Trusting Myself Through an Unexpected Health Journey

In this week’s episode of The Baggage Reclaim Sessions, I share about a recent diagnosis following surgery at the start of this year, and how listening to my intuition back in August likely saved my life. I take you through my journey: from struggling to be taken seriously about perimenopause symptoms, to that pivotal morning when I woke up knowing I needed surgery, to navigating the darkness and anxiety of a cancer diagnosis. This experience has reinforced what I’ve always believed: that listening to and trusting yourself isn’t about getting it perfect every time, but about recognising those clear signals when they come.

IN THIS EPISODE…

• The power of intuition and self-trust can be lifesaving. That clear inner voice saying, “I need a hysterectomy,” came months before discovering cancer was present. Intuition doesn’t always arrive as one dramatic moment; sometimes it’s a persistent niggle that keeps returning until we finally pay attention, prompting us to take action before we consciously understand why.
• When navigating health concerns, we often normalise discomfort and pain over time, dismissing symptoms as “not that bad” when they’ve actually become a constant backdrop to daily life. This normalisation can prevent us from advocating for ourselves and seeking the care we need, as happened with the persistent side pain that was repeatedly dismissed.
• Our decision-making process doesn’t need to be perfect to be effective. The path to important decisions is rarely linear. There will be delays, doubts, and detours along the way. What matters isn’t getting it right immediately but continuing to listen and adjust course as needed.
• We can only make decisions with the information available to us in the present moment. We don’t need to see the entire road ahead; sometimes the most important outcomes of our choices aren’t even visible to us when we make them. e.g. like discovering cancer through surgery that was pursued for other reasons.
• Listening to and trusting ourselves, ultimately, is provision for other things that lie ahead that we have no clue about right now. They’re a vote for who we are and want to be, how we want to feel and continue feeling, and, ultimately, what matters.

LINKS MENTIONED AND RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

• Ep 279: Return of Nat (Come on)
• Ep. 210: I am anxious about *something*
• Ep. 107: Getting Grounded About Intuition and Anxiety
• Ep. 87: Jaysus! What’s Up With All The Life Lessons, Professor Life?
• Ep. 285: Having Your Own Back: What Self-Advocacy Really Means
• Ep. 273: Ignoring, Dismissing and Overriding Ourselves Always Leads to Problems
• ‘Am I Self-Aware?’ Do You Trust, Listen To, Care For, and Know Yourself?
• Repeats of painful situations invite us to learn what we didn’t before
• Ep. 253: Was your intuition ‘wrong’ though?
• Ep. 175: Hard Resets, Anxiety, and Corona Miracles with Exes
• Ep.150 (!!!): Are You Afraid of Listening to Yourself?
• Feeling Your Feelings is Key to Breaking the Cycle of Codependency
• Life Lessons: How to Identify What You Need to Learn to Move On
• Distinguishing Intuition From Fear Builds Self-Trust and Confidence
• Revisited: Can’t figure out what’s bothering you? You’ve normalised treading water in stress
• Normalising Bad Behaviour in your Relationships
• Sarcoma UK
• Sarcoma Foundation of America
• The Royal Marsden
• Macmillan Cancer Support

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