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Have you ever felt that life changes are out of reach when living with a health challenge? Living off-the-grid on 100 acres is now my reality, but getting here was a journey shaped by illness and resilience. I’ve learned that illness, while challenging, can also become a powerful motivator for change. Today, I’m sharing insights from my own path to show how illness can help you prioritize what truly matters and gain the confidence to make life-altering decisions. 

Using Illness to Build Confidence and Embrace Change 

Living with chronic illness or navigating health challenges often means facing fears and making tough decisions. For me, multiple sclerosis (MS) and later stage 4 breast cancer taught me that illness can bring surprising clarity. In today’s episode of Wellbeing Interrupted, I discuss how illness gave me the confidence to make big life changes and why those changes have been vital to my healing journey. 

Reclaiming Power After an MS Relapse 

 
In 2000, my life changed drastically with an aggressive MS relapse that left me hospitalised for months, initially unable to move. Just a year later, I was living in Edinburgh, discovering a newfound confidence and strength I hadn’t known before. This experience showed me the importance of making bold changes for both health and healing. When I returned home in 2002, I knew I couldn’t simply pick up where I left off. Instead, I chose to realign my life, returning to university to study social work—a field that aligned with my values and desire to make a difference. Realising the power of change allowed me to let go of aspects of my life that weren’t supportive of my wellbeing. 

Aligning with Priorities Through MS and Life Changes  

 
A second major MS relapse in 2003 quickly reminded me of the toll stress can take on health. After intensive rehab, I took another leap and volunteered in Romania, working in a day centre for children with disabilities. This experience gave me a new perspective on my challenges with MS and a deep appreciation for the healthcare support I had in Australia. When I returned home, I was determined to make more mindful choices. I bought a one-bedroom unit to avoid the stress of a large mortgage, a decision that also led me to meeting Andrew, my partner of nearly 20 years. This period solidified my commitment to living a life aligned with my wellbeing and priorities. 

Facing a Cancer Diagnosis and Finding Clarity 

In 2022, I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer—a terrifying experience that once again crystallised what was truly important in life: my health and wellbeing. This time, there were no overseas adventures. Instead, we bought 100 acres of land, initially planning it as a weekend retreat. But it quickly became clear that this place needed to be our home—a sanctuary essential for my healing. Living surrounded by nature has allowed me to fully prioritise my health and wellbeing in a way that feels both restorative and grounding. 

Finding Confidence in the Healing Power of Change 

Reflecting on my experiences, I see a common thread: illness taught me clarity in my priorities and gave me confidence to make choices that support my health. Illness often forces us to re-evaluate, and with that clarity comes the courage to take meaningful steps forward. 

How to Start Your Own Journey to Healing 

If you’re navigating chronic illness and unsure where to begin, know that clarity and confidence can be cultivated. In my Healing Mindset course, I share the Hurdle2Hope® Roadmap to help others find purpose, build confidence, and live in alignment with their values. Join the waitlist hurdle2hope.com/healing-mindset-waitlist at Hurdle2Hope, and let’s embark on this journey together. 

Show Resources

Learn more about the Hurdle2Hope® Roadmap by watching the Mindset Masterclass Reclaim Your Life. It's available now on-demand.

Podcast Website wellbeinginterrupted.com


Contact Teisha or Hurdle2Hope® for more information or feedback Contact Us

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Transcript Episode 43 How Illness Can Build Your Confidence to Embrace Change

[00:00:00] Teisha: Hey there, Teisha here, and welcome to episode 43 of Wellbeing Interrupted. No brown snakes this week, although if you looked on my Instagram at Hurdle2Hope with the number 2, you will have seen that, um, two massive lizards were Andrew filmed yesterday. I've never seen lizards so big, but they're very slow in their movement and very harmless to us.

[00:00:30] Um, so I just can't believe all the nature that we are surrounded with in Daisy Hill. And I was thinking about that and I realised I have said so often in the last few weeks as we drive around our property and explore the state forest behind us, how much I am loving where we live. I am so grateful that we made this move.

[00:01:01] And I keep saying to Andrew, can you believe this? Can you believe that this is ours? That this is where we now live? And it got me thinking and I wanted to share with you how we really can use our illness in creating confidence to change our life. And change is so important because what I believe is that If we do have an illness, if our health isn't good, then we need to change things up because the way we were living before obviously, or from my perspective, has contributed to what our experiences are now.

[00:01:47] And if we're not coping with the illness, then something needs to change. We need to change our response to that. And so that's what I want to explore in today's episode. is that how you can really use your illness to give you confidence to make changes in your life. Welcome to Wellbeing Interrupted, the podcast dedicated to exploring the transformative power of a healing mindset.

[00:02:19] I'm Teisha Rose, your host. and the founder of Hurdle2Hope. If you're on a quest to not just survive but thrive after a life changing diagnosis, then you're definitely in the right place. Living with MS and now stage 4 breast cancer has taught me a vital lesson. In the face of a life changing illness, our mindset is everything.

[00:02:46] Each week I'll share insights, tips and strategies to help you build a happier, healthier,

[00:03:01] I keep saying, and I really believe this to be true, that MS has been the silver lining in me dealing with stage 4 breast cancer. Because it has taught me how to respond to this massive diagnosis. 2000 for those who are new to the podcast and thank you. Lots more downloads happening and lots of new people reaching out.

[00:03:30] That 2000, as I mentioned, was such a pivotal moment in my life. I was in hospital for months. Initially, the MS relapse was so aggressive that I couldn't wriggle my toes. I couldn't feel one of my legs. I couldn't move the other leg. And in the end, I couldn't move anything. So I was stuck in bed, petrified.

[00:03:58] I wouldn't get out of bed, let alone then out of a wheelchair. But I went from that experience in 2000 to 2001, traveling the world by myself, living in Scotland, in Edinburgh, working in Edinburgh for the year. I had this amazing experience and I'm thinking, how did I have the confidence to do that?

[00:04:23] Because my health wasn't 100%, the relapse had been so aggressive that although I was walking again, I wasn't walking very far. You know, there was a lot of weakness in my left side, the muscle wastage from not being able to move that leg for a long time. So, The years prior, I had relapses every probably three months, so thinking that I'd be all right for 12 months, you know, I'm not sure where that confidence came from, but I just had this inner knowing that for me to heal, that I could not get out of hospital and return to my life as it was, I was living in the city Melbourne, I was working really hard at Telstra, Um, which is a telecommunications company in Australia.

[00:05:15] I was travelling around Australia training, um, in customer service. Loved my job, but my health was suffering. So I thought, even back then, that I needed to change things up. My friends were travelling overseas and I thought, I don't want to miss out. You know, I want to do that. I knew that London wasn't the answer, which lots of friends went to London to work.

[00:05:41] I knew I needed something more peaceful. And Edinburgh, I discovered, was that. So I went with my intuition because I knew I had to make change and I knew that leaving Australia, leaving my current life would help me gain perspective to work out really what was important and what I wanted to do moving forward.

[00:06:10] So that taught me how important change was. And from that decision, I did return to Australia in 2002. I thought, nope, I don't want to replicate my life. I moved to Bendigo, a regional town in Victoria, Australia. I changed my career, I returned to university, I studied social work. So I made these really significant changes.

[00:06:39] I would never imagined as I was lying in a hospital bed, petrified of my uncertain future. Then in 2003, I had another massive relapse. I realized that although I'd made all of these changes, I quickly slipped back into old habits. I started stressing. I was, um, stressing about finishing my university degree.

[00:07:10] I always put pressure on myself to get really good marks. I thought I should do that. I should do honours. And then I thought, well, that's ridiculous. I don't need to get honours. Um, because I already had a degree in psychology and in business management. So, and I didn't want to go into research. I was working part time.

[00:07:32] I was supervising access visits, court ordered access visits of children who were from homes where both mother and father were going through issues and yeah, one of the parents had to be supervised in accessing their children and I got sick. I returned to hospital for a massive, massive relapse, petrifying again.

[00:07:57] This time I couldn't feel my fingers. I couldn't use my hands. I lay in the bed. I could get up out of the bed. My legs were weak, but I could use them. So I was in a wheelchair. But that level of dependency of not being able to use my hands or arms, again, created such fear. And I thought, I need to, if I get out of this situation, I need to make some changes.

[00:08:28] I wanted to create something to, you know, look forward to. So I returned, I got better. I did all really intensive rehab and I really am committed when I'm in rehab to do all I can to regain functioning. So I worked really hard. I returned to university, completed my social work degree and thought, Let's do something different.

[00:08:56] Let's replicate 2001 and travel. This time I packed up by myself and I spent a little bit of time traveling just into Italy and then Hungary but then I volunteered with World Vision over in Romania and I was in a little town called Craiova which is West of Bucharest, and it was such an amazing experience.

[00:09:27] I was in a day center for children with special needs. The irony wasn't lost on me. I was assisting the physios in working with kids who were. You know, had cerebral palsy or different disabilities, helping them walk again. And I just thought, how lucky am I to have the support in Australia. I also did home visits with the social worker and that was incredible.

[00:09:58] I went out to different villages and it was over a Christmas period. So, Yeah, it was amazing. I went to schools out into the countryside. I even visited a juvenile prison. And the guys sang Christmas carols to the Australian who was visiting. So I had this incredible experience. And that wouldn't have happened without that 2003 relapse.

[00:10:28] And when I returned home again, I thought, I can't slip back into bad habits. I really need to challenge the way I approach life and try and be a little less stressed, and really, I guess, recognise the impact stress has on our illnesses. So, I then made some more changes. I thought at that stage I'd returned to Melbourne and I rethought that and think, no, I wanna live regionally.

[00:11:06] I actually bought a little one bedroom unit and that decision changed my life because that's when I met Andrew. So that's nearly 20 years ago that we met and. I've shared the story before, but the first night I spent in my new unit by myself, I woke up the next morning to a horrible smell, and the sewer pipe, or outlet, or whatever it is, at the front of the unit was, Blocked.

[00:11:44] The body corporate organised the plumber to come and that plumber was Andrew and Andrew and I have been together ever since and, but it just showed that making changes I've been very clear on what was important, and I was prioritising my health and wellbeing, deciding to buy a really small unit because I didn't want the stress of a big mortgage.

[00:12:14] I wanted to be able to work part time to support myself to pay off a mortgage, um, without The stress of having to work long hours, and again, life changed forever.

[00:12:32] So that's why in being diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2022, deciding to block by our block of land wasn't really out of character. You know, I had learned through MS that I needed to make changes in my life. We were now living down the beach, loving our life down the beach, but Andrew's health hadn't been good.

[00:13:04] And mine, obviously, with a Stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis, not ideal. And we just started, as I explained in Episode 14, we just started going for drives. You know, we just started thinking, what is important when you're diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer? Huh? You're very clear as to what's important in your life, it creates such clarity.

[00:13:36] My health and wellbeing was my priority and again my belief in having to make changes, not replicating your life before an illness has been diagnosed. For some reason, my life before wasn't enabling me to live well. So what did I need to change? This time, no overseas holidays for me. That wasn't part of my journey this time, but I wanted change.

[00:14:08] And when we found our block of land, originally we thought, well, this is somewhere we can go on weekends. But that wasn't enough. I knew I needed something more than that. So we put our house on the market, it sold really quickly. We then, nothing was ready on our block, so we're still building. We're living in a caravan and I couldn't be happier.

[00:14:38] I knew from the moment I saw this property that this is the place I needed to be to heal. The energy was right. And since this The, my twenties, I guess, I have become a lot more spiritual and very much aware of energy around me, and I just knew this was what I had to do, and when we started letting people know that's what I was to do, there were certain reactions as to, what are you doing?

[00:15:14] You know, Hey, Hey, Your support network is in Geelong. You're moving away from that. You're moving away from my parents live down by the beach. You're moving away from your parents. What are you doing? You won't have any support. Again, not my family saying that and not those close to me. They've witnessed all the changes I've made in my 20s and 30s and how I've created a life where I've lived well with MS.

[00:15:44] I haven't had an MS relapse since 2012. So for me, that gives me confidence that making a change, prioritising my health, had to be my approach and response to being diagnosed with cancer. And I am so grateful to my younger self because that meant within two years of being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, my life has changed incredibly.

[00:16:19] And I don't think it's a coincidence that I'm now in remission from cancer because I am living in alignment. I'm very clear of what my priorities are. And I'm living a life that enables me to honour those priorities and really live in alignment. And I'm not going to say that I celebrate having my illnesses.

[00:16:50] Having MS and cancer makes life tough. You know, it's, I think sometimes I skim over it. Life is difficult, you know, but I don't like saying that because if you keep saying that over and over, that's what you'll attract. Instead, I want to say, you know, I do love my life. I love the fact that instead of sitting inside, focusing on the pain I'm in or, you know, the side effects of hormone therapy and how difficult the hot flushes are and not being able to walk, great, you know, how difficult that can make life.

[00:17:33] I don't want to focus on that. I want to focus on the freedom I'm experiencing in living on our land, and that's my focus. And I know that environment will continue to help me to heal. And as I say, no matter what happens, Down in the future, having this mindset, feeling the way I feel at the moment will help me have an impact on whatever happens with cancer or MS.

[00:18:08] So I guess my challenge to you today is, don't be afraid to change. If you're miserable, if your health is not good, that doesn't mean you can't change. Because being stagnant, feeling stuck, feeling unsure of what changes to make in your life, that's not going to help your illness. And if those around you are trying to stop you from making changes, have the confidence, know within yourself what is important.

[00:18:43] Be very clear on your priorities and then work out what changes need to be made to ensure you live in alignment.

[00:18:59] So I hope you feel challenged through this episode and just summarising and reflecting on what I've shared. My illnesses have created pivotal moments which have changed my life forever. And I could be standing here talking about my 20s with absolute misery. Two massive relapses where I was in hospital for weeks and months, where I was petrified I'd never be functioning again, feeling so alone.

[00:19:42] I then now reflect back on my 20s and it's not the memories of being in hospital I focus on I focus on having the confidence to travel over and live in Scotland for the year. I focus on the incredible experience of volunteering in Romania. But I don't think I would have done either of those things if it wasn't for MS.

[00:20:13] I don't think I would have studied social work. I wouldn't have moved to Bendigo. I wouldn't have met Andrew. So all of these incredible changes happened because I had the confidence. To work out what was important, my health was important, and what was I going to do to ensure my good health. Then diagnosed with cancer, I knew straight away I had to make changes.

[00:20:42] Life as it was, wasn't supporting my health. What had to change? And straight away, you know, within two years, I'm going from living on what we thought was a big block in St Leonard's, over a thousand metres square, to now living on over a hundred acres. Being surrounded by nature, feeling the least stressed I ever have in my life, being able to meditate by just sitting outside and listening to the birds.

[00:21:16] My health, I know, will continue to improve at all levels, physically, you know, emotionally, spiritually, because we made this move. So I want that to give you confidence that making changes is not so scary when you know what's important to you and you want to start making changes so you live in alignment.

[00:21:45] Some exciting news as well, if you want to make change and you're not sure how, or if you have started making changes and want some support in doing that, to be surrounded by like minded people who aren't just focused on all that is not so good in their life with their illness, but Focusing on making change, you know, embracing life, still having these amazing experiences.

[00:22:14] Then join the waitlist for Healing Mindset. In it, you'll learn the complete Hurdle2Hope roadmap. This roadmap has been borne from my experiences with MS. Now it's been tested out on my experience with secondary cancer, and I wanna share it with you. I'll be doing, oh yeah, I'll be launching the course very soon and sign up and you'll be the first to note about that.

[00:22:48] Go to hurdle to hope.com. Remember, hurdle to hope with the number two slash healing dash mindset dash wait list. I'll also put the links in the show notes, as I know more than ever that the Hurdle2Hope roadmap works, that making change, and that's the fourth module, is about looking forward with confidence, knowing that no matter what happens with our illnesses, we can have an impact on that experience.

[00:23:28] So thank you so much for listening again. Um, next week I will be talking to others. As I mentioned, I'm not sure, did I mention, um, that I've been reaching out to others who have incredible Hurdle2Hope stories to share because I don't want this just to be about me, but I thought it's important to get my story out.

[00:23:51] First before, you know, so new listeners can hear what I'm about. But yeah, some incredible people I'm interviewing and I can't wait to share their stories with you. Also, if you have an incredible Hurdle2Hope story, visit Hurdle2Hope. com forward slash stories. Down the bottom of that page, there's a form you can fill out to share your story.

[00:24:18] And just quickly, I realized I forgot, um, episodes are usually referred to that you can listen to. Go back to episode 14, um, about manifestation, because that really shares the story of how we came to living on the land. Have a great week, and I look forward to chatting to you soon.