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In this episode of Wellbeing Interrupted, I sit down with Katerina Vujić, a certified holistic health coach, to discuss her deeply personal journey of navigating chronic illness. Katerina's story is one of resilience, self-advocacy, and the ongoing search for answers to her unexplained symptoms. 

 

The Day Everything Changed 

 

In the summer of 2015, while visiting family in Croatia, Katerina experienced a sudden and severe health episode. Overnight, she went from feeling healthy to enduring stomach pain, insomnia, vertigo, and extreme fatigue. What followed was years of frustration, medical visits, and misdiagnoses as she sought to understand what had happened to her body. 

 

Navigating the Healthcare System 

Like many others with chronic conditions, Katerina encountered medical professionals who dismissed her symptoms. She was told to "just get a good night's sleep" despite her debilitating insomnia. Instead of accepting inadequate answers, she became her own advocate—researching symptoms, requesting specific tests, and pushing for the care she needed. 

 

The Power of Self-Discovery and Healing 

Through relentless research, Katerina discovered she had SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth), Lyme disease, and other underlying issues. Functional medicine, dietary changes, and mindset shifts played a critical role in her healing. She shares how focusing on what she can do, rather than what she can't, transformed her approach to health and life. 

 

 

 

From Patient to Coach: Helping Others Heal 

Inspired by her own struggles, Katerina became a holistic health coach to help others find answers faster than she did. She now guides clients through similar challenges, helping them navigate chronic illness with a mindset that prioritizes empowerment and self-care. 

Katerina's story is a reminder that healing is not linear, but by staying open to new approaches and advocating for oneself, it is possible to regain a sense of control and joy in life. 

 

About the Guest:

 

Katerina Vujić is a Certified Holistic Health Coach specializing in helping Highly Sensitive People (HSPs), Perfectionists, & People-Pleasers with Chronic Illness break free from the ‘sick person’ identity and reach meaningful ‘impossible’ goals, so you’re free to be YOU again, and BELIEVE you can HEAL.

 

Show Resources: 

• Connect with Katerina on Instagram @thrivehealthcoaching 
• Katerina’s website Thrive Health Coaching 
• Free 1:1 session for chronically Ill HSPs, Perfectionists, & People-Pleasers, Complimentary ‘Be Heard & Find Direction’ Discovery Call

 

 

Transcript Episode 56: Hurdle2Hope® Stories: Meet Katerina Vujić Living with Chronic Illness 

Teisha Rose: [00:00:00] Hey there, Teisha here, and welcome to episode 56 of Wellbeing Interrupted. Today I'm bringing you another Hurdle2Hope story. This story is of Katerina Vujic. Hopefully I've pronounced your name correctly, Katerina. Um, I've been practicing, but Katerina and I chatted before Christmas. And it was such a great interview and conversation.

I'm loving chatting to others living with health conditions. Katerina has navigated through so many different chronic illnesses and she's sharing with us what she has learnt. So I really hope you enjoyed this chat. At the end of the episode, you'll find out how you can connect in with Katerina, who now is also a holistic health coach.

So enjoy this chat.   [00:01:00]

 Hey, Katernia, thank you so much for joining us on Wellbeing Interrupted. Can I ask where we're speaking to you? Because I don't think you've got an Australian accent like I do.

Katerina Vujić: No, much farther away. Thank you so much for having me. Um, my name is Katerina.

I'm, [00:02:00] uh, based in near Boston, uh, in Massachusetts. And, um, I'm a certified holistic health coach. And I help people, really frustrated, ambitious high achievers, heal their chronic symptoms, work through that and finding answers with a holistic and identity centric approach so that they feel free to be themselves again.

That's what I love to do.

Teisha Rose: Love that. Love that. I think we're going to have a good chat. So I love that perspective. Um, and I've, you know, I've done a little bit of research and I noticed you talk about that life really changed for you around sort of the summer of 2015. So if we go back back to that period, what big changes happened?

Katerina Vujić: Yeah, um, kind of atypically from what I've heard from other chronic illness stories, is something, one day was when everything really changed for me. [00:03:00] And it was, um, In 2015, that was my junior summer year of college, and I was in Croatia visiting my family, and, um, that wasn't abnormal. I've been lucky enough to go there almost every year of my life to see most of my family over there.

It's beautiful, if you ever get a chance, highly recommend it. But, um, I was there, and I had one day, and I had a really bad stomachache, and diarrhea, and I was on the toilet all day. It was horrible. a lot of pain, doubled over in pain. Um, I'd never experienced that before. I thought I was like dying. Um, and then that night I, um, that was the first night that I got sleep that was really awful.

I've always had Perfectly good sleep, um, my whole life until that point, and that was the beginning of, since then, having sleep that's been, you know, interrupted, like waking up 15, 25 times throughout the night, and not having a chance to get [00:04:00] into that deep sleep, uh, So you feel like you're awake all night.

It was horrible. Um, and then eventually, quote unquote, woke up and had my first episode of vertigo, which was, again, not something I'd experienced before. It was terrifying. Um, cause I, I rolled over, I remember rolling over in bed and then the whole like room shifting in front of me. Um, And I had no idea what was going on.

Uh, so I just realised, okay, movement's making things worse. Let me stay still, and it kind of calmed down. And then I was like, okay, let me try moving slower and try to get up and out of bed. And I realised it was very movement sensitive, but I kind of tiptoed my way to the bathroom and whatever, moved on with my day.

Um, but that was very clearly a day where Everything changed. And after that, I had that, um, episodes of vertigo. I had the sense of being off balance every day when I'm just walking around. Um, even when it's not an active [00:05:00] episode of vertigo where things are spinning, it's a different sensation. Um, and stomach pain and, um, intense neck and shoulder pain and tension, which didn't help with sleep, among other things.

Um, And then, of course, I was majorly fatigued and had low energy. Um, although it was in addition, it wasn't just because I was getting poor sleep, although that, you know, exacerbated it significantly. Um, I just felt really, you know, heavy. My body felt like heavy, like I was just dragging around 50 pound weights with my arms and, and, but I wasn't, it was just me, uh, that kind of low energy and feeling drained.

Um, and then. Brain fog was also incredibly frustrating and debilitating for me, especially somebody who prided herself on being able to articulate herself well and, you know, communicate with others and connect with others through conversation. That was really a big blow to my [00:06:00] self confidence in a way. I felt like I couldn't be me because of how intense that brain fog was.

Um, And then I had, you know, light and sound sensitivity, recurrent yeast infections, dandruff and eczema, all these fun things, rosacea, um, and then I had recurrent SIBO, which is small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, uh, a couple times and I got Lyme disease later and, um, all of this, as you can imagine, led to intense anxiety because every day I'm walking around and not Knowing exactly how I'm going to feel, but having some inkling that it won't be great.

Uh, and panic attacks because of, you know, episodes of vertigo, or just feeling like I had no control over my body for the first time in my life. Um, and I was in my 20s. You don't expect this to happen in your 20s, you know? Um, My friends were, you know, out and [00:07:00] about and, you know, quote unquote, living their best lives, you know, having the first jobs out of college, finding themselves in their careers, traveling with friends, whatever, doing all those fun things you do in your twenties.

And I was not, I was stuck. Um, so I became depressed as a result of that too. Uh, not just, you know, my circumstances, it was just, they were overwhelming and debilitating and prevented me from. being me and living my life in the way I wanted to live it at that time. So yeah, you could say my, as your, as your podcast title says, my wellbeing was very much interrupted.

Very

Teisha Rose: much.

 What was happening then, so what was life then?

Katerina Vujić: Yeah, um. I was, like I said, I was very alone. I was very afraid. I was very frustrated. Um, I didn't know anybody else who was going through this. None of my friends were. [00:08:00] Um, I didn't really know anybody who was experiencing what I was experiencing. So I did my best to do what I knew with what I had, which is of course of going to your doctor's office and uh, PCP recommends to a specialist and then a specialist recommends to another specialist.

I saw GI specialists, I saw rheumatologists, I saw and multiple opinions of each, you know, specialist too, because it wasn't I wasn't getting answers, really. I was getting, um, Oh, you're young. You're fine. Go to sleep. Like, get a good night's sleep, which, Oh, don't tell somebody who's chronically struggling with their sleep to just get a good night's sleep.

That is the worst thing anybody can say. And I just, I felt so unseen, unheard and unhelped. And, uh, I, I didn't know what to do though, so I just kept, you know, taking their recommendations and, and seeing a neurologist, seeing an ENT, whatever, you know, different specialists to see what, you know, one might have to offer that another didn't, and I won't say that, that they [00:09:00] didn't help me at all.

They, they did some, but what they offered, generally speaking, was medication, which I wasn't really interested in at the time, both because it didn't feel like a solution to my problem. It just felt like a band aid. And again, I was in my 20s. I was like, I don't want to start being on medication now. I'm looking at other, you know, family members and things who are on medication and you start and you And then you need more to deal with all those side effects.

And I wasn't interested in that. I'd seen like some of that, you know, around me. Um, so I, I, I wasn't satisfied with that. And I ended up doing a lot of my own research. And, uh, that really, I didn't know what else to do other than that. So I just spent loads of time reading, you know, books, articles, medical journals, anything to learn about the symptoms I was having and try to like piece together what the root cause of it could be.

It didn't make sense to me. I was, [00:10:00] you know, quote unquote, perfectly healthy. Up until then, why was this happening all of a sudden on one freaking day? It didn't make any sense. Yeah. Yeah. And, um, eventually I read a great book on the gut and actually just made it into a Netflix special this year. Um, and it was, uh, It was really, it was comically, um, illustrated and told as to how, how your gut works, your gut bacteria, how they travel, how they benefit your body, or the opposite.

And, um, that was a lot more fun to read than some of the other really, you know, menial, Oh, all the abstracts and whatever that I'd been through before, but it was also the most helpful up until that point because it introduced me to something called SIBO, which I'd mentioned before, which is a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, meaning you have an overgrowth of the good guys in your gut, which could sound great, but it's actually not.

It's still an imbalance that causes a whole bunch [00:11:00] of issues like bloating and, um, stomach pain and, and brain fog. Oh, major, major brain fog. Um, and, uh, I thought that that was, I felt pretty confident that that was what I had after I did more research on it. And I GI specialist at the time. And. Um, said, Hey, you know, I really think this is what I have going on.

I know we did this, these other tests, they didn't lead to anything. Could I please have this test? Here's why. I read this. I'm experiencing this. This matches with this. Can we please do this? I think this is worth doing. Um, and again, I, I've talked to a lot of people who I felt fortunate in that I could advocate pretty well for myself.

I'm, I'm pretty good at it. I, I. I think my mom taught me that pretty well. You're not getting what you need, speak up for yourself, you know, and nobody else is going to do it for you. That had been taught to me. So I was able to do [00:12:00] that. The GI specialist agreed. I got the test and it was, I was right. It was positive.

I had SIBO. Um, and it was both that moment was really, um, it felt really good to like have, have a name for what was going on with me, you know, and to feel. Like, oh my god, okay, I was right. I'm right about my own body. Like, I, I understood something. I have some grasp on what's going on. Um, and, uh, we treated that with some, uh, Rifaximin was the, the drug that they prescribed for that generally.

Um, and I did a round of that and, uh, also a low FODMAP diet, um, which is a diet low in fermentable carbs and, uh, things that can, Feed the gut bacteria that you don't want overtaking you. And I'm,

Teisha Rose: I'm actually on a low FODMAP diet, so that's interesting, but I'm learning. Okay. Because I, I'm not quite sure why I'm on it.

It's just [00:13:00] because it works for mum and I've got a similar system and I feel better on it. So I'm learning. So yeah, so that's what's in.

Katerina Vujić: Yeah, yeah, it's it's used for more things than I'm aware of other than SIBO, so I'm glad that that's working for you, too. It seems to be talked about more now when I first went to my PCP and and whatever like that was that was very new So it wasn't totally on their radar, you know But yeah, I found some relief with that and helped the healing process.

Unfortunately, it did recur But I did the same thing again and It's been fine since, thank God.

Teisha Rose: Wow, so how long ago was that? That you made those changes? That was probably roughly 8 years ago. Yeah, and had you done things like that before? Like really, with your diet and all before?

Katerina Vujić: So when I first started having those gastrointestinal symptoms, i.

1. the bloating, the stomach [00:14:00] pain, the brain fog, the bloating, the stomach I tried to pay attention to what I was eating and, and noticed that some things helped and some things hurt. Like if I had, um, if I made salmon with, uh, gingery kale, I noticed that I felt Way better. Um, and if I did that for like three nights in a row, I wasn't sure why at the time.

Now I, I think it has to do with, um, salmon being packed with B vitamins cause it helped my vertigo and, and I later ended up being on a B2 supplement that helped my vertigo. So I think that was in part why it helped if I had consecutive nights of that meal. Uh, And, um, the ginger also, I ended up having ginger tea almost every morning, eventually, because it helped kind of prime my stomach for the day and whatever I had afterwards, it helped with the pain and it helped with nausea and, um, that old things.

So I think those are kind of reasons why perhaps now in [00:15:00] retrospect, but yeah, I, I tried to pay attention to things that would help things that would hurt, like having a lot of dark chocolate, not so great, uh, that would give me some pain and, um, But it wasn't, I wasn't able to clearly discern at that time, you know, why, what I was eating, why some things were better.

I couldn't, I couldn't find the common thread at the time. Yeah. Um, yeah. And, and in the end it seems like, um, also the FODMAPs that I was eating were likely, you know, making that much worse, which I didn't know about. So I couldn't have, I couldn't have drawn that line, but, uh, you live and you learn, right?

It's, this is a learning experience, healing.

Teisha Rose: Yeah, it is. And it is, and it's been prepared to try things and do things differently, but then reflecting on that. So you're right. It's this constant like pivoting, you know, and that's why I talk about mindset because you're always like, okay, that doesn't work.

So let's focus on this. You really have to be engaged in your [00:16:00] mind.

Katerina Vujić: Yes, absolutely. That's become so clear to me, being, being agile mentally to shift and be open to trying new things and. I have to confess that at the beginning of this, I wasn't, I wasn't really, uh, open in the way that I am now. And it's because it just, it took me some time to evolve into that.

I wasn't naturally that way as a person, really.

Teisha Rose: And that's, I think a lot of people, and this is what's great having this conversation, because lots of people aren't like that and that's okay. But if we are wanting to live well, You have to be, you know, and hopefully this encourages people to think, okay, you know, I'm not happy with how my body is now.

Advocate for yourself, research information, and then try things. You know, and if that doesn't work and be open to them, because I think sometimes if someone said, nah, this [00:17:00] is ridiculous, low FODMAP, what's that? Don't dismiss it, you know, just try it and then it will work. And I think sometimes even with.

And it is hard. Like I'm feeling a bit, um, funny today because, you know, Christmas time and there's, someone gave us this big box of chocolates. I'm like, no, I shouldn't, I shouldn't. And then I slept terribly and all, and you want to, but it's like, you want to have just one, not this massive box that was given that, you know, I wanted to try and keep up with, you know.

the person sharing them with me. . So, yeah, . So

Katerina Vujić: it's Oh, that's so relatable.

Teisha Rose: Yeah, it is. It's hard. You find that as well, sustaining it can be hard.

Katerina Vujić: Yeah, absolutely. Um, especially, yeah, as you mentioned during the holidays, 'cause it's very, food is such a big part of holidays, right? So, yeah. Uh, there are a lot of sweetss that, um, you know, I've, I've continued to make diet changes now I'm dairy free, gluten-free, et cetera.

And I'll get into how that happened, but. [00:18:00] Um, that makes, you know, I'm missing out, quote unquote, on things that I used to have and enjoy in the past, which were very happy memories and traditions, right?

Teisha Rose: Yeah.

Katerina Vujić: So it was a big shift, and it continues to be a big shift and tough, but I, I also kind of, again, I, I was able to, to, you know, improve my mental agility and improve my mental attitudes and look at me changing my diet to dairy free and gluten free and avoiding some other food triggers to, instead of looking at it as being limiting, look at it as, oh hey, I have an opportunity to try all these new foods before that I haven't been aware of, that I didn't even think to try.

Um, and that might sound, that's to somebody who is maybe struggling or just been told, like, oh, you need to try this kind of diet, and it feels restrictive, you know, I get that, but, um, I looked at the list on the paper that I was given of the foods that were I challenging for me and that I had to avoid to some extent or entirely and I [00:19:00] saw the list of the foods that I could eat and that was bigger.

You know, yeah, so it, you know, I've been trying different vegetables and things and cooking and cooking's been a learning experience for me that I've kind of dived into more, um, partly out of necessity and then partly just because it's interesting to me. I'm a big foodie. Oh, food. I love food. It's a big part of my family.

We're, um, Serbo Croatian, and, uh, and, oh, man, we had great, great meats, great seafood, and, you know, things that were walking or swimming yesterday. Oh, man, I love food so much. So it's been, um, I've just taken that and, and applied it to this, you know, it's a different experience, and I'm just looking at it that way, and it's made it, um, So much easier than, you know, I think the opposite would have been where I You would have felt just like, Oh, this is so restrictive.

I can't do anything I want, you know? And I'm not saying there aren't moments, of course there are, but overall [00:20:00] the mental attitude shift has been successful. That feels really good.

Teisha Rose: Yeah, that's great. And that's what we talk about really taking back control. So it's not about all the things you can't do, or it's not about, oh, it's not fair because of this condition, I can't eat this.

It's like, wow, what can we focus on and what can we, you know, do? Do and you know, you've got a big smile on your face when you're talking about all the cooking and the foods you can do. And I think that's great. I went on a retreat, um, two weekends ago and it was all vegan and everyone was loving it and saying, if I knew how to cook like this and what to do, I'd be vegan too.

You know, it would just serve that incredible food. It was amazing.

Katerina Vujić: That's fantastic. I think that's a great way to learn too, is from, from friends and people you meet, as opposed to like a more clinical setting, it can be, it could just, it just feels more fun because you're talking about food and food is a natural thing for humans to talk about anyway, you know?

That's right, that's right, for sure.

Teisha Rose: And [00:21:00] so part of this then, your whole, I guess, journey of finding answers, taking control, you know, really advocating for yourself. And you touched upon finding root causes of symptoms. So what, yeah, was that process, I guess, like for you trying to come up with root causes, because I think we hear that, but then we think, Oh, I'm not sure.

I'm not sure where it all started.

Katerina Vujić: Yeah, it's complicated. Um, To explain that, I have to backtrack and say that, um, what we were just talking about, which is kind of, uh, tuning into yourself, feeling empowered and, and focusing on what you can do, that was what happened to me after I got the SIBO diagnosis. I kind of really took a hold of that at that time and was like, okay, here's legitimate proof that I'm on the right track.

And, you know, I had been paying attention to and writing down all the [00:22:00] symptoms that I've been having to get there, So, um, paying attention to and writing down everything that I observed about my daily experiences as much as possible. Yes, foods I was eating, how I was feeling, and writing down Um, you know, what was happening that day?

Was I going to work? Was I exercising? Was I seeing a friend and then trying to draw connections between things that might have caused adverse reactions and things that might have caused beneficial reactions, right? Um, I found that self reflective experience and writing it down in particular when I had brain fog, it was, it was necessary.

Um, so that kind of helped me get to this to SIBO diagnosis. And then from there feel. affirmed that I was on the right track and that encouraged me to focus on what I was doing already and what I, what I can do now as opposed to what I can't. Um, and before that point, I was very much focusing on everything that I couldn't do.

I was focusing on the career I wasn't [00:23:00] having. I was focusing on the friends I wasn't seeing. I was focusing on, uh, the singing I wasn't doing. I love to sing. I was focusing on, you know, family visits I was missing out on. I was focusing on all those things that just I wasn't able to do, and, because it was that overwhelming, but, uh, I shifted that and then focused on, okay, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this, and that led me to, um, finding an ENT who specialized in vertigo.

And I mentioned, uh, I'm on a B2 vitamin. That B2 vitamin I take every day still, and that's helped mitigate my vertigo dramatically, almost entirely. Um, so I, I rarely have episodes of vertigo now. If I do, it's clearly because, um, of like, um, a schedule being severely disrupted, like in travel, or a significant stressor, like, you know, somebody's died in the family or something like that, that's, you know, upset sleep and, and it's like regular routines, you [00:24:00] know, and that's fine, you know, that's life anyway.

I don't get too caught up anymore. If I have it, like, it's, it's fine. I know I'm going to be okay after that, you know? Yeah. And then, what else did I find? I find a neurologist that specialized in migraine and, um, so, okay, so there's vertigo on its own that could be related to the inner ear, things like that.

But there's also vertigo related to migraine. It's called migraine associated vertigo. And you can have, um, You can have vertigo without having the migraines, which I had no idea, but apparently that's a thing.

Teisha Rose: I'm learning because Andrew gets really bad migraines and vertigo. Oh, no kidding. Um, so yeah, I'll be replaying this to him.

So keep going.

Katerina Vujić: Yeah, great. Okay. Well, not great. I'm sorry to hear it, but Yeah, uh, so yeah, I had no idea that you could have vertigo but not have the [00:25:00] migraines, but it's related to having the quote unquote migraine brain, meaning it, your brain operates a little bit differently than, than the non migraine brain, and I'd never heard of that.

Um, so all this, again, such a learning experience, and, and, uh, she recommended a magnesium supplement that I still take to this day, and that's helped, um, with my interrupted sleep and my, and my light sleep That's I have far fewer interruptions, um, and I get into deep sleep now, which is so essential.

That's, you know, where the bulk of your mental processing and whatever of your day, your life goes, that's where it happens. And, um, that's made such a big difference in, in my life and, and being able to, you know, continue to, to improve and pursue answers and, I'm going to be myself again in a lot of ways and um, what else?

Oh, I saw sleep therapist. That was also super helpful because I developed a great [00:26:00] deal of anxiety around sleep as a result of not sleeping. Um, imagine, imagine you go to bed every night and you, you're like, You know what's coming, you know that, you know, or you think you know that it's going to be interrupted, it's going to be light, and you're going to feel like you're awake for the whole night.

It feels like forever. You're tossing and turning, you get increasingly more frustrated, you're so frustrated and angry that you can't go back to sleep, and then you don't even believe you can go back to sleep because you're so frustrated. Yeah, yeah. And that was just, uh, uh, an anxiety loop for me, and I felt like I couldn't get out of it.

Sleep therapist, hugely helpful in helping me to untangle that and get to the root of that problem, which was that I believed that I couldn't sleep well ever as a result of not sleeping well for many nights. Um, And while it could be an illogical, you know, conclusion to, to draw to some extent, if you're not sleeping, you know, you're not doing any pattern, you're, you're going to think, okay, this is [00:27:00] reality now to some extent, but, uh, I had brought so much of that on myself as a result of my reaction to what was happening.

Yes. Um, so piecing that apart and then, um, giving me ways to manage that anxiety and. Um, I wrote a lot, like every time that I would wake up with anxiety, I'd, I would, I would be okay, I'd give myself permission to be awake, get up, go to the bathroom, get a glass of water, go do something, read a book, whatever, like to just get out of my own head and like be okay with the fact that I'm awake, and then try again in whatever period of time felt good, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, whatever, and eventually that got easier and easier and easier.

And I did have, I mentioned neck pain and, and tension and things like that, that also prevented my sleep. Um, and she recommended a, a low dose of mirtazapine, which is technically an antidepressant, but it helps. with muscle tension release and it has a light sedative effect. So [00:28:00] it could help me like get over um, any like initial anxiety if it was slight, you know to get to fall asleep and then I was good and that was very helpful.

That was the first time I accepted any kind of real medicine medicinal help. Um, and it was it was a good choice. It helped a lot. Um, and a mindfulness specialist, I also saw at an integrative health center nearby You And that introduced me to meditation, which helped with sleep, among other things, managing, you know, flare ups and things like that, and the anxiety that comes with that.

Um, and the last thing that I did there was That was also a big change for me was joining a choir, a local choir. I love singing and, uh, that's always brought me joy in my life. I was a, um, a pianist for over a decade, you know, throughout school and throughout college and, and a vocalist as well. And, uh, that's always brought me such great joy.

I sing [00:29:00] and everything seems much better. Um, that's a big part of, of my family too, my mom's sings and. Singing is also very central to the Croatian culture. It's beautiful, both female and male voices in Croatian choirs. But I enjoy all kinds of music, and I made an effort to go once a week to choir practice, and, um, It just made such a difference.

It filled me with that, that like really grounded, happy, contagious energy that you get when you do something that you love and also being in a group of people when I was so isolated and I was isolated because of my circumstances, but also because of my choices. Um, as a result of my reaction to my circumstance, and, uh, that just made me feel like a part of something, and a part of something meaningful, a part of something good, a part of something that, where I could just kind of [00:30:00] obviously emote in singing, you know, um, and feel, I feel that, like I said, happy, contagious energy, and that gave me The energy to go on and continue to pursue answers in my medical issues.

Um, this energy, good energy begets more good energy, just kind of grows and, and, and, you know, continues. And, and, uh, I wish I'd found that sooner. That's something that I would recommend to somebody that they do sooner. I was waiting until I was well enough. to do something like that and, um, I'm glad I didn't.

Uh, but I wish I'd done it even sooner than that.

Teisha Rose: Um, That's great advice. And, and you can see just in, in your face, you know, that talking about the singing and all, and it is. Someone asked me, I think it was on the retreat, you know, what are we passionate about? You need to have passions in your life because that does.

Um, and sometimes [00:31:00] those passions you think, Oh, but before I was sick, you know, I, I used to love sports. And, um, you know, I used to love playing tennis and all, and that's tricky with my legs now. And so you think, okay, so what else are you passionate about? So it's hard to think of it when you're not well, and you're sort of grieving for your life.

Previous passions, but you can do them. I mean, you could still do it and you can find other things as well. So yeah, I love that you've highlighted that.

Katerina Vujić: Yeah, I, um, I have some experience with tennis. Tennis is also a passion of my father and I learned as a kid. It was fun, but I didn't have as much of a talent for it as I did singing.

Singing was my thing. Um, but yeah, and you mentioned, interesting, the word grieving, kind of those things that you can't do. I think that that's important to mention. Um, I went through this period of grieving who I was, and I'm guessing that you can relate to that too. [00:32:00] Yeah. I was grieving the old me, the me that I lost, the me that I wasn't able to be anymore.

And that was really, really hard. And I felt guilty and embarrassed and ashamed at the time. Um, I felt like I, I was very much a perfectionist and I'm still unlearning that now. But I felt like I had to be the best version of me all the time, and I had to do all these things to make myself quote unquote perfect.

Uh, and well, now I realise that's not true. At the time, I, I, that was what my being revolved around and how my choices, where they were, you know, led from. Um, so I, I absolutely had to give myself time to, and give myself permission to grieve that person. A person that I'm not anymore. There's some things that are still true and that have carried over certainly, but, um, it's a different way of being now.[00:33:00]

And, uh, I think giving yourself permission to, and time to. And focus even, you know, whether you, I did a lot of my grieving through writing in a journal, you know, and letting that out in some way and singing, of course, too, sadly, morosely in my bedroom or whatever. It sounds dramatic, but it was, it helped, it was cathartic.

But then knowing when, when to move away from that, and that kind of leads to the next part of my story. Yeah, yeah, good. I had, uh, it was that COVID year for me where things got even worse. I had been starting to get better, right, making, seeing these specialists that were actually helping me to some extent, and joining the choir, and beginning to get better.

understand, make connections between what was happening to me and, um, learning how to manage flair, flares better at [00:34:00] that time too. Um, just purely out of those observations. Um, but then, oh man, a lot of shit happened.

I got really, really unwell. Um, and I wasn't sure why. It's also important to say that this was at a time where I was, as I mentioned, trying to find myself in my, you know, my passions and my career and trying to figure out where they might overlap and create something that was meaningful for me. It was important to me to do meaningful work in my life, especially if I'm doing it from, you know, 40 days a week, roughly.

That's most of your life. Yeah. I wanted it to be something that felt, felt meaningful and like I was doing some good in the world, but I wasn't sure what that was. Um, and I was focusing on, on trying different things and I started a new job and then. I think, I don't know, nine months or something into that new job, [00:35:00] I started feeling really unwell and I had a lot of the symptoms I'd had before, uh, crazy brain fog, like, but it was, it was way more intense than before.

It was way worse. And that was really shocking to me at that time. Cause I was, Feeling like, okay, I'm finally making progress. I'm getting somewhere. I'm getting somewhere like, and I'm, and I'm moving forward in my career too. And, you know, I'm making choices that are good for me. Uh, and then just to be hitting a brick wall is what it felt like.

And that was really, really. Disappointing and frustrating. Uh, so I had major brain fog. I had, I was rushing to the bathroom back and forth and I was working at a front desk, um, at the time and I was supposed to be at that front desk most of the time and I was just going in and out of the bathroom a lot, but felt embarrassed and, you know, didn't want to like, let on as to what was going on because I wasn't even sure myself and you don't want your employer to think that you're unable to do your job.

Wasn't sure how to navigate that at all as a, you know, relatively new [00:36:00] person at a college, new professional, um, and, you know, I ended up losing that job as a result, unfortunately, and literally days, the next days after, a week after, I found out that it was Lyme disease. And again, I felt I felt a sense of relief in having a name to put to what was happening to me.

That felt good. I felt like I wasn't crazy, because I'm sure that this is also relatable to you and other people who are listening who are chronically ill. When everything's happening to your body like this, and all these sort of amorphous symptoms like Brain fog and stomach pain and vertigo and whatever that you can't piece together and that seem unrelated, you begin to think that you're going nuts.

Teisha Rose: Yeah.

Katerina Vujić: And, uh, you know, you might start listening to other people around you who say, Is it all in your head? And I, I fought back against that because I really firmly [00:37:00] didn't feel like it was in my head. This was in my body. But, You get to a point of really being in the weeds of, of feeling so unwell that you start to doubt yourself.

And I think it's really important for anybody listening to know that, A, I understand that. B, it sucks, but it's okay. And C, I encourage you to, to really be open to what you're feeling in your own body and what you feel like you know to be true. Um, because it often is. And you know your body better than anybody else.

Um, I got diagnosed with Lyme. Um, I felt relieved, freed in some way because I, you know, had a diagnosis. I was also free from the pressure of that [00:38:00] job, even though I was really disappointed and sad that it ended. And then I felt purposeless because I didn't have that job eventually and I wasn't doing meaningful work.

Um, I was just barely kind of surviving, truly, you know, it's having trouble getting out of bed. Um, it's having trouble. Taking a shower, having trouble making myself food, I was having trouble doing these really, really basic things. Um, and then stressing about medical care and, and other things that I, you know, in America that's tied to your job.

So that was stressful.

Teisha Rose: Um,

Katerina Vujić: and then COVID hit. So I was even more isolated. We all know what that was like. And, uh, I was extra fearful of getting worse, because I'd known that any time I'd gotten like a cold or any kind of bug, that it would tend to make my symptoms flare up, and COVID was a whole other deal from what I was hearing, so I was very afraid of that, and I purposely [00:39:00] isolated myself as much as humanly possible to prevent myself from being exposed to that and prevent it.

Myself, I'm feeling any worse than I already was. I was terrified of that. I couldn't imagine what that could possibly be. I was like feeling horrible. Um, I was also unfortunately around people at that time who were also severely distressed and struggling and I tried to support them as best as I could.

They're friends of mine and I cared about them. Um, but I'm also a deep feeler and I felt everything that they were feeling on top of everything that I was feeling. That was really, really hard for me to deal with. Uh, then a close family member was hospitalized multiple times. Then my friend was hospitalized and then, uh, my grandfather died overseas in Croatia and obviously wasn't able to go because of COVID.

So yeah,

Teisha Rose: Wellbeing Interrupted, again. Yeah, yeah, it's full on. And I think too, when things happen, once you feel like you've got over the [00:40:00] initial illness, you know, and all, and then you've made all these changes, life's going well, and then something else happens. And, and that is life. And that's what I used to feel like after another big relapse.

Like I had my MS, really sick, Changed careers, became a social worker, moved to a regional town, but then I got sick again. I was like, why? Why? And then it's like, do we sit with that or do we go back to the table and think, okay, why has this happened? And I realised for me, I I was still approaching my social work career the same way as I did a corporate career.

My perfectionism, my stress I put on myself, the bad choices I was making, didn't matter what environment I was put in. It was me, you know, and that's what I had to change and reflect on. [00:41:00] And that is really hard. Um, so yeah, so did you end up, I guess bringing to the table all you had learnt previously with your health?

Katerina Vujić: Yeah, well, so all of that happened and I, that was the lowest I've ever felt. , That was the first time I had.

Like unhealthy thoughts, or an unhealthy thought, I should say, where I was like, uh, am I meant to? Be here doing this, living life the way that it's happening. Like I didn't, and that was a, that was a major alarm bell for me because that was a thought I had never had before. I never had thought maybe life isn't worth living.

I'd never thought that ever. Yeah. Yeah. I'd always been full of life and eager to have new experiences and meet people and do things. And I mean, it makes sense because I wasn't doing those things. I wasn't living [00:42:00] life. I wasn't meeting people. I wasn't doing things. But that was so, I wasn't sure about a lot, right?

You know, so much was unclear and up in the air, but I was clear that that was a thought that was so far removed from the old healthy Katernia that I knew myself to be, that made me snap out of it and go, okay, something's really, really wrong here. And what I'm doing isn't getting me anywhere. Nobody's coming to save me.

That is clear. It's been years. I am where I am. I'm still in roughly the same place, and now an even worse place. So, it's up to me, and I, you know, it's not my fault. It's not my fault that I'm going through all of this because I, I felt, I just felt overwhelmed and like, I must have been doing something wrong.

Like, why is this happening to me? I, I [00:43:00] had all those repetitive thoughts. Why, why, why, why, why, why, why? And why didn't matter. It didn't matter because I was there and even though it wasn't my fault and, and, you know, I didn't know why it was my, my responsibility and my responsibility alone to get myself to forward.

Nobody was going to do that for me.

Teisha Rose: Yeah.

Katerina Vujić: And it took me, it took this, it took all of this, this absolute shit year for me to really understand that I needed to take responsibility for myself in a way that I hadn't. And get myself out of this god awful Groundhog Day that I was going through that was getting me freaking nowhere.

Uh, and so I, I did, I dug in, you know, and, and that just, that changed everything. And like you were saying, your, your mental attitudes, the perfectionism, the, for me also, the, Identifying with my illness [00:44:00] and not having a self that I could recognize outside of that. And, um, this victim mindset that I just described where it's like, why, why, why, why me?

Blah, blah, blah. Oh, what was me? I'm not gonna like, All of that is, is I think pretty inherent and normal for an experience where having a prolonged illness of any kind. I would expect that that happens in somebody's mind at some point and possibly for long periods of time like me, possibly shorter. I was, you know, had these limiting mental attitudes to begin with, so it was tougher for me, I think.

But, um, all that's normal and I'm not saying that that's wrong. If anybody's listening, I'm not saying that, that having those thoughts are wrong. Absolutely not. You are, this is your experience, period. But I realised that it was up to me and only I could change this. Only I could change my mental attitudes.

Nobody could do that for me. I have to do that myself. Nobody could pursue different, you know, [00:45:00] modes of healing for me. I had to figure that out myself. And I ended up making choices that were healthier for me. I ended up continuing to do the things I was eating, I was eating, doing before, including eating differently, you know, to paying attention to what I was eating, how I was exercising, I found exercising to be the massive, like really massively hard for me to do, but, you One of the most rewarding things I could do for myself at the time because it gave me Particularly after, like, more intense exercise, not long, but intense exercise, it would clear my brain fog for, for a few hours afterwards, and I could feel like me again, and I felt energized, and I felt able, and that would, to some extent, carry over into the next day, or even the day after that.

Um, particularly if I repeated that every other day or so. So, a bunch of little things. Um, again, continuing to observe the flip side of exercises, you [00:46:00] could overdo it too. So, I found that I had to learn to pay attention to what my limits were on a particular day. and a particular hour, that changes constantly.

And that's why I think living with chronic illness is so difficult, because you have to constantly have your barometer measuring what's, you know, how you're feeling, what your capabilities are, and, um, and then responding to that appropriately based on what you want to do with your day. Uh, so I found also, for example, that certain movements would trigger vertigo for me.

So I did, um, I feel proud to say I became strong enough to do pull ups. That felt massively empowering. Wow. Like gravity, you got nothing. Amazing. But it felt very, very empowering at a time that I felt disempowered.

Teisha Rose: So

Katerina Vujić: I strongly recommend working out in some capacity for that reason. But I also found that, um, if I, you know, I did too much or, [00:47:00] um, Too infrequently, actually, could trigger my vertigo and neck tension and pain and things, so I had to just pay attention and then be real with myself and be, um, non judgmental about what my abilities and limits were on a given day.

Teisha Rose: Yeah.

Katerina Vujić: And, uh, continue to make choices. I moved in with my, my boyfriend and, um, He's a personal trainer, and I was around more health conscious people, health focused people. You, you absorb what you're exposed to, including the people you're around, right? So that was helpful, and um, I made other lifestyle changes.

I did more fulfilling work. I did, I changed my career path again. I went into the health and wellness field. Surprise! Eventually learned about health coaches and, um, yeah, a lot of different things. And, uh, there's so much to, to, to say as, as to things you can do, but eventually [00:48:00] I, um, I found functional medicine.

That was a major change for me. I found a functional medicine doctor. And for those who don't know what functional medicine is, I would say. medicine focused on the root cause of what's going on with you and your body and looking at it as a whole too, as opposed to just when you see specialists, you see people who specialize in one little part of your body and don't really pay attention to the rest of it.

Yeah. Um, yeah, which is limiting. Um, and, and especially when it comes to chronic symptoms, I think, so she actually sat down with me, this, this doctor for three to four hours for our first appointment. Wow. I had never had that before. Have you ever had that before? Never. That was amazing. It was. Uh, I, I felt seen and heard for the first time [00:49:00] and as a person, not just, you know, my health history, although we did comprehensive health history.

Yeah. And, uh, she treated me as a person and, and, you know, asked me about all aspects of my life that could be linked to my health and, um, then offered testing that I hadn't been able to have before. Really comprehensive testing about, you know, with the GI tract, um, a GI map or, um, Uh, different food sensitivity testing and, and found a slew of things that I hadn't had the opportunity to know.

, I discovered that, um, so I had known that I had lactose intolerance from a previous GI specialist. But, uh, we confirmed that and along with, excuse me, a whole bunch of food sensitivities that I had. Um, there were like 30 odd that came back to varying degrees that also indicated immune dysfunction, because I shouldn't be reacting to all these, all these foods.

And, um, a [00:50:00] blood test that indicated the same and, um, uh, indicated that I had leaky gut. And I'm still healing from that, but I'm doing better. Then she, she's recommended I have, you know, um, different probiotics to help with the gut bacteria that I, the good guys, the good gut bacteria that I was then lacking.

Um, and, uh, diet changes to dairy free and gluten free. Um, I wasn't sensitive to, to gluten, but that can be a common denominator for a lot of people. So she said, let's eliminate it for now. So it doesn't become a problem and work on healing the gut lining and, um, Kind of deactivating your system from being in this fight or flight mode where it thinks it needs to be attacking itself.

Um, and, uh, other things, stress reduction, of course. I was massively stressed and the whole thinking is that, I mentioned that day that everything changed for me, the thinking is that, um, [00:51:00] that day happened, but it was a culmination of things that happened beforehand. And what had happened a year or so prior was I had had mono and appendicitis.

And at the same time, uh, when I was a sophomore in college. And, um, that knocked me out as you can imagine. I had a load of antibiotics and that can knock out your good bacteria. And so the thinking was, that knocked out my good bacteria, it took care of the infections I had at the time, which was great, needed, but it knocked out the good guys, and the good guys never recovered, and then when I was exposed to some kind of pathogen later, my body just didn't have the resources to deal with it.

It was still too depleted and unbalanced from before. And that was why things on that one day just kind of everything seemed to go out of whack and off kilter. Um, and, uh, that, yeah, that brings me to where I am now. And I've been continued to work with that functional medicine doctor and continue to work with a chiropractor who who [00:52:00] also did imaging for me to see that I had some misaligned vertebrae that was contributing to the neck pain and, and was also linked somewhat to the vertigo and, um, getting adjusted and, and, um, having, you know, regular thermal scans to see where my alignment is and things like that.

That's been hugely helpful. Um, and I've, my quality of life has improved drastically. I'm not 100%, but I'm about 70 percent better than I was nine years ago when this started. Um, I have far better sleep, much fewer interruptions. Um, I get into deep sleep every night. My brain fog, uh, is, Way, way better. I'm able to have a conversation with you.

I'm able to do a job. I'm able to go out and talk to people and hang out with friends and feel like me. Um, I'm able to run my business and continue to learn how to run my business. All these big things that if I was as debilitated as I was before, I wouldn't be able to do this.

Teisha Rose: Yeah.

Katerina Vujić: Um, and energy and, and, you know, [00:53:00] my anxiety and my depression is gone.

My anxiety is low. My, um, vertigo episodes are, are rarely there. My everyday dizziness is minimal. So much, much better. A far cry from, from nine years ago.

Teisha Rose: Yeah, that's amazing. And I guess, um, we could chat for ages, but, but let's move to now, you're such a wealth of information, , you've said you've had career changes, but then It's, obviously sparked an interest for you in terms of the health and wellness.

So now let us know what you're doing now. So you talked about your running your business and all. So how are you bringing all that you've learned now to helping others?

Katerina Vujić: Yeah. Um, thank you for asking. Um, so my experience, as I mentioned, was very [00:54:00] isolating. And I didn't know anybody who knew about functional medicine or these things, alternative modalities that would have been helpful for the kinds of symptoms that I was having.

And I was working for a farm and wellness startup as my first foray into health and wellness, uh, which was awesome. I loved it. It was my first first job that I felt like really aligned with. And um, I was introduced to the health coaches. They were partnering with health coaches to deliver their farm, fresh, healthy food.

. So, I'd never heard of them and I, I spoke with them directly as part of this job and it was fascinating because I realised they help with exactly what I needed now, nine years ago.

Laughter. They have the wealth of knowledge. They look at you holistically. They know about these alternative modalities that they can refer you to based on what you're experiencing.

 It was exactly what I felt like I needed [00:55:00] at the beginning, and that was exactly what inspired me to become a certified health coach.

So, I studied with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. It was a fabulous experience because it was so wide ranging in terms of material. It covered every part of the body and, and all these alternative modalities as well as traditional ways and traditional medicine and, um, how they could work together, which was really appealing to me because I felt like, I felt like if I had had a team of people as opposed to just specialists one on, one by one, that that would have been hugely helpful for me.

 I'd mentioned earlier I hadn't been sure what I wanted to do with my life, and, and I, I took some time to assess, uh, my skills, my passions, and Where They Converged.

Teisha Rose: So are you, um, coaching people or, you know, how does that work?

Katerina Vujić: Yeah. So right now [00:56:00] I'm coaching people one on one and I think that, um, I'm offering it that way for now because.

I think it's really important that one on one attention was, again, really important for me. Um, so I want to give that to other people and, um, help them feel, again, not isolated, have some guidance as to, you know, what modalities might be helpful, help them work through their mental attitudes that might be preventing them from moving forward, like perfectionism and finding the one perfect answer or not pursuing things because you're waiting for that perfect moment.

Or, um, Identifying with your illness. That's so common, uh, and it's hard to heal when you feel like you are what's happening to you. So helping people separate themselves from that in a way that's joyful, uh, and I think that that's something that I bring uniquely to the table. I really want to focus on making this joyful for people when it's, it's a tough [00:57:00] experience, but it doesn't have to be.

Healing doesn't have to be tough, I think, and I, I say that because When I joined a choir, that was so life changing for me, and it was one small seemingly choice. But going every week and, and being around people in a community and singing my heart out really gave me that good energy to move forward. And so I encourage people to do that at the beginning as opposed to wait until they are, you know, feeling really able and fully healed or whatever they're waiting for.

And that seems common as well. I encourage people to do something now and again, focus on what you can do, not what you can't do. So, that could mean many different things for many different people, depending on what your capabilities are, and that's fine, but there's always something you can do, and I help people find what that is.

Um, so focusing, yes, on those mental attitudes, mental hurdles, guiding them to answers, hopefully faster than, you know, my experience, which was long and which I'm hearing is [00:58:00] commonly long, doesn't need to be that way. If I had known about health coaches, I would have worked with one. So, I want to be that guide for others, that support for others, and get them feeling like themselves.

Teisha Rose: Yeah, that's great. And I think a couple of things, especially you mentioning about feeling defined by an illness and I think support. is so important, but sometimes I think when we're in certain groups, you know, um, an MS group or a cancer group or whatever it is, all the conversation, which at times is needed and is good, but it can then become suffocating as well because you don't see life outside of that condition.

Katerina Vujić: Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, I can, I, I fully agree with that. I've joined some chronic illness groups on Facebook. Um, and while it was helpful in [00:59:00] not feeling alone, it was not uplifting. There were not a lot of like stories of success in there. What I would recommend to people with that in mind is, um, Seeking out success stories in particular, I found loads on podcasts like yours.

Um, there's also a great book called You Are the Placebo, um, focusing on, um, the neurological approach to healing and things like that. And there are a lot of, uh, if you're scientifically minded, I'd especially recommend that a lot of success stories in that realm. But I think it's really important to expose yourself to those stories, because You're, you're being exposed to the opposite in your daily life because of how you're feeling and or whatever you're consuming on social media or elsewhere.

So you're not giving your, your brain the, the input that you could possibly improve. Um, it's interesting that that was your experience as well. Um, it seems like a good [01:00:00] idea at the beginning, I think, and, and it can be, but, um, I think it's also important to, to, if you are doing that, to, to find community, to also.

Make sure that you're finding sources of what your, like, desired future healing would look like as well, and make sure you integrate that equally.

Teisha Rose: Beautiful. And that's a lot about that. Um, and I talk about this even manifestation in terms of what does your, like you just said, what does a healed you sort of look like or feel like, and then have those feelings now and then, you know, attract those feelings and those experiences which will enable you to get there.

So I love, we're very much aligned. So yeah, I get that. I love that because there is, there's so much we can do and you've been through so much, but part of that is, and I think sometimes [01:01:00] too, like, yeah, it took me years and I say I'm a slow learner. I was such a slow learner. Um, but I think going through that and you taking a long time to Absorb and evolve and learn.

That means that you've got that now for anything else that comes along and look at you now. And you think, well, that's amazing. And if people can shortcut or short track or whatever, what they're going through because of what you've learned in those nine years, then that's amazing. So it's like, no, you know, get into your worlds as a life coach, because I think you will help so many people.

You bring all of that knowledge that people don't have to go through that you've saving them doing that. You said that so well, that's exactly my intention. Yeah, that's beautiful. Thank you. That's beautiful. Um, and We better, um, [01:02:00] wind thing. I don't know what to say. We're not winding things up, but it'll be a long, long episode, but that's good.

We'll have to get you back on in 2025 because there's lots and lots we can talk about. As I've said to other guests, I love that people get to know you and I don't want them to then never hear of you again. Um, so we'll definitely have you back on just to really delve into what you're doing in your life coaching.

Um, because then they can always listen to your story, know that it's coming from a really, you know, a spot where you have learnt so much and you are helping so many people. Um, but yeah, how can people connect with you and get into your world? Um, yeah, so we'll start with that.

Katerina Vujić: First, thank you so much for that future invitation.

I would love to come back and speak with you. Thank you again for having me. Uh, second, I'm, I'm on all of the social [01:03:00] platforms. I'm on, uh, YouTube, Instagram, uh, TikTok, Facebook. I'm sure I'm missing one, but pretty much everywhere. And that you can find me under Thrive Health Coaching. Um, some version of that, and I'll give you the links and maybe you can put that in the show notes for folks.

Teisha Rose: Yeah, I certainly will. I certainly will.

 So was there anything you'd like to, any pearls of wisdom or anything you'd like to, you know, leave someone who's listening, who's in the midst of it all, you know, who's thinking like you were thinking, I feel isolated. It's not right. I'm going through so much. Yeah. So is there anything you'd say to them?

Katerina Vujić: You're not alone. There are loads of people going through something similar to you. You are not alone. Your thoughts, your feelings, your experiences are valid.

You are not responsible for what happens to you, but you are responsible for your [01:04:00] choices, and I would encourage you to be empowered by the choices that you choose to make. That, again, is ultimately what I found helpful, and I'm speaking to many people who have gone through similar physical and mental hurdles, and, uh, focusing on what you can do is so, so important.

I think if you slowly, you know, Do that in a small way, I think, is most important. I would say the first thing that I did, the first small change that I did in an effort to change my mental attitude, was actually moving my body. I decided to go on a daily walk. This was during COVID. It was cold. I'm in Massachusetts.

It was freezing, but I packed on all of the layers and made myself go for a walk, even if it was just down the street, if that's all I could manage that day. And when I came back, I was in a different place than I was mentally. Then when I left, because I [01:05:00] had moved my mind by moving my body. So do something small that helps you move your mind, whether it's moving your body or doing something that you love, like singing or reading or drawing or whatever, whatever fills you, calling a friend, it doesn't matter what it is, do that.

And I think if you do that consistently, you'll see changes every day. That was what I would encourage anybody listening to. That's where I would encourage you to start.

Teisha Rose: Yeah, that's great. And I think that's the hardest thing, isn't it, to start? And then you build momentum and, you know, you don't know what next day, next week, next month will bring.

So, but it's just getting started. So it's just getting started. Yeah. Thank you so much. I've loved our chat. I really appreciate you coming on to Wellbeing Interrupted and I can't wait to chat to you next time. Thank you so much for having me, Teisha. I really

Katerina Vujić: appreciated it.

Teisha Rose: It

Katerina Vujić: was such a joy.   

Teisha Rose: I hope you enjoyed this chat. As I mentioned, [01:06:00] I absolutely love meeting other people from around the world and gaining their perspectives so we can all live well and embrace our lives with chronic illness. For me, Katerina's story was just a really important reminder of the power of our mindset and the impact That can have on our experience with chronic illness.

But it's been a long episode, so enjoy your weeks. Although I should say quickly, if you haven't listened to last week's episode, episode 55, the three C's on bringing to 2025 confidence, curiosity and creativity, have a listen. I also did something new. I did an update of the episode Um, which came out just a couple of days ago, because after recording this, I've had such a massive opportunity, um, for my business, Hurdle2Hope, to bring [01:07:00] what I'm doing to the Startup Pavilion at the Australian Healthcare Week, um, which is in Sydney in the International Conference Centre.

Massive, massive opportunity, but it's a reminder for us all that Having confidence, curiosity, and creativity really will enable us all to have an impact on our 2025. So have a listen to that if you haven't otherwise, I'll chat to you next week. Okay. [01:08:00]