My body signs & sourcing a psychiatrist

A lighthouse walk, a twisted ankle, and a coffee cup of ice shouldn’t be a life lesson—but that small crack revealed a bigger story about ignoring signals until the body shuts everything down. We open up about a year of pushing through gastro, sciatica, and sinus infections, only to land in a deep, disorienting burnout that made getting out of bed feel impossible. What looked like resilience was really overdrive, and what felt like discipline turned out to be depletion.

Across this candid conversation, we map the slippery slope from high-functioning stress to total crash. We talk through the perfectionism that kept us hustling, the guilt that kept us from resting, and the overwhelm that narrowed our world. We also unpack the practical side of getting help—how therapy revealed old patterns, why naming depression reduced shame, and what it’s like to navigate long psychiatry waitlists while trying to review antidepressant medication with a GP. It’s raw, sometimes wry, and deeply human.

Most of all, we get specific about recovery. Micro-rests. Slower walks. Shorter lists. Letting imperfect be enough. Listening to tight jaws and clenched bellies before they turn into a siren. This is midlife mental health, nervous system care, and burnout recovery in real life—not a checklist, but a kinder rhythm. If you’ve ever pushed past pain or called exhaustion “normal,” this story offers a map back to yourself. Press play, then tell us: what sign from your body are you ready to honour today? Subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

Transcript

The Ankle Sprain Wake‑Up Call

Pushing Through And Paying For It

Flat On My Back With Sciatica

From Sinus To Burnout And Depression

Seeking Help And Therapy

Medication Hurdles And Waitlists

Closing Notes And Listener Ask

Learning To Listen To The Body

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi, and welcome back to Mid Life Sparkle. This is episode three. Thank you for your well wishes and everything. That was um that was really lovely. I don't want to like be a Debbie Downer and for like the next few episodes, it's all about my, you know, my not not very well bout. So I'm gonna sort of try and pack as much in as I can in the 10 minutes. If I go over, I'll have to edit it. And I have no idea what to do there. Anyway, so I better not waste some words and time. Physically, physically last year, February last year, I had a bout of gastro. You know, I thought nothing of it. Then a month or so later, we were up in Byron for my birthday and also our wedding anniversary. And I was doing the lighthouse walk, and just near Watergoes, I my ankle went. And it was bad. And he had to run home or run back to where we were staying and come back with the car. And you know what? You know what was really interesting, and I think I mentioned it when this happened last year on the podcast. My foot was so swollen, and I I struggled to get to a little park bench right there at Watergoes, if you've been. And people were okay. They're, you know, are you all right? And I had a Andrew went to get some ice. So just at Watergoes, there's a little coffee cart at the front of that beautiful accommodation, Raise, Raise at Watergo's. And he you know, waited in line, and then he said to the guy, the barista, can I grab a a bag or just can I grab some ice? My wife's had a fall, and we need to ice her foot. And he was really shitty to Andrew, and he got a coffee cup, small coffee cup, not a large latte size, but a small, and filled it with ice and said that'll be a dollar. Thank you. Oh, there you go. Interesting. Anyway, we put ice in a sock and I iced it. Three hours later in Byron Hospital, X-rayed, all the stuff, very bad sprain. This made me stop and have to walk slower. Well, not walk. So maybe that was a sign to just slow down. But I didn't listen. A few months later, another bout of gastro. And meanwhile, I'm, you know, I'm pushing, I'm pushing, I'm pushing, I'm promoting coaching, I'm writing, I'm very grateful for getting media appearances and some speaking gigs. But I I'm not stopping, I'm just pushing through. Then in August, I really hurt my back badly. Sciatica down the right. I literally had to lie on my back for days. This made me stop. But I still worked. I worked on my laptop, I did this, I did that. I didn't really rest, like mentally rest. Then in September, October, I got a really bad sinus infection, which also went to some gastro. Late October, early November, I'm fucked mentally. I struggle to get out of bed. I everything's sort of overwhelming, everything. And when I look somewhere, that triggers another thing that's overwhelming. I'm I'm negative and I'm in this black hole, and it's horrible. Now, I'll digress a bit because I'm good at that. In June, I said to my GP, I've got a lot of stress going on because there was my shop in the background and trying to sell the business and then just get the lease taken over. And as I said, I'll go into that perhaps next episode, but I said to him, I think I need to see someone. Now I've been seeing a psychiatrist on and off for 30 years when I was diagnosed with PND with my first son, Mitch. And I've been on medication since then. I've tried to go off medication, and each time I have, I've become unwell. And I've tried, I've I've had different medications because you can build up a tolerance to them, apparently. Anyway, I saw my JP and I said, I think I need to see someone. Now my psychiatrist has retired, and it's all very different now. Back 30 years ago, you saw a psychiatrist for both therapy and medication. Now you see a psychologist for therapy and the psychiatrist for medication. So how I've been getting my medication is through my GP. Hence, that's actually why I was with my GP. I got a referral and I start seeing us seeing a psychologist every two weeks. And the patterns and our talking, I'm it's not because of her, but it's all the things that are happening outside of me and me pushing myself like perfectionists. We're talking massive Patsy perfect here and doing all the things and not listening to my body, and hence it it just blowing up into depression and and full depletion from burnout. And she as we we went further into therapy, these things evolved and these reflections of what I've I've gone through. And we well, with her and with my GP, we also came to the conclusion that I probably need to change my medication. And that then is or means I am to see a psychiatrist. So I got my referral. And then the different mental health or the psychiatrists, that they sort of all work in a group. Like, I think there's one, I can't even remember, a Vinta, a Vina. There's groups. And one group didn't get back to me at all. One group got back to me and said, our books are closed, we're not taking any new patients on. And one group got back to me and said, We can get you in. Now, this is back in November, they got back to me. We can get you in in April 2026. So I just want to point out that they are the only ones that can prescribe antidepressants too. I believe some GPs can or do perhaps, but don't get me, I mean don't take my word for it. So I couldn't change my medications or get them assessed until April. However, I have got better as I've told you. I've with with different steps and remedies and slowing down and giving myself love and patience and kindness and grace. And being a bloody Patsy perfect. I've completely backflipped, or I don't know, it's not a bloody blackflip. Blackflip. Black flip belinda, but yeah, I was talking about the body. Listen to your body, reflect on it. I would hope that you you do listen to it. And it's important because it's trying to tell you something. And if you don't, and you just keep pushing, something will happen. And I wouldn't want to wish out of depression or burnout on anyone. So that is the little uh the little chat for today. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'm gonna do all the spiel now. If you like this episode, please press the plus in the right hand corner, and then you'll get updates when my next one drops. I'm trying to do music and sing. And then this is what they say. If you enjoyed this podcast, please like, subscribe, download, or share with a friend. I got lots more to talk about. There's um, I'm feeling good, and there's some fun stuff I'm doing because we don't have enough fun in our lives. So I hope you have a fun day, night, week, life wherever you are. And let's keep our midlife sparkle. Bye for now.