Challenges That Change Us

Trigger warning: Suicide, addictionTodays guest is someone who truly embodies resilience. Alexa Towersey is an internationally published celebrity trainer, sports cover model, motivational and mental health speaker with over 16 years experience in the health & fitness industry. Born into a military family, her journey started after she was bullied at school for being too skinny - her nickname was Alexa Annorexa ,and the weights room of the gym became her sanctuary. Not one to be satisfied with being "comfortable", Alexa has taken part in endless physical competitions and achievements until she came across Gym Jones, and fell in love with the "Mind is Primary" philosophy. Now, Alexa uses her knowledge and lived experience to give back as a passionate advocate for mental health. She delivers key note talks and has just featured on the U.S. version of Naked and Afraid. But she has overcome some truly enormous life hurdles that stem from her past and what she has learnt from those will serve as lessons for us all.In this episode Alexa shares:The bullying and rejection she suffered as a childHow discovering strength training changed her lifeThe period where her mum was diagnosed with manic depressionHow her mums behaviour and changed family dynamic caused her to discover alcoholHow she went down a spiral of binge drinking for 14 yearsThe moment she had to intervene when her mum tried to take her own lifeHow she lived through her dad dying from alcoholism and liver cirrhosisHow her social life changed once she stopped drinkingThe shame she developed from her life and how therapy helped herHow she died 4 times on the table during hip surgeryHow she ended up on the show Naked and afraidKey Quotes“I surprised myself, because I had no idea that I had the capacity to feel that low.”“I grew up in situations I didn’t wanna be in, with people I didn’t want to be like.”“I woke up in ICU with 3 of my emergency contacts standing around my bed crying.”More about AlexaYou can find Alexa on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/actionalexa/Or try her personal training service here: https://www.tractionwithactionalexa.com/You can get involved with the podcast onlineTo try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.comIf you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.auFor her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au

Trigger warning: This episode discusses eating disordersEating disorders are something we are still coming to understand as a society, and one of the things many of us don’t realise is that they can really affect anyone. Even an athlete, who has to be healthy to compete can find themselves with a disordered style of eating.That is exactly what happened to Holly Harris, who quickly experienced the many different ways an eating disorder could effect her health and her life.Holly has been a 6 x Australian Champion in multiple disciplines including XCM, XCO and Gravel and has represented Australia all over the world at world championships, world cups and world tour events. There are too many to fit in here but a few are:2023 Australian 24hr Championships 2nd Elite Women 2022 Elite Women National Gravel Champion2019 Otway Odyssey Elite Women Winner (One of Australia’s hardest MTB Marathons)2018 Cape to Cape Elite Women Winner (One of Australia’s most prestigious races)2017 Runner up Des Femme Grafton to Inverell (Females raced the same course as the Males).In this episode Holly shares:How she got into cyclingHow her racing career progressedThe peaks of racing that she achievedWhat it was like as a racer when covid caused the industry to stopThe impact her eating disorder had on her personal lifeThe extended health problems that the eating disorder causedHow she got to a place where she realised what was going onWhat her worst day looked likeWhat her road to recovery looked likeWhy she didn’t tell people publiclyHow her chronic fatigue hit and changed thingsThe challenge of having doctors tell her nothing was wrong when she knew there wasThe self talk and negative stories she was telling herself and how she managed itThe exciting things that are coming up for her nowKey Quotes“I didn’t realise at the time what an impact it was making on my life but now looking back and being healthy I realise how much it took away from my life and from me.”“I couldn’t listen to my family or my friends. I’d get really defensive about it. I think it really hurt a of my friendships.”More aboutYou can follow Holly’s journey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyharris_7/You can get involved with the podcast onlineTo try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.comIf you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.auFor her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au

If you’ve been a long time listener of this podcast you’ll know the advocating for awareness around POTS is something very close to my heart.Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome can be absolutely debilitating, and that’s not taking into account how many years it can take for someone to actually get a diagnosis.All of this can be truly crushing for anyone, but is especially so for someone who is incredibly active, driven and passionate.All of those words could be used to describe Claire Clark who, prior to her diagnosis had been a scuba instructor, founder of female focused bootcamps, paramedic and more.Since working through that challenge and coming to grips with her new reality, Claire is an advocate for the POTS Foundation and her story will blow you away.In this episode she shares:Her early life of active workHer life as a paramedicThe moment she got injured at workHow her injury was exacerbated and led to a full health breakdownThe numerous times her medical team dismissed her symptoms and almost didn’t diagnose herHow she finally did get a diagnosisHow the door to more issues that was opened by her POTSThe moment she realised she would never return to her former healthHow she learned to recalibrate her load of work for a dayHow she got in touch with the POTS foundationThe additional illnesses and medical dangers she has gone through since her diagnosisKey Quotes“At the moment even walking to my letterbox is difficult.” “I was always somebody that helped others and I couldn’t help myself”More aboutYou can support the POTS Foundation by becoming a volunteer here: https://potsfoundation.org.au/get-involved/#volunteerYou can support Claire’s art here: https://www.instagram.com/unmuddledartist?igsh=Z3FmNXVpNXc1MnhhPOTS Page Turners Go Fund Me Bookclub https://gofund.me/0cd66e31You can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr 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.auFor her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au

We’ve spoken before about what happens when High Performers push themselves so hard that they break down. But what happens when the physical break down symptoms occur, but you don’t realise it is because of your anxiety and mind?That’s the position Georgie Dent found herself in when her anxiety and stress sent her into a physical breakdown that took her over 4 months to recover from.Now she is the CEO at The Parenthood, ad writer and public speaker, but the journey to all of that was full of false starts and a lot of wrong answers that she had to overcome.In this episode she shares:Her life before her breakdownWhat happened at the moment of the breakdownWhat happened the day after the breakdownHow living with her health conditions showed up as anxiety and a constant negative scared mental loopWhy thinking the symptoms were in her head sent her into a spiralWhy she hated people being supportive and checking in with herWhat the 4 months after the breakdown were likeThe mental drain of continuously not finding a diagnosisThe appointment that was her turning pointHer experience going to a psychiatric hospitalWhat her life is like now and whether the anxiety remainsWhat happens when her health dips now and how she manages thatWhat it was like integrating back into society as she recovered Key Quotes “So much was making sense to me about how unforgiving I had been to myself for so long.” “I was living in a state of constant panic and anxiety that I didn’t realise.” “I had internalised this idea that because I had these medical issues I was deficient in some way.”More about GeorgieYou can find out more about Georgie and her projects here: https://georgiedent.com/Info on The Parent Hood is here: https://www.theparenthood.org.au/The two programs that make Georgie laugh are Schitts Creek and VEEP.You can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr 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 For her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au@trialtitudeperformance

Trigger warning: this episode discusses suicide and family violence. If you feel you need someone to talk to, call lifeline on 13 11 14.By now you know how I feel about Family Violence. This is something we need to eradicate completely.The effects of family violence on survivors can reach through decades of life and that was very much the case for this episodes guest, Coen Tan.Growing up as an emotionally sensitive child, Coen often “felt” emotions that people were not aware of feeling themselves. This is already a difficult path to navigate, but through in family violence, shaming and isolation and Coen had a cocktail of challenges that he only really began to confront in his adult life.Now, Coen is a professional speaker, Cultural Transformation and Values Assessment Consultant and Appreciative Inquiry Practitioner and he works with people to tap into their values and help their innate gifts to flourish.In this episode they share:How he was sensitive to others emotions as a childHow his own emotions were brushed off or disregarded as a childHis experience with domestic violence as a childHow his emotions turned to anger and that anger stayed with him through adulthoodThe fact he became his mums surrogate husband for emotions at the age of 10The bullying he experienced in school and how that made him ‘lose his voice’What the combination of these experiences did to his thoughts about himselfHow this impacted the types of relationships he sought out as an adult The point where he considered suicideHis experience being in the mental health instituteThe course he undertook that changed things for himHow an addiction to the emotional highs of seminars and workshops lost him his life savingsHow he came full circle and reclaimed his voiceKey Quotes“I was hiding away from the emotional challenges I had in school.”“Every experience that happens to us are there to teach us lessons and there to serve us in a certain way.”“I had to move back with my parents because I was broke. Because I was addicted to that spiritual escape.”More about CoenYou can find out more about Coen via his website: www.coentan.comYou can listen to his podcast here: https://www.coentan.com/podcast/You can get involved with the podcast onlineTo try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.com Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.comIf you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website: http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.auFor her other business you can find it through the websites: www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au

This week we are talking about a challenge that almost 50% of the population will experience. Menopause.But like everything, menopause can come on a sliding scale, and even if we think we are prepared it can hit, very hard.That is what happened to Susan Northey.Susan now works at my new business Soul Studio in Armidale as a breath work facilitator but also works in the nutrition space.She had previously been working as a personal trainer and was living and breathing fitness and nutrition. But that didn’t stop menopause from hitting so hard that she had to literally stop everything she was doing to avoid breaking down entirely.In this episode Susan shares:-      The body and mind changes she started to notice-      The emotional changes she experienced with menopause-      The moment she realised she had to stop work altogether-      How she figured out it was menopause-      What people do wrong when figuring out how to manage menopause-      The choice her doctors wanted her to do that she felt was wrong-      The meditation and mindfulness she started using-      How her partner supported her and helped her-      How she is going nowKey Quotes “I'm not loathing myself and feeling unworthy like I did 6 months ago.” “22 years of taking on peoples issues and forever helping everyone else and I realised, who is taking care of me?” “I'd go home and need to sleep at 2 in the afternoon which has never been me in my life. I could physically feel my body shutting down.”More about Susan’s businesses can be found on Instagram:@CustomisedNutrition22@breath_revival And you can find her working at Soul Studio: https://www.soulstudioarmidale.com/soul-studioYou can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr 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 For her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au@trialtitudeperformance

Firstly I want to thank everyone for their patience when we were unable to release an episode last week. It’s been a big few weeks in the Flynn household and sometimes you just have to admit you can’t do everything.If you were in our Facebook group you would have seen that my daughter Jess has been quite sick and I just didn’t have capacity.But I was talking to Jess and I said I didn’t think I’d be able to release an episode this week as well and with her blessing we came up with a plan. Why not interview her and share her story.She is my biggest inspiration when things get tough and one of the most inspirational and resilient people I know and I am so excited to have her join me on the podcast.In this episode Jess shares: -      Her back story and what’s been happening for the last 12 years for her with a Chronic Illness-      What it's like for her when she has a relapse-      Her greatest challenge with this disease-      What it would look like if she went to school for 45 minutes while relapsing-      What she's looking forward to for her future-      Her mantras or words she tells herself-      Her greatest fear at the moment-      What she would do differently as a parentKey Quotes “I always find that I talk a lot more when I'm sick cause it helps the pain.” “Next month looks completely different, because usually it does.” “Find something to focus on. When you find that thing to focus on it helps with the pain.”You can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr 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 For her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au@trialtitudeperformance

We’ve spoken about burn out on this podcast before, but this episode’s guest highlights possibly the most extreme case of burnout at the highest level.Stacey Luces was putting everyone and everything before her own needs and was still battling feelings of ‘not being enough.’She was forced to reassess her entire lifestyle when she found herself in the hospital fighting for her life.Now she is a best selling author, speaker and executive coach helping high-potential, Type A women break free from feelings of confinement and overwhelmIn this episode Stacey shares:·     Her career at prestigious companies and the joy and sacrifices of achieving success·     Her health crisis, septic shock and organ failure,·     The realisation of the need to live her purpose.·     How she realised we can’t have it all, at the same time.·     Turning regret into motivation for meaningful action.·     Decide to be positive and productive, do the work.·     How she developed an autoimmune condition·     The importance of applying strategy to well-being and personal lives·     What the 7 Levels of wealth areKey Quotes “While I was on the operating table I flat lined twice.”“In our generation, we really think that we can be superwoman and have it all. And we burn out.”“It was years of neglect in the sense of, You know, small things. Like not eating on time, not sleeping well, running on empty, doing everything for everybody else but myself.”More aboutFind out more about Stacey via her website: https://www.evolutionexecutivecoaching.com/You can also follow her on social mediaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvolutionExecutiveCoachLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceyluces/You can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr 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 For her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au@trialtitudeperformance