattern of overachievement was actually rooted in unresolved trauma.
- Why she sold her dream property to create a healing retreat for others.
- What happened when she took on the enormous challenge of regenerating seven acres of neglected land.
- How the 2022 floods wiped out years of work and pushed her to breaking point.
- The lessons she learned about resilience, independence and backing herself.
- Why burnout forced her to rethink the way she worked, rested and lived.
- How menopause brought old traumas and unhealthy patterns to the surface.
- The connection between trauma, gut health, the nervous system and chronic stress.
- Why learning to slow down has been one of her greatest challenges.
- How she's creating a more sustainable and fulfilling life by embracing rest, healing and self-care.
Key Quotes
"I learnt that there's always a way to get through things in life."
"It felt like there was a curse on that property."
"I cried my heart out for a long time."
More about Janella
Follow Janella on social media, learn more on her website or find links to all info and resources here.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
Money troubles might be considered common for many of us, but no one speaks about them, and because money is so rarely spoken about, some of us can end up in very real, and stressful money situations.
Thatâs what happened to Nell when she moved to LA to chase her acting career, only to find a lack of financial education completely undermined her.
Now, Nell is the founder of The Savvy Creative and Maiden Media and the newly launched podcast How To Be A Savvy Creative.
Having started out her professional career as an actor, appearing in two seasons of A Place to Call Home, several award winning films, commercials and stage shows across Australia and the US, Nell pivoted her focus in 2021 and attained her Masters of Screen Arts at AFTRS to focus on Screen Business and Leadership.
Since then Nell has been producing and working in partnerships in the brand space. Nell launched Maiden Media in late 2025 and is keen to break the mould when it comes to producing content in Australia.
In this episode she shares:
- Her decision to move to LA to pursue acting.
- How an inheritance and credit card led to major money mistakes.
- Why nobody taught her how to manage money.
- The panic and shame of watching her savings disappear.
- Her experience of returning home feeling defeated.
- How she paid off $25,000 of debt and rebuilt from scratch.
- The money lessons that completely changed her mindset.
- Why she gave LA multiple chances before finally letting it go.
- How old money fears resurfaced when starting a business.
- Why she now helps creatives build better financial habits.
Key Quotes
"There's something that happens to you when you're just watching a bank account just go down and⊠I kind of felt powerless to fix that situation."
"You can't think about things clearly because you're too worried about the money situation."
"For so long, I was paying off past self and I didn't even get anything for it."
More about Nell
You can follow Nell on Instagram, follow The Savvy Creative on Instagram and Maiden Media on Instagram.
You can also listen to How To Be A Savvy Creative online.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Grab your window of tolerance worksheet here
TW: Miscarriage
Any pregnancy loss can be traumatic, but Hollie Farmer experienced multiples losses, health complications and trauma on her journey to motherhood.
Hollie is a beautiful woman who is very special to our family. She has been a babysitter of my 3 girls over the years and I have watched her grow into an incredibly strong, thoughtful and deeply compassionate woman.
Her story is one of great heartache, adversity and incredible resilience.
In this episode she shares:
- Her instant connection with her husband and their decision to start a family young
- The extended period of infertility after assuming pregnancy would happen easily
- The heartbreak of multiple miscarriages after finally falling pregnant
- How she lost excitement around pregnancy and it was replaced with fear and anticipatory grief
- When she discovered she was carrying an undiagnosed ectopic twin pregnancy that nearly killed her
- The trauma of emergency surgery, losing a fallopian tube and feeling failed by her body
- How infertility consumed every part of her identity, relationships and daily life
- The emotional and financial toll of IVF, including spending over $30,000 trying to conceive
- How she fell pregnant naturally after reaching the point of emotional exhaustion and wanting to stop trying
- How she navigated a pregnancy filled with fear, hypervigilance and the inability to trust her body
Key Quotes
âI had to go back to work. I had to work for two weeks knowing that the pregnancy had ended and I was still carrying that pregnancy.â
âI lost the ability to trust my body and to trust my intuition.â
More about
You can reach out to Pink Elephants if you need support.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Grab your window of tolerance worksheet here
I want to introduce a framework that has become one of the most practical and powerful tools I use personally and professionally almost every single day: the Window of Tolerance.
The framework was originally developed by psychiatrist Dr. Dan Siegel and helps explain the zone where our nervous system is regulated enough for us to think clearly, respond effectively, stay connected to ourselves and others, and handle stress without becoming overwhelmed or shut down.
When weâre inside our window, we can cope, communicate, problem-solve and stay present.
But when stress, pressure, conflict, overwhelm or unresolved emotional load pushes us outside that window, we can move into hyperarousal, things like anxiety, frustration, anger, panic, overthinking, reactivity, or hypoarousal, which can look like numbness, shutdown, exhaustion, disconnection, brain fog or withdrawal.
And honestly⊠I think a lot of people right now are living much closer to the edge of their window than they realise.
Because this isnât just about âcoping better.â
Itâs about building a nervous system that can actually support the life youâre trying to live.
In this episode I share:
- What the Window of Tolerance actually is
- How to recognise where you sit personally
- Signs your nervous system may be dysregulated
- Why high-functioning people can still be struggling internally
- Practical strategies to regulate your nervous system
- Tools to support recovery and resilience
- And ways to reduce reactivity so you can respond rather than simply react
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
Imagine having a parent tell you they donât love you, and then being left to heal from that.
That was Aimee Hudsons experience in her early 20âs and it drove her to learn and understand the influence of parental attachment.
Aimee is a clinically registered psychotherapist who is deeply passionate about helping people understand how they came to be âthemâ.
Her work is grounded in attachment, trauma, and nervous system-informed approaches, supporting individuals and couples to make sense of their patterns and gently shift towards new ways of relating to themselves and others.
She is the director of The Psych Collaborative: an online psychology clinic, co-host of The Psychology Sisters podcast, and founder of The Thriving Therapist, where she supports therapists to grow in confidence, clarity, and community.
In this episode she shares:
- Her early childhood and the emotional abuse she experienced
- The moment she confronted her mother
- Her experience of estrangement and what leads to it
- The earlier relationship fractures she experienced before the estrangement
- How the fact she was forced to be an adult in her relationship with her mother showed up in other relationships
- How the internalising of estrangement impacted her
- The impact of shame
- The hardest part for her since the estrangement at the age of 22
- Strategies she suggests on handling people asking about the estranged parents
- How nervous system activation shows up for her
- How she has found a way to find comfort and safety in this world
Key Quotes
âWhat makes estrangement so impactful is that you internalise it.â
âWhen a mother cuts ties it feels like a loss of a safe place in the world.â
More about Aimee
Follow Aimee on Instagram via the Psych Collaborative, The Psychology Sisters or the Thriving Therapists.
Or check out the Psych Collaborative website or the Thriving Therapists website.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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ï»żTry our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
TW: sexual abuse
What happens when the people, places, and systems meant to keep you safe donât? And how do you rebuild trust when itâs been broken early?
In this episode, Mish shares her story of growing up without a stable sense of home or belonging, navigating a complex and challenging childhood, and carrying more than most kids should. Itâs a conversation about what those experiences shape in you, and the long road back to feeling safe, connected, and able to trust again.
In this episode she shares:
- How she grew up moving constantly and never felt like she belonged anywhere
- Living in a dysfunctional home and absorbing the emotions of the adults around her
- Being highly empathetic as a child and trying to fix other peopleâs problems
- Navigating life as a child of a deaf adult without understanding her own needs
- Moving out of home at just 14 and becoming independent very early
- How she experienced sexual abuse twice and the long-term impact it had on her life
- The horrible resolution when she took her case to court
- How she was living with severe anxiety and panic attacks for nearly 20 years
- Why she became completely closed off and unable to let people into her world
- How she hit breaking point with chronic illness and being bedridden for years
- How she rebuilt her life through meditation, movement, and nervous system work
Key Quotes
âAll I ever felt and saw and witnessed and experienced was the effects of abuse or abuse directly.â
âWhat I now see as challenges that I had, I thought they were normal at the time.â
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
Resilience is a big theme of this podcast, so this week we are doing things a bit differently and inviting on an expert in resilience.
Lyn Worsley is a Clinical Psychologist, former Nurse and Teacher, and Director of The Resilience Centre in Sydney. For over 26 years, she has led innovative therapy, research, training, as well as group programs and community seminars that have shaped solution-focused and client-centred therapies. Lyn is the creator of The Resilience Doughnut, an internationally recognised, evidence-based framework for building resilience in individuals, families, schools, and organisations. Her work spans specialised clinics for youth and adults, professional training, and organisational consultingâalways with a focus on practical strategies that help people and communities to fully thrive. Lyn holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology, with research on the social determinants of mental health, and is known for her engaging, down-to-earth teaching style.
In this episode she shares:
- The definition of resilience
- Can resilience be learned
- What resilience is vs grit
- The tipping point of good stress vs bad stress
- Individual vs community resilience
- Where nervous system comes into play
- The resilience donut model
Key Quotes
âIf we want to build resilience in our communities, we have to change.â
More about Lyn
Follow Lyn and the resilience centre online on Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram.
And you can follow the Resilience Donut on Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
Billy was once the guy everyone knew as the happy-go-lucky, always-up-for-anything friend, but beneath that surface he was quietly navigating a growing sense of overwhelm that would eventually reshape his life. From the early days of university, where depression first took hold, through years of uncertainty, physical symptoms, and a diagnosis of Functional Neurological Disorder, Billyâs story is one of resilience in the face of something largely invisible and deeply misunderstood. This episode is about what it was like to live with a condition that blurs the line between mental and physical health, and how he continues to move forward, even when his body wonât always let him.
In this episode he shares:
When his struggles first startedHis experience dealing with the droughtWhat FND isHis experience being in and out of hospitalBeing on suicide watchWhat he wishes he knew earlierKey Quotes
âWhen I told people they couldnât believe it, because they just didnât see me as that person.â
âEveryone was coming up wanting to help, but I couldnât tell them what to do or what was wrong.â
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Challenges That Change Us â
Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
If youâre a mum, a dad, a worker, a carer or a friend supporting someone through something, if youâre carrying multiple roles and responsibilities, you might love your life, but feel like youâre moving from moment to moment without a breather. Always on. Always needed. Always thinking about whatâs next.
Then this episode might be exactly what you need today.
Today we are joined by the incredible Sonia Bestulic to discuss what it looks like when you hold everything together on the outside as a high functioning high achiever, but internally it comes at a cost.
Sonia Bestulic is a multi-award-winning author, speech pathologist, podcaster and speaker who is deeply passionate about helping children and families thrive. Drawing on decades of experience working with thousands of children, alongside her own journey as a mother of three, she blends evidence-based expertise with a heartfelt, holistic approach to communication, wellbeing and personal growth. She empowers parents, carers and professionals to nurture strong, connected and flourishing lives.
In his episode she shares:
- How being a high achiever started as a childhood need to âfixâ the world
- The pressure of feeling like she had to do more to be enough
- How people-pleasing and âshape shiftingâ became a survival strategy
- The reality of holding multiple roles perfectly, at a hidden cost
- How she confused service with sacrifice and lost herself in the process
- What it looked like to be high functioning externally but overwhelmed internally
- The slow build into burnout, anxiety and eventual hospitalisation
- The moment she realised âI actually canât functionâ
- How learning to pause, be present and create inner quiet became the turning point
- Why true change came from shifting from doing to being
Key Quotes
âI feel like the challenging part really has been to just know that I'm enough.â
âI learned how to please and shapeshift and be a chameleon⊠as a survival strategy.â
âI was so exhausted⊠that I couldn't go to work.â
More about Sonia
You can find out more about Sonia via her website, or follow her on Instagram, Linkedin or Facebook.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
Todayâs episode is a deeply honest and powerful conversation with Jacinta Tynan, journalist, author, presenter, podcast host and creator of The Spiritual Book Club.
With a background in mainstream journalism, sheâs also not afraid to explore concepts like spirituality and meditation, helping to make them more relatable and attainable.
She has written articles and columns for the likes of Sunday Life, Body+Soul and Stellar and is passionate about using her platform to help others feel more connected and âseenâ.
Jacinta spent more than 30 years in the media, including a long career as a news anchor, but behind the scenes she was navigating profound personal challenges. These resulted in her having to make the big decision to leave a dysfunctional relationship with her young children.
In this episode she shares:
- The journalism stories that stay with her
- A challenge that impacted who she is today
- Why she had to leave the father of her children
- How she bargained with herself
- Her experience dealing with this as someone in the public eye
- What leaving looked like
- Her experience being separated under the same roof
- Creating a life for her and the kids
- The challenge of the new beginning
- What she would say to her younger self
- The positives of this situation
- What life looks like now
Key Quotes
âDonât stay in a relationship that is dysfunctional because youâre worried that the kids will be worse off. Itâs not so bad out there.â
âPeople say why didnât she leave? It is really hard to leave.â
More about Jacinta
You can find Jacinta on Instagram and via her website.
You can also check out her podcast My Spiritual Side and her online community The Spiritual Book Club.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
Imagine being a regional farmer living in remote Australia. Then imagine deciding to swim the English Channel.
This is part 2 of our chat with Brendan Cullen. I highly recommend listening to part 1 first. After his journey with his mental health, Brendan decided to make some big changes, and one of those was getting into swimming. But he didnât just dabble, Brendan decided to go all in on swimming.
In this episode he shares:
- His unexpected journey into swimming and how a simple local event sparked something much bigger
- The obsessive progression from short swims to extreme endurance training
- What it really took to prepare for the English Channel, including isolation, sacrifice, and relentless discipline
- The mental toll of training in remote conditions and the grind of simply accessing water
- The reality of the Channel swim itself, from brutal conditions to complete physical and mental exhaustion
- The moment he reached France and the emotional release after years of effort
- How this physical challenge compared to his earlier struggles with trauma and depression
- The importance of saying âyesâ and how that decision shaped the entire journey
- The unexpected difficulty of life after achieving such a massive goal
- How sharing his story and writing his book became a way to help others and find purpose
Key Quotes
âAfter 12 hours, it was dark. I had no idea where I was. I had no idea how long I'd been in the water. I had no idea how far I had to go. I've completely gave myself over to the boat hoping that they would get me there.â
âI got caught in a four and a half knot rip not far out of France, and that's a solid rip⊠so, you know, mentally really tough.â
More about Brendan
Find his website here. And his book here.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
We know remote and regional Australia has often been a space where mental health and abuse can fester untreated, and Brendan Cullenâs story is a prime example of this.
Brendan has always lived and worked on stations outside of Broken Hill, but his life has been much more than just managing stations.
With his diagnosis of depression from the steps he took up to the Broken Hill hospital, he has found himself not only living a happier life but having opportunities he could never have imagined. From these opportunities Brendan has become an Ambassador for Lifeline Regional SA & Far West NSW and a Champion for the Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern section Weâve Got Your Back initiative.
In this episode he shares:
- His childhood growing up in the bush and the freedom that came with that life
- What it was like being sent away to boarding school from a young age
- The childhood sexual abuse he experienced and the impact it had on him for decades
- How trauma shaped his ability to read people and the world around him
- The effect of carrying secrecy, fear and shame for so many years
- How alcohol, overwork and constant pushing through became part of how he coped
- The warning signs of depression that were building long before he asked for help
- What happened when he finally walked into hospital and was diagnosed with depression
- The tools and mindset shifts that helped him begin healing and quiet the noise in his mind
- Why sharing his story through his book has opened the door for others to speak about their own trauma
Key Quotes
âI was flogging myself by running. I was flogging myself working. And then I was self-medicating at night, so I was just burning myself out totally.â
âThe closer I got, the worse I felt and I just thought it was my schooling, but I know that it was the abuse that I'd felt anxious, the uneasiness about all of that, and that feeling lasted for about 30 years.â
More about Brendan
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
Weâve heard before about receiving a diagnosis later in life, but imagine the confronting experience of being admitted to a psych ward as an adult and being told you have bipolar disorder.
Laura Schiller is a self-proclaimed hot-mess wife, mom of 3 and retired lawyer.
Five years ago she was a content wife, mom, lawyer, and successful entrepreneur and then she found herself unexpectedly in a mental hospital.
She is thankful for the experience and learned so many great lessons in the mental hospital. Now she signed on with a publisher for her book about her mental health journey.
In this episode she shares:
- Her life before hospital
- Her experience of going to hospital
- How the psych ward differed to the mental hospital
- What she wishes she knew back then
- If she sees signs in your past that you had bipolar disorder
- What happened when they told her she had bipolar
- Her book and what she hopes to do
- What it was like leaving the hospital
Key Quotes
âThey put me on suicide watch. I had never been more confused in my life and I didn't know I was on suicide watch.â
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
TW: child sexual abuse and trafficking
This is part 2 of Robyn Cameronâs incredibly traumatic story of abuse, and trafficking inside a cult and continues to share the trauma she experienced and how she has come out the other side.
own healing journey in the 1990s, combined with lived experience, inspired the creation of Golden Keys Healing, which she later supported with formal training including rehabilitation counselling and ongoing professional education.
In this episode she shares:
· Robinâs description of what trafficking meant in her childhood and the strict systems that enabled it
· The horrific abuse she endured from a very young age and the way it was normalised within the cult structure
· The pain she still carries about other children who were also victims and her attempts to protect them
· How she survived by creating inner parts and protective personas to cope with overwhelming trauma
· Living with the contrast of appearing bright and bubbly on the outside while crying herself to sleep each night
· How suppressed trauma resurfaced through powerful body memories later in life
· Her determination to research and gather evidence to validate the experiences many people once dismissed
· The long and complex process of waking up from cult conditioning and unlearning its ideology
· What it meant to leave the cult and be completely shunned, losing her entire community overnight
· The moment she describes as finally feeling âaliveâ at 46 and beginning the process of truly living
Key Quotes
âThe hidden reality of my teenage years was living outwardly bright and bubbly, but inwardly I cried myself to sleep every night.â
âLeaving the cult meant losing my entire community and identity overnight, which was extremely isolating and difficult to navigate.â
âFather was forbidden to rape me before I was three.â
More about Robyn
You can follow Robyn on Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook and her website.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Book in for our next burnout masterclass here.
Try our FREE burnout quiz.
Grab your burnout workbook HERE.
TW: child sexual abuse and trafficking
We have discussed the horrors of child sexual abuse before, but Robyn Cameronâs story reveals a level of depravity an injustice that is truly shocking.
Growing up in a cult she was subjected to abuse and mistreatment from an incredibly young age, but somehow survived and now is healing and sharing the lessons she has learnt.
From a young age, Robyn has been deeply curious about how childhood experiences across cultures, beliefs, and social systems shape adulthood, leading her to begin exploring healing tools as early as 13. Her own healing journey in the 1990s, combined with lived experience, inspired the creation of Golden Keys Healing, which she later supported with formal training including rehabilitation counselling and ongoing professional education.
In this episode she shares:
- Her deep emotional connection to the ocean as a place of safety and grounding
- Her life being born into and growing up in a cult
- What trafficking looked like in her childhood and the systems that enabled it
- The sexual abuse she suffered
- The burden she carried trying to protect other children and the guilt she held for years
- How she survived psychologically by creating different inner parts and personas
- The hidden reality of her teenage years living outwardly bright but inwardly shattered
- How trauma resurfaced through body memories and the long process of validating what happened
- The lifelong work of healing from cult conditioning and confronting internalised beliefs
- What it meant to leave the cult and lose her entire community and identity overnight
- Learning how to live, form relationships, and rebuild a sense of self after survival
- How she now finds purpose in healing work and helping others through creative and somatic practices
Key Quotes
âWhat brings up the most amount of pain and grief is that there were other children that I wanted to protect from being raped and I failed.â
âIt was a death sentence for me to write to this group and say⊠I no longer want to be one of you.â
More about Robyn
You can follow Robyn on Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook and her website.
You can get involved with the podcast online
On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus
Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus
If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected]
Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com
If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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