Warning. This episode may be triggering for anyone with an eating disorder. Today I talk to Magda Dawczak about how she transformed her body after having her daughter, earning herself the title of ultimate bikini pro world champion.Magda moved to England from Poland when she was five months pregnant and didn't speak English or know anyone. She was nine stone heavier and could hardly do six press-ups on her knees. Her transformation started with small steps like lunges whilst walking her baby and changes to her diet. Years later, she became a fitness instructor and discovered a passion for bodybuilding. Magda shares the highs and low's of the process. The dedication and control it requires to lean down her body fat before a show and how to prevent the urge to binge once it's all over. We discuss eating disorders and how Magda suffered from anorexia as a young girl.Discussed in this episode :How Magda's mother encouraged her to do sports from a young age (1:00)Overcoming shyness by becoming a Zumba instructor (2:10)Does a parent's encouragement feel like support or does it feel like pressure? (3:20)Magda wished she had been introduced to weightlifting earlier but it wasn't popular for women in Poland (6:00)What is required for the bikini category (7:40)How other categories are more extreme and unhealthy for the body (8:50)The challenge of overcoming Stage fear (11:00)Empowered or exposed as a female posing in a bikini (12:49)How Magda lost nine stone after having her daughter, learned English and became a fitness instructor (16:45)How less cardio and more weight lifting helped gain back elasticity in the skin (22:10) Earning the title of pro world champion, first time competing, wasn't enough (26:00)Having Endometriosis and needing surgery, has dictated when Magda can participate in a show (31:00)Body building is not a healthy sport (32:00)How hard it is to adjust back to a gradual and normal food intake instead of binging (36:00)The danger of developing an eating disorder and how Magda had anorexia as a teenager (37:00)Connect with Magdahttps://www.instagram.com/happy_fit_uk/Let’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsite See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, I talk about shame. Where it originates from and how to overcome it. Shame keeps us small and gains power when we keep our feelings a secret. Unidentified and unexpressed, shame can lead us to hurting ourselves with perfectionism, addiction, eating disorders or suicide. We also hurt others with bullying, aggression, blaming and sometimes violence.We aren't born with shame. Society and culture create shame in us as a means of control. We can feel shame about our accent, colour, gender, feeling pleasure, negative feelings, height, weight etc..I look up and share wikipedia's description of guilt and shame societies. In individuals, guilt is when you feel bad about something but shame is when you inherently feel like a bad person. It is okay to feel sorry for what you have done but not for who you are. Shame doesn't help you move forward as it only leads you into a spiral of hopelessness and self-hatred.Shame researcher and author Brene Brown explains how empathy and sharing is the antidote to shame. I include her 5 steps towards shame resilience and the 8 types of people to avoid sharing with that do not have the empathy and compassion required as a trusted listener.Discussed in this episode:What wikipedia tells us about guilt and shame culture/socities (0:40)Some of the many things we feel shame about (2:40)Rejection is a significant threat (3:15)Individualist and collectivist cultures (4:00)What is shame? (4:40)Shame researcher Brene Brown description of how we deal with shame (5:15)Brene's five steps for shame resilience (6:10)Sheila Kelly's talk (Let's get naked) talks about the first offense of shaming (11:30)My own shame family cycle (14.10)Sharing your shame with a compassionate person is healing (16:00)The 8 people NOT to share with (16:15)A summary on how to deal with shame (21:00)Let’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsiteReferences:https://brenebrown.com/abouthttps://www.shortform.com/blog/brene-brown-shame/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt–shame–fear_spectrum_of_culturesSheila Kelly ( Let's get naked) Talk : https://youtu.be/Lrdn4lazVBc See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode is a heart to heart between myself and my guest Muna Shakour as two Mum's reflecting on how we felt after giving birth. We were told about the joy's of motherhood. We read and prepared what we needed to do physically as new mothers but we weren't warned about the emotional challenges that effect so many women after childbirth. Postpartum depression and baby blues needs to be talked about to expecting mums so we can deal with it and ask for support, instead of suffering with shame and guilt silently. Muna is a stepmom to 2 boys and mom to 1 girl. She is a coach, trainer, speaker and a self-proclaimed Personal development junkie who helps other mums grow their business while staying deeply connected to their kids and families. Today on Breaking Free, she shares her experience with PDD and encourages us to offer help to new mum's who might be going through the same thing unknowingly.Discussed in this episode:Postpartum depression PDD and Baby blues (0:45)Muna's personal story with PDD (2:15) How guilt and shame keeps so many women from sharing how they feel (4:45)Anxious feelings that led to panic attacks (5:05)The clarity that comes with diagnosis (7:00)Why aren't we warned about PDD before giving birth? (9:15)Ask for help and offer help (13:00)More extreme symptoms that come with postpartum psychosis (19:00)Pressure and judgement from society when you need time alone (23:00)Conscious and peaceful parenting (25:00)How do we miss the signs that people close to us might have postpartum depression? (33:00)Guilt is a learned emotion that prevents us from feeling joy (40:00)Connect with Muna:https://www.instagram.com/inside_out_with_muna/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9YyQnof-LA6EsyRqOdULVg/featuredhttps://www.facebook.com/insideoutwithmuna/https://www.insideoutwithmuna.comLet’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsiteReferences:https://www.postpartumdepression.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My guest this week is Portrait and Brand Photographer Elodie Giuge. She helps elevate personal and professional profiles through soulful and thought provoking photography. She specialises in helping women see and feel their true beauty, and she's currently running a project called “21 tales of real women” aimed at celebrating the strength, beauty, and perfect imperfections of everyday women. Discussed in this episode:Why 21 tales of real women? (1:14)The emotional side to photography (3:10)Leaving behind a legacy (7:00)Remembering joy (13:00)The moment self-criticism transforms into self-love and acceptance (17:43)My personal journey being photographed from a young age (22:30)How Elodie took the leap and left behind her career as a biotechnology engineer for photography (24:30)Connect with Elodie: Website: https://www.photographybyeg.com/More about "21 Tales of Real Women": https://www.photographybyeg.com/real-womenInstagram (portraits): https://www.instagram.com/elodiegphotography/Instagram (brand photography): https://www.instagram.com/elodieg_businessphotographyLet’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsite See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Simon Gilligan is a seventy-six year old man who has been inspiring me to work harder at the gym because of his stamina and commitment which inspired me so much that I wanted to share his story on Breaking Free today. Simon was suffering with illnesses that the Doctor's had no remedy for and so he decided to lose weight and get healthy. He started only three years ago and has found a new zest for life since then and can do more pushups than I can ! Let’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsite See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

WARNING:The stories in this episode may trigger you and result in flashbacks if you yourself have experienced any form of abuse in the past but have no clear memory of it as the trauma was too painful and your subconscious may have suppressed it.Discussed in this episode :The difference between sexual harassment and sexual abuse (1:00)Different types of sexual assault (2:15)Defining child sexual abuse (2:45)Reasons why most victims don't report sexual abuse (4:13)How sexual abuse impacts health (5:35)Celebrities who spoke up as survivors of sexual abuse (6:00)My own personal story of sexual assault at the age of nine (7:00)Revisiting the place where my assault took place thirty-eight years later (12:28)Several stories of sexual assault that happened to a woman by someone she knew, a complete stranger and her own husband (marital rape) (15:00)Child sexual abuse story that happened at the age four (17:56)Sexual abuse stories of a young boy by his teachers at school (21:20)The pressure of needing to act more masculine as a young man in order to protect the self from being blamed that being effeminate encouraged the sexual abuse (25:20)A story of sexual abuse by teachers at University and the impact it had on damaging intimacy or relationships with men years later (29:28)A man's story of sexual assault that resulted in blackmail (34:10)A woman's story of sexual and physical assault by a stranger whom she took to court (35:23)Dating app. story of male harassment (39:21)A disturbing account of a young girl molested by her adult cousin who raped many other children. This story is read by an actress (43:26)Resources mentioned:National sexual violence resource centre :https://www.nsvrc.org/publications/fact-sheetsLet’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsite See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My guest Madian Al Jazerah is a successful businessman and human rights activist living in Jordan. His story is a story of searching for identity and worth.In Part two of the episode of Breaking Free- On sexuality, he shares an honest account of how the Gulf war left him knowing what it was like to be a refugee, coping with depression and having to go into witness protection in San Francisco after being gay bashed and much more.He is described in the preface of his incredible memoir " ARE YOU THIS? OR ARE YOU THIS? " as:"A Palestinian but wasn't raised in Palestine, Kuwaiti-born but not Kuwaiti, British-educated but not a westerner, a gay man out of the closet but still living in the shadows."Things we talk about :The impact of the Gulf war on Madian and his family (2:00)A dark time in Madian's life (7:30)Saved by Ellen in San Francisco and outed as Gay (9:30)Learning to lie from a young age (11.00) Madian comes out to his siblings by FedEX when he thinks he has cancer (12:00)Witness protection (15:00)Moving to Jordan and finding familiar faces from Madian's life back in Kuwait (16:20)Succeeding in business with Zuwwadeh restaurant and Books@cafe (18:00)The hell of living in Limbo in Texas (26:35)New York, abuse and recognizing a victim pattern (28:00)Madian's search for his real name and identity after the loss of his father (32:00)Visiting Jenin (35:45)Madian Al Jazerah's memoir ARE YOU THIS ? OR ARE YOU THIS? :https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=are+you+this+or+are+you+this&crid=49BWXDYWQMHR&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_12Let’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsite See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My guest on Breaking Free today is Madian Al Jazerah. A successful businessman and human rights activist living in Jordan.He is described in the preface of his incredible memoir " ARE YOU THIS? OR ARE YOU THIS? " as:"A Palestinian but wasn't raised in Palestine, Kuwaiti-born but not Kuwaiti, British-educated but not a westerner, a gay man out of the closet but still living in the shadows."A story of identity and worth.Madian shares an honest account of discovering his sexuality, struggling with identity living as a Palestinian born in Kuwait and much more in PART ONE of this episode.WARNING: Topics such as molestation, rape and homosexuality are discussed in this episodeThings we talk about :Childhood stories escaping the bombing in Jenin - occupied Palestine (1:40)Trauma and fear of balloons (6:00)Madian's fascination with planes and a long trip to HongKong (8:00)Molestation, emotional rape and shame (12:00)Experiencing homophobia in Oklahoma at age 16 (18:40)How past trauma effects how we respond to others (23:30)Forgotten stories of powerful women (27:25)Madian Al Jazerah's memoir ARE YOU THIS ? OR ARE YOU THIS? : https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=are+you+this+or+are+you+this&crid=49BWXDYWQMHR&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_12Let’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsite See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today's episode about bullying, I talk to Lisa Hunter who was born and raised in South Africa and moved to the UK in 2001. Lisa struggled with bullying herself from the age of 16 at a new school. It was the support of her family and a very special biology teacher, which helped her cope with some of the darkest of times when she contemplated taking her own life. She then went on to experience bullying again as an adult in the workplace. Robert was a very close friend of Lisa's in Johannesburg who died of suicide after coming out as a gay man to his parents but was rejected and bullied by the whole community. Robert was unable to find support at the time and Lisa founded Robert’s Wish in 2015 so that no-one else need go through the loneliness that Robert felt. She works extensively supporting the LGBTQ community, youth and parents navigate their way through various challenges related to bullying and strives to make a difference where possible.WARNING: Suicide is discussed in this episodePoints discussed in this episode:How Lisa begun to be bullied at the age of 16 when she moved from Johannesburg to a new school in the UK and then in the workplace as an adult (1:20)What helped Lisa cope at school (4:46)Getting an apology years later (7:52)What thought stopped Lisa from taking her own life, when she felt all hope was lost (8:26)Cyber bullying (9:28)The power of listening (10:30)Simple ways you can feel less alone and vulnerable (12:45)The reason behind founding Robert's Wish (17:37)Why bullies bully (21:45)Connect with Lisa:https://robertswish.comhttps://www.instagram.com/robertswishapp/https://www.facebook.com/RobertsWishApp/Let’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsite See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My Guest and beautiful friend Houda Echouafni describes herself as a human, mother, actor and everything in between. Born to a Moroccan mother and an Egyptian father who died when she was young, she moved to England when she was eleven years old and had to learn English to cope in a London secondary school.She then discovered drama and a love for Shakespeare and decided to train as an actor.Houda started out as a presenter with MBC and worked in film, TV and was in a production with the Royal Shakespeare company until the outbreak of the Covid virus brought a lot of stress and change. Not long after, Houda discovered she was losing hair very quickly and is now learning to live with Alopecia as she continues to raise and homeschool her four children.This episode will discuss :Houda's childhood memories of her life in Morocco where she was raised by her grandmother (1:10)The challenges of moving to England (age 11), managing in an Inner city secondary school in London without speaking English (3:30)Finding expression outside of language in drama class was a revelation (10:20)Drama school adventures (13:00)Discovering hair loss and learning about the autoimmune disease Alopecia (17:00)Wigs and an empowering moment (28:00)How finding a tribe and community for support and solutions was vital (29:00)Questions about choice, hair and hijab (35:00)Connect with Houda:https://www.instagram.com/houdaechouafni/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1445342/https://www.facebook.com/houdaechouafniactresss/https://www.linkedin.com/in/houda-echouafni-37074622Let’s connect!FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInWebsiteResources mentioned:Brit school: https://www.brit.croydon.sch.ukMicrobladinghttps://www.diniwigs.com/coping-with-hair-loss/Magnetic eyelashes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.