Ep. 7: Breaking the Silence - Dr. Amee Shah on Thriving with Epilepsy

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Dr. Amee Shah, a trailblazer navigating the intersection of her professional life and her personal journey with epilepsy. From being diagnosed at the age of eight to facing the challenges of family planning while managing medication side effects, Dr. Shah’s story is one of resilience, advocacy, and the power of sharing one’s truth. She discusses the stigma surrounding invisible illnesses, the importance of self-advocacy, and how embracing vulnerability can transform lives. Dr. Shah’s candid conversation highlights the critical need for better education and support systems in women's health, especially for those living with chronic and invisible conditions.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Impact of Invisible Illness on Life and Career:
   • Dr. Shah shares her experience of being diagnosed with epilepsy at a young age and how it influenced her personal and professional decisions, including her choice of career to better manage her health needs.
2. Navigating Family Planning with Epilepsy:
   • The complexities of managing epilepsy during family planning, including medication side effects and the emotional and physical toll it took on her life.
3. The Importance of Sharing Your Story:
   • Dr. Shah emphasises the power of speaking up about one’s struggles with invisible illnesses. She highlights that breaking the silence not only helps individuals find support but also creates space for others to share their own experiences.
4. Advocacy and Self-Advocacy:
   • She stresses the importance of self-advocacy in managing health, finding supportive healthcare providers, and creating personal boundaries to protect one’s wellbeing.
5. Reframing Expectations and Setting Boundaries:
   • Dr. Shah discusses her journey of learning to listen to her body, setting realistic expectations, and embracing a new way of living that prioritises her health and happiness.
6. Empowerment Through Vulnerability:
   • Dr. Shah’s commitment to breaking down barriers and encouraging others to be open about their conditions shows that vulnerability can be a source of strength and empowerment.

Connect with Dr. Amy Shah:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthebindis/

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with someone who might benefit from hearing Dr. Shah’s inspiring story. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast for more stories that break the silence around invisible conditions.

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Previous Intro and Outro music: Inspirational Acoustic - Organic Harmony by Sonican; and Andrii Poradovskyi from Pixabay.  Current music: levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.  
Disclaimer: This content is general in nature and intended for educational purposes only.  It is not deemed as psychological treatment and does not replace the advice from your health professional or need for psychological treatment.  

Transcript

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Welcome to the Sustainable Success Series, the podcast where my mission is to transform the worlds of those living with invisible conditions, supporting them to become their biggest advocates, begin to heal and make sustainable changes to get back being too busy living. We explore sustainable success in health relationships and business. We raise awareness and we relatable stories from people just like you. Driven visionary people who dream of more for their life without sacrificing their health. or being stuck behind those invisible chains. Plus, the insights, knowledge and know how from those in the field. I'm your host, Nicky Moran. I've been through the trenches myself, through trauma, adversity, and invisible conditions. I've combined my lived experience, my learnings, and my diverse knowledge as a clinical psychologist, sustainable success coach, author, rural businesswoman, and entrepreneur to transform my life. My vision is to inspire a global movement for a world where invisible conditions are understood, accepted, and met with sustainable solutions. Empowering people to live with energy, purpose, and fulfillment. And I do this through the Million Scene Movement. Join me and be inspired, be curious, and become excited. This is the Sustainable Success Series. Welcome everybody to today's episode. Today I have Dr. Amy Shah a trailblazer, boldly navigating the intersection of her professional life and her personal journey with epilepsy. Her no holds barred approach to mental health advocacy challenges, the stigma that often surrounds invisible illness. Dr. Shah's story is not just about survival. It's about thriving in the face of adversity and refusing to be silenced. So thank you, Dr. Shah. I am very humbled and excited to have you here. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to have an amazing conversation with you. So can you please start by just sharing a little bit about yourself and your journey? Yeah, so if we take it from the top, I was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of eight. Pretty standard, I think this is a common shared story with the diagnoses is you have a seizure. You go through all the testing. They try to dig into it. A lot of times epilepsy is idiopathic. They never find a cause. Sometimes there is some correlation. In my case, in my story, there was no correlation as to what the cause was and that can be good or bad. Right? So now we have a condition and. I'm eight years old, lived in a small town. We had a pediatric neurologist that was treating me at the time. That was amazing. Got put on medications and we went on with life. when I had a seizure, which was very rarely, cause it was fairly well controlled, it was always during the nocturnal hours. didn't affect my life as a child. I don't remember being stopped by anything or preventing me from being able to do or participate in anything at all. went on to college, went to graduate school and I had my first kind of run in with like, Oh, okay, this is, this is real. What, you know, what are we going to do when? I had been married and we were thinking about family planning and what a lot of people may not know are the medications, a lot of them for that are used to treat epilepsy, do have side effects that can cause birth defects. And. I was on one of those. I was on that one. And so we had to really be careful about family planning. And I got off of those medication, that medication and we transitioned to another one. And that was probably the hardest part of my journey that I really forget about now because it was so long ago, but it was. Terrible. And it's something I didn't talk about that, and I kind of went through it alone between me and my husband. I had quit working because of the side effects. Um, no one knew what was going on. Right. I just, I didn't drive. I was at home dealing with all the side effects of the medications, not knowing every day was going to be different. You don't know what you're going to wake up and feel, you know, a lot, a lot of dizziness, a lot of ataxia. and that process was hard. And as we were going through it, there were moments where we stopped and we said, do we want to have a family or not? I mean, that, that's where we were like, okay, Yes, we always thought this was something we were going to do, but I'm miserable. Like this is really hard. And we went through the process and it wasn't until I started talking about it. And that's why I'm very, you know, my advocacy is this. We need to talk about these things, because if we don't talk about it. Then we don't receive information and we're, we're preventing growth for ourselves and access to resources. If there, if there's people out there who don't know we're going through something, whether that's depression, anxiety, anything that it may be. And I had mentioned it to one person who was a neurologist and she directed me to another colleague of hers who specialized in women's health in this department. And she was a lifesaver, got me on a new regimen, got things to settle down and the rest of my pregnancy went much better than, than it had started or the process. And so if you feel very strongly about sharing your story, it had taken me at that point, 20. Seven, 28 years, and then I'd only told it in person and that was huge in getting out of that cycle and having the family that I have today. Wow. And it sounds like it must have been such a hard journey, especially when you're wanting to start planning a family. And there's all these barriers in the way that's impacting your life and it doesn't sound like there was much open support or easily found support or, or even when it does come to women's health, still the research is behind and trying to find that sort of help and support and guide guidance is so hard. It's so difficult. And I had, I reached out to even friends or family or told somebody, I would have had that support system, but I, for some from just did it, I mean, I was at home all of these months, just dealing with it because I was just worried about what people were thinking. I didn't want to be a burden. I think women in general are raised in this. Well, I don't want to be a burden. And that. has since then for me, I've kind of broken that and changed the way I think about it. And we can get to all of that, but there is a lack of education on women's health. One correlates epilepsy, but women's health in general, depression, anxiety, perimenopausal, you know, there's so many aspects of women's health that just kind of gets brushed off and no one has the answers. Yes, that's true. And so true when you're living with invisible illness too. Yes. It's very easy to get dismissed and get told it's just in your head or You know, I don't know, and they don't use these terms, but it's kind of gaslighting almost. It is, it absolutely is. It's medical trauma. Yes, and just, you know what your body is going through, but for somebody else to dismiss it over and over and over, I can't, I can only imagine how hard that is. Oh, and it makes me think of all the years of my fertility struggles. And for years going through all of that, but back then too, I didn't talk about it. I didn't tell people and just dealt with it myself. And I know different now, which is part of the reason why I'm advocating so strongly for all of this stuff. But it took 20 years for someone to actually say, Hey, you've got PCOS and adenomyosis and all these things. So it took a very, very long time. And after I'd finished my fertility journey. Right. And we always wonder, like, had either one of us spoken up about it, would we have known more, you know, that we won't ever have those answers. No. And I love how you are on this path for advocacy and trying to change that landscape for people. Yeah, it's, it was seen as a stigma in my eyes and I don't know if I had never had any experiences that I felt judged because I never put myself in those situations to even feel that, right? But you've had, I had this innate need. To just handle it on my own. No. And you know, we kind of have different hats we wear. So I was a professional and then I was home and it was completely different. I put on my professional hat and you put that mascot and you work and then you come home and you're just dealing with these struggles that are real. And you just learn to kind of live this life that I realize now you don't have to. We're all human. Absolutely. That is such a good point. I love that. So what do you think are some of the key influences or experiences that helped shape this journey? My most recent experience is where I feel like I truly was just came to terms with it myself and embraced it. And I think what was stopping me from talking about it was. Myself kind of being in denial. I mean, just kind of, I can deal with this. I can deal with this. Yeah, it's there, but it's okay. I can put on a hat when I need to, and I can come home and take it off and no one has to know. So it's that. toxic, almost hidden positivity of it's going to be fine. I'll be okay. And you just keep telling yourself that for a lifetime. And recently, I've run into another episode where we're going through changing medications and I think we're on a better track now, but for the first time, I was going to be scheduled electively. This was over the summer for five days in the hospital. So they could, hook me up to the leads, get some deeper studying. And I'd never had this done before. And I thought, and I'm like, here I am mid, you know, in my forties, what am I going to say for five days when I'm gone? Yeah. What, you know, what am I going to tell my family? What am I going to tell my friends? What am I going to tell my colleagues, the people closest to me? And it, it, that was it. It was just like, I can't do this. And it took going through sitting in my sock and I really had to deal with it myself before I could come on it, come out and talk about it. And that's when I really did a lot of self work and acceptance for me. It wasn't just, it was, there was a lot of thought put into how I'm going to say this and what am I going to do? But. I refuse to go in and just lie about what was going on for five days. That was my time. Yes. That was your time. So it sounds like there had lots of, there had been lots of hiding or masking and not accepting what was going on. Yeah. Underneath it all for me, it came down to Really sitting in my own suck and sitting in my own hard days instead of just being like, Oh, it's fine. Oh, it's fine. Well, no, it's not. And I had to sit in that myself and allow myself to process those feelings. And there were days that were just that were really hard. And for me to say that is very hard because I'm just one of those, like you put on the strong hat. And you come home and you take it off and you put on the strong at, and I had to put all the hats away and had to be like, look, this is what, what I'm going through. This is where I'm going to be for five days and I need help. And I need support for me to do this. And that's not easy when you're this strong, professional woman, this entrepreneurial business professional woman. And you're actually taking that mask down and you're asking for that help and support. That would not have been easy. It was not. I've spent my entire life as a provider and just, I only knew one hat and I knew to put the hat on and I knew how to take it off. But I never knew how to put on another one that truly expressed myself, even in my safest environments. It was just that toxic positivity of, it's going to be fine. It's going to be fine. And I was validating my own feelings. So how do I expect to, for that, to, you know, to turn that around for others. If you're not validating and listening to your own body and your own feelings. Well, then how can anyone else validate you or understand what you're going through either? Right, right. And it's, it's a hard process to really unveil. For me, it was a very hard process to really unveil what I was going through and explain that to other people and to really talk about it, um, took a lot of thought and a lot of sitting by myself alone. And processing that, and I can imagine it would have took a lot of courage to show that vulnerable side too. It's still difficult. It's still difficult and I still have days where I, you know, I put on the hat, but. Taking that hat off is still very, very difficult, but it's a commitment I've made because I wouldn't want anyone else to do that and miss out on resources and support and opportunities that would only help them through the struggle. I love your courage and your strength. So how do you think epilepsy, has impacted your life and your career? Ironically, my career, I've been able to put on that career hat in that is I'm very blessed because not everyone with the condition is able to do that. But going back to like, when I was a child, I knew my triggers and. I didn't sit and realize and tie all of this together until I really sat with myself earlier this year. And I chose my career because of my condition. The condition does hinder certain parts of your lifestyle. And so even at a young age, Intrinsically, not really at the forefront, I can't be, you know, a nurse that has odd hours like sleep is very, very important and a sleep schedule is very important. So that did play into role of what do I want to do with my life and my career choices and my school scheduling and balancing all of that. I chose a career where I could have control over those things. And that's something no one would ever know until I've opened up to talk about it. Absolutely. So the choices that you make, even at a younger age, you, I almost just didn't even realize that's why I was making those choices. I think you've said something that is so important because some, well, there's a lot of people actually that don't realize how far and wide the impact is when you live with an invisible condition. And when you talk about you were trying to choose your career choice around that, because I know some people will say, Oh, you can do anything, just stay positive and you know, you'll be fine. But when you are living with these conditions. You know that not every career is going to be suitable, and there's, there's so many factors that come into play when you are trying to come up with a career choice, where you can actually sustain that, right? And it's something until you've had to deal with it. I think it's very hard to understand and it can be any chronic and invisible illness. This was just what I have, but all chronic illnesses, there are limitations and those limitations are hard to explain to anybody else, including doctors, your family, your friends, only your body can tell. And sometimes it's very hard to vocalize. Yes. And listening to your body, like you're the expert in you and your story and what's best for you. And I think that does get ignored a lot because no one else can tell you what's good for you. No, and it's really nice now to have a physician. He'll tell me, you know, who says that to me, like, you know, what you're going through and it is so nice to hear that because she's taking responsibility for my care. And also respecting the fact that she is not in my shoes and everyone's experience is different. And I really, really appreciate that. Oh, I love that. That is so good. That is so good. And to find, find a physician who just gets you like that and can support you. And it takes, and that's what anyone going through something like this is loosening is Advocate for yourself and you know, if it takes X number of doctors and opinions, what you feel is what you feel and don't let someone deny that or take that away from you. Absolutely. I will shout that to the rooftops because that's self advocacy, that being able to share your story and receive the help that you're expecting to receive, like no one can take that from you. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. That's so powerful. How did you decide to start taking control and making changes towards sustainable wellbeing for yourself? I've always been cognizant of my limitations. You know, as far as my triggers and what kind of makes things feel worse and better, like staying out late. I mean, I've always my entire life been the first one to kind of sneak out of a party. I mean, that's just, everyone knows that I'm not going to be out till 3 a. m. I'm going to be leaving. That I've always done. But now this year, when it was like, gosh, I don't even know if I can say till 10, I don't even know if I can do a dinner at eight, you know? And that's when I had to really be vocal about the Irish exit no longer works when you just can't make it. So that that's when being open about it has really, really come in favor. And you realize. Because everyone who's human, people understand you, but they don't know unless you've explained it to them. Right. They don't know unless you do open up and share that story. Right. Right. No, that is so true. And not being able to stay up till 10 or, or have a dinner party at eight. I think a lot of people too, don't realize how. These types of conditions can really impact how we socialize and our energy levels and our fatigue and all those sorts of things. Yeah, fatigue has been one of my biggest management difficulties, I think, is, With the side effects of medications, it's I only have a certain amount of energy in a week to allocate and my priorities are work, that hat, being a mom, so my children, being a wife, have an amazing husband who has taken care of this home for the entire year of 2024. Um, and so it's that it's the support system and anything else is just bonus. And it's nice to be able to vocalize that no, I'm not flaky. I'm just listening to my body. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and I would love to say yes, I'll meet you at dinner at eight, eight, you know, 8pm or 7pm. But if it's five o'clock and I'm just maxed out, I know my body enough to say I'm not pushing it today. Yeah. Yeah. And how important is it to be able to listen to your body and respect that? Yeah. Yeah. It's so important. So important. So important. Your health is not worth being compromised. And if you surround yourself with the right people, the right jobs, the right environments, That should be supported and respected. Yeah. Absolutely. So were there any mindset challenges that you had to work through? Yeah, absolutely. I definitely was I mean, what that's what I've done my whole life. Why, why not? I saw my mother do it. I see these other women do it. I see, you know, Yeah. Absolutely. And I really had to get sat down on my butt before I was like, no, you really cannot. And sitting in that difficult, that was very, very difficult to come to that acceptance of, gosh, I want to do all of this, but at what expense am I doing it at? Yeah. And it was the expense of my own physical wellbeing. And we hear it. You've got to take care of yourself before you take care of others. And. We hear all those things, but we don't really apply it until you realize you really cannot give anyone anything unless you've recharged yourself. Oh, absolutely. And I think there's so many of us women who do that where we're on that treadmill constantly trying to do this and do that and do stuff for everyone else. And we are ignoring our signals until we're falling apart. Yes, it's something that I've done. Oh, absolutely. I mean, I've lived all these years on the rat race on the hamster wheel running through routines and having gone through this this year is a blessing in disguise in a way. Because being forced to slow down has allowed me to tap into so many different things to replace that with alone by myself. That's very good. Yeah, it, we don't, we don't need to be busy, busy, busy all the time. Like it's allowed me to just stop and spend time appreciating what's, what's right there that we've never taken the time to do. I have never. We're taking the time to do, because it's always, we've got to be here. We got to be there. And well, when you just can't, then you're going to appreciate reading that book today or taking that nap, because that's when you need how many mothers out there that have full time jobs. And two children can tell me the last time they took a nap. Well, guess what? I think that's okay. I allow myself permission. I allow you permission. To anyone listening, that is your body speaking to you, and I want you to honor that. Oh, that is so good, just giving yourself that permission and honoring what your body is saying, what it's wanting, what it's craving. Without the expectations of letting somebody down, in the grand scheme of things, I hope it's minute, you know, and there are no real repercussions to this because your support system has come in to pick up on those days where you're just, you're maxed out and you've used up all your energy. Absolutely. When that energy is low, it is hard to do much at all. And that's when you really do need to listen to that body, take that time out to recharge. Otherwise, how can you show up for yourself, for your family, for those important to you if you don't? Yeah. Yeah. And we've all been there. We've all done that. I just think now I recognize it. Yeah. I've been doing that hamster wheel my entire life, and now it's like. I had to hit that wall before I realized I paid time out. Yep. But it's such a hard shift, isn't it, to get into that when you're so used to it? To get into that being instead of doing. It's so hard. And I, it's, I still struggle with it. I still have that, well, I should be doing this. And every time I catch myself saying I should be, I have to really intentionally take that back and be like, no, it's okay because I can't, it's not the best thing for me. So it, I have moments where it's, it's very difficult and I miss the hamster wheel because that's all I've known, you know, the socializing and being everywhere and being able to talk to people all day and having that energy. And I really have to tune in and be like, this is not serving me in this moment and listen to those moments. Yes. And asking yourself, is this serving me? That's such an important question. Yeah. And when it does, it's great. I just, those opportunities are my refuel. They're my recharge, you know, there are, there are good days and you take that in and then when you're just having those bad days, you just remind yourself a good, another good day will come. Yep. Absolutely. And today's just a day. Yeah. Today's just a day and tomorrow's a new one. Yeah. Yeah. So were there any particular steps that you've taken to improve your physical well being and manage your condition or any practices or routines or just things you've learned helpful? Yeah, for me, physical activity and movement have been key. When those are taken away from me is when I really struggle the most. That's when I struggle the most. My entire life I've been fairly active, you know, whether it's walking, running, live, working out, those are, those have been consistent. And when you're just so tired, you can't do that on that. That's the first thing I kind of look for. I do like a body scan what I call and be like, okay, what can I do? And sometimes it's just a morning walk in the sun. And that's okay. I allow myself to be like, you know what, I can't do anything more today. Okay. But I'm appreciative of, I got this today, but on those days, I feel good. I, you know, I set the goal to be like, let me see if I could do a little bit more today for my body to fuel it to, you know, maybe get a stretching session in or, but again, it's really doing that scan and not pushing your limit. Well, that's when things go back. Yeah, yeah, how did you find the energy to be able to nurture and maintain relationships during this journey? Communication. Yeah. Is the people that I've maintained relationships with understand what I'm going through, and there are no expectations. And there's a true understanding of plans changing of we're going to meet here at seven instead, they'll just come to my house. They understand, right? I don't need to get up. I don't need to get ready. I can lay on the couch. I can take that time to rest and still keep that relationship. Yes. And having those people in your life and surrounding yourself with people like that, who will truly accommodate those and understand, not even accommodate, but understand that has been crucial for me. And that's social medicine, isn't it? It's social medicine. And I create that. And I thrived off of that before, but I can't be in environments, but I've really found that people. Therefore, you will come to you in your environment and sit in your space. And that's been crucial. So you mentioned a few times about listening to your body and it sounds like you really got in tune with your inner self to be able to embrace those true zebra stripes and that uniqueness of you. To connect with that inner self? it's the time out, like the time out that I was forced to take. Is really to tune in and to correlate like this. I did this and this is how I felt. I did this and this is how I felt. So that takes time to figure out and that's going to be different day by day. You know what a workout could fuel me on a day, but that same activity another day can deplete you completely. And so it's really just allowing yourself grace. and not putting any expectations on this is what I have to do. I mean, we've lived our entire life. A lot of us, myself, at least I'll speak for of here's my to do list. I've got to do this today. There is no to do list anymore. It's putting that hat showing up as best I can for my patients. My family understands I have my support system in place to pick up the pieces and I've given myself a lot of grace. As to what my expectations are, I've really lowered the bar. So it sounds like one of the big takeaways is those expectations about reframing what they are and not holding yourself accountable to being able to do everything for everyone at every time. Right. It's listening to yourself and say, Hey, it's not necessarily saying no, it's saying, you know what, this week I can't, let's try again next week. Yep. And just switching that up. And, and it's really, uh, An art that is not perfected ever. I don't think with the chronic illness, you're constantly working on it and you it's unpredictable to be completely honest is I would love to think we can make up for this and have coffee next week, but what I'll let you know next week. Yeah, I don't know what next week holds. That sounds like it's putting boundaries into. Yes. It definitely has helped. And it's amazing how something that I used to see is so negative in such a struggle has changed my perspective in so many positive ways. I mean, the struggle to getting to that point was very difficult and a lot of tears and a lot of emotion, a lot of sitting with myself, a lot of acceptance for it. But saying no now is very easy. Can be empowering. It's very empowering. Setting boundaries for yourself is very empowering. And I, I had a hard time doing that before always feeling, you know, we're women, we're people pleasers. Yes. We want to try to do everything for everyone at right when it needs to be done. Yeah. And I think chronic illness and fatigue and that really makes you slow down and be like, guys, I just can't and, and not feel guilty about it. That's the best part. So what do you think are the key lessons that you've learnt along the path to be able to get back living your life and finding that purpose for that happiness? It's reframing what your purpose is. I have days and I just did a post about this. I really have days that are really hard where I miss my old life. I really truly do. And there is grieving in that. And that is very difficult. I do miss that. But on the flip side is I can sit in that, which I think is very important to do. But then I have to look at, okay, this is my cans. And let me focus on my cans because there is a list of what I can do and I can say no and you find empowerment in that. Yeah. And it's kind of like I do have a choice. I don't have to go and be everywhere and be everything to everyone. I would love to, but it's that boundary setting of being in tune with your body and saying, you know what? Yes, today I can be there for you. And then being able to say two days later, today is not the day. I'm sorry, but I just can't honoring that. And Without having a guilt attached to it. I think with women, especially, there's always that I have to, I should, and if I don't, there's a guilt. And it's dropping that. Yes, I talk about the band words. So must, ought, always, never, should, shouldn't. Yes. They're the words that should, well, I'm using should, but they are the band words. So it's, I choose to do this, rather than putting those high expectation, high pressure words in our language. Yeah, I wake up every day and I was like, okay, this is my, I would like to do list. Oh, that's great. Yeah. And old me would have been like, I have to get this done today. Yeah. Like just high achieving. I can't go to bed until I get this done today. That's just how life works on the hamster wheel. Right. And now it's like, here's my list already smaller intentionally. And this is what I would like to do if I can. These are my priorities for the day. And isn't that hard if you're someone that's quite perfectionistic? Yes. That's very hard to break. I have had to loosen my strings a little bit, allow the help, which means allowing things to be done, not the way you want them to be done. And that, that's part of the challenge. And it's a work in progress. It's just, Being good enough just doing things good enough. Yeah, and that's okay. Sometimes Absolutely, that's okay Can you share any mistakes or setbacks and how you overcame them? I Would have liked to have gotten through this journey sooner and gotten to this point of acceptance sooner in my journey I should say and that is my biggest mistake And being open about it to truly round up my troops that have always been there. keeping it to myself did not serve me. And I didn't realize that until now. So, that's my biggest takeaway to anybody listening. It's never too late. And it's liberating and the sooner you do it and you talk about it, there are people there for you. Absolutely. That communication is key, isn't it? Being able to speak up, to be seen and heard. Yes. And that, that's where I can channel, just talking about it, I can channel all of this energy in a positive direction instead of sitting in my, yes. This sucks. Yeah. so you mentioned that something that you're wanting to do now is around that advocacy and encouraging others to be able to share their story or to speak. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah. The sooner you speak about it, one, you accept it, and two, you create a space for other people to speak. It's a trickle effect, in a positive way. And you, you create a support system within yourself, but if you don't allow yourself to share your story, you haven't given permission to other people to do the same. Yeah. And so in my hopes is to share my journey in a positive way and allow other people to share theirs and create space for that, for acceptance and a safe space for that. Because once there's acceptance, well then there's that space to be able to adapt to living in a new way. Yeah. It's, it's just a new way. It's different. It's new and it's not, we're not used to it and it takes time to adapt, but there's So much beauty to be found in a new way. It's just new. Yes. That's so true. So is there anything else that you would like to share with our listeners? Any reflections or thoughts or messages? Yeah. I mean, to my listeners, I would say break the silence. Break the stigma. You're not alone, even though it may feel lonely. Yes, and it does sometimes, doesn't it? It does. It feels lonely. And that, I think, physical health is very strongly correlated to mental health. And when the physical aspect is already difficult enough, on a day to day basis, and then it gets heavy mentally. But that, when we talk about it and we accept it and we share and find someone who can relate to those struggles, it, it lightens up the mental load a little bit. It doesn't take away from the physical struggles. I mean, no one can do that. We're all working through that. But sharing that story and finding, finding space and people to connect with has been truly helpful. Absolutely. You've definitely meant, you've mentioned so many important key points throughout this. Thank you. So is there a way that our listeners can connect with you and learn more about your story? Yeah. So right now I'm only, yeah, I'm just, right now I'm just on Instagram behind the bindis that kind of has, a cultural implication. Cause I think a lot of the stigma is cultural societal. There's so many different professional, there's so many different roadblocks that are different for everybody as to why we're not speaking about our journeys. Um, and mine is more cultural, but Bindi is, The third eye that Indian women wear, and I think it's just a reflection of something that's hidden below the surface. And that crosses all boundaries. And it's not specific to any culture. It is, it is real and it crosses all boundaries. And I was going to say in a world where you're silenced. Uh, your voice is what changes your voice is a revolution. I just love that it is so, so amazing to hear you say that because there's so many people that are too scared to share their voice that they're so worried about the implications or speaking up or being seen as vulnerable or weak it's just being able to share that voice and your story and ask for that support. It's just so empowering. It can just change lives, can't it? It can. And you don't realize how much it can change your life until you do it. It's been my personal experience. Yeah. Yep. And just speaking to you today, I think there's going to be so many people that just take so much from your message and your story and the things that you've had to share. Thank you for allowing me the space to share my story. thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. Thank you for listening to the Sustainable Success Series. Our content is general in nature and does not replace the advice from your health professional. Please subscribe to our show and follow us on social media. If you would like to be a guest on our podcast and you'd like to raise awareness or share your story, please reach out. We'd love to hear from you. Our email is in the show notes.