She Refused To Let Endometriosis Define Her - Shannons Story

This week on the Well Body Podcast, I’m joined by the beautiful Shannon - a woman in her mid-twenties openly sharing her journey with endometriosis, PCOS, womanhood, and learning how to reconnect with herself through it all.

In this honest and heartfelt conversation, we dive into what it’s really like navigating chronic symptoms, hormonal health struggles, pain, body image, and the emotional weight that can come with living in a female body that feels misunderstood.

But this episode isn’t just about diagnosis.

It’s about resilience.
It’s about rebuilding trust with yourself.
It’s about learning that your condition does not have to become your identity.

Alongside her health journey, Shannon also opens up about taking a leap into entrepreneurship, believing in herself again, and creating a life that supports her wellbeing instead of constantly working against it.

Together, we talk about:

 — Living with endometriosis & PCOS in your twenties
 — Navigating symptoms, flare-ups & hormonal struggles
 — The emotional side of women’s health that often gets overlooked
 — Learning to work with your body instead of fighting it
 — Lifestyle tools, mindset shifts & supportive habits
 — Confidence, self-worth & becoming “her” again
 — Taking brave steps toward the life you truly want

This episode is a reminder that healing is rarely linear… but you are still allowed to dream, grow, build, and become the woman you want to be along the way.

If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your body, frustrated with your hormones, or like your diagnosis has taken over your life - this conversation is for you.

Find Shannon here : INSTAGRAM

For more info on how I can help you get in touch!
ptwithrenee@gmail.com
Instagram: @reneediment

Tiktok: @beyondthebody__

www.beyondthebody.co

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

This is the Well Body Podcast with your host, Renee. The place where everyday women learn how to stop running on empty, reset their energy, nourish their bodies, and feel strong again. Let's get into it. Today's conversation is a really special one. I'm sitting down with Shannon, a woman in her mid-twenties who is navigating her journey with both PCOS and endometriosis and everything that comes with that. But this conversation isn't about diagnosis, it's about what it actually feels like to live in a female body when things aren't working the way you thought they would. It's about pain, confusion, learning, unlearning, and slowly finding your way back to yourself. Shannon has been on a journey of healing, growth, and self-discovery. And what I love about her is how openly she shares that process. She's not pretending to have it all figured out. She's simply showing up, being real, and creating a space online for other women who are navigating their own versions of becoming themselves again. Through body positivity, honesty, and connection, she's reminding women that they're not alone in this. And I think that's something so many of us need. So this is a really beautiful, honest, raw, real conversation around menstruation, hormones, identity, and what it means to be a woman when your body asks you to slow down and listen. Let's get into it. Welcome to the show, Shannon. Thank you so much for joining me. It's a pleasure to have you online with me today on the podcast. So I would just love to start with your story and where wherever feels right for you. Let's talk about you and get to know who you are.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

Yeah, sure. So I'm Shannon. I am my mid-20s, and to be totally honest, I am just trying to figure it out. I feel like I've recently was diagnosed with endometriosis. I had surgery last year to confirm, and I've had PCO, PCOS, and I am really in the stage of life where I just want to figure it out. I want to get to know myself, get to know my body. How do I cope better with it? I think I'm just ready to live with it, not against it. And like I I'm feeling like I'm in the stage of life where I want to, yeah, get to know myself better.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Beautiful. And when you say like, I mean, I remember being 25, I'm 31 now, so not that long ago. But I feel like 25 was such an age where you just go, I don't know what I want to do with my life. I don't know who I am, what is life, what is I thought I knew what I wanted at 22, and you still have no idea. Do you feel like it's not just about your health, but it's it's everything?

SPEAKER_02 2:42

Oh, completely. It is everything. And I mean, it was so easy when we were younger to be like, by 25, I'm gonna be this, this, and this. Yeah, none of those things. Yeah. And like, I know I'm better for it, but then you get to that age and I'm like, oh, so like, what am I doing? What is what is life gonna look like in the next five years? What has it looked like for the last five years? And I'm definitely in that point where I'm like, okay, we need a rebrand my whole life, but then also like I like parts of my life, so it's definitely such a weird space to be.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

It is a weird space, but I feel like a rebrand is is part of growth. Do you know what I mean? It's such a positive thing to go through because it's going, right? Well, this is where I was at, and now this is where I want to be. And I think that's such a beautiful thing to be able to recognize, and rather than kind of suppressing it or, you know, not not allowing yourself to change, you're better off just to go through the motions of allowing yourself to rebrand, you know, even if it feels scary, or if you get people saying, What are you doing? I missed the real you.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Yeah. No, a hundred percent. And I think like growth is scary, and if it's not scary, you're not growing in the right direction, or you're holding yourself back. And so, like, yeah, I think it's important just to listen to your inner voices and live authentically. And I think as we get older, and I know for myself, I found that as I've gotten older through the years, I live more true to myself, and I'm a lot gonna drop anything that kind of doesn't feel true to myself and true to my values. And I think as we get older, we'd learn ourselves more. And I think that's all part of the fun.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

It is, and then you get to 31 and you're still learning who you are, and you're going, Oh, okay, maybe I want to go this direction with my life now, maybe I want to do this and do that, and that's so okay. I feel like, yeah, it's it's just ages and stages, and the older you get, the more you the the less fucks you give. Essentially. Yeah, I love that for you. I really want to ask you this question, and it's so fun if you don't know, but do you remember your first ever period? I do. Yeah. Okay, tell us, what was it like?

SPEAKER_02 4:55

I didn't know. Like I knew, like, I you know, when you get the little bit of cramping and like you're like, oh, my tummy feels weird, or like it was just off. And I was like, mm, that's weird. And then later that day, like, you know, I saw blood and I was like, I'm pretty sure this is what we've spoken about in like health class, but like really, like, I don't know, like, you know, like that, and then telling mum and being like, Mom, I think I've got like my period. Yeah. Like, I don't know, like I feel weird, like what like it was just such a weird feeling. And I think they forget to tell us how odd it feels, or how weird you'll feel, and like, yeah, a little gross in that moment.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Who Yeah. Well, you uh what was it like in your environment? Did your mom ever sit you down and have a conversation with you about menstruation and what to expect, or was it just kind of like this is gonna happen to you, and then that was it?

SPEAKER_02 5:53

We definitely like I am lucky, I grew up in a girl family, like called dad. I've got two sisters, I'm in the middle, so we're definitely a woman-dominated family. And so we definitely had open conversations, but it was more like, yeah, this will happen to you, and when it happens, come to me and we'll deal with it. Like it's not a big issue, like it's not the end of the world, it's just what happens. Yeah, and like we definitely knew that we could always ask questions about things. But yeah, sorry if you hear some banging to neighbors, but so fine. Yeah, it definitely was a more of an open topic than what I found out some of my friends experienced. But yeah, it definitely was lucky. I knew kind of what was coming. Yeah. The conversations and the learning that we had at school as well.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Yeah, and I suppose having a mum and having sisters, you know, you feel a lot more confident and comfortable getting your having your period. What do you think, like, you know how you mentioned it felt gross? What do you feel like that, like where did that come from? Was that from what people at school had said? Was that from comments from like boys, you know, what you know what it's like being at school? Like, where did that come from?

SPEAKER_02 7:06

I a hundred percent think it probably came from a lot of like the schooling education, like how they went into it and what to expect or what's happening and why, but I think it was also spoken about like almost like it was a little bit taboo and like it wasn't fully like accepted and open, and like how amazing it actually is for the woman body, and so like I think there was that little bit, and then a hundred percent it would have been like the little comments from all the boys at school, like you know, that's so gross and like yeah, and like especially I was an intermediate, so I think I was like 13, and so like no one was talking about it either. So I kind of felt gross that like I didn't know if other people were getting theirs yet, and so it was like, oh no, like am I the weird one? Like getting it early because like no one spoke about it, so I didn't know if anyone was going through it at the same time as me or not.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Yeah, and 13 is actually a really healthy age to get your first period, and we're actually seeing kids as young as eight now getting their periods, which is crazy. So, you actually, if you'd known this back then, you were actually got getting your period at the most perfect age to get your period, you know what I mean? Super healthy, you're a teenager now, it makes sense, but crazy that you know, even you know, you're only being 25, that it still even then was something that was so taboo um at school. But and even what about within your friends? Was that something you all spoke about? Or even then it was just like, oh, you're on your period, let's not go there.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

Yeah, like we just didn't really talk about it. I mean, we'd have conversations on like who has it, who doesn't, and then like the conversations kind of stopped there. Like we didn't talk about our how we felt while we had our period, like if anyone got any cramping or anything, like it really just stopped it, like who has it, who doesn't. Yeah. And I think through schooling, that was kind of much the same until like I got older in the teenage years.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Yeah, totally. I I think and I also think a lot of girls were just quick to jump on the pill to suppress the period as well, because it was like, oh, how can I get rid of this thing? I just don't want to have to deal with it. And it was just okay, I'll go to family planning and I'll get the pill. In New Zealand, we have family planning, it's as easy as just making an appointment, you don't need a parent, and you can go and get contraception, which I think is, you know, we're very lucky in this country to have those kind of things available to us, especially for people that really need it. But also I think it's so easy and accessible to the point that people would just go and grab these medications to simply suppress having their period and probably not knowing how important and how healthy it actually is to have a regular period.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

Yeah, for sure. And like I was much the same, although the reasoning for me, I hopped on the contraceptive pill, and the reasoning for me was I had painful periods. Like I was taking three, two days out of school every month because my pain was so painful. And so, yeah, by the time I was entering high school, I was already on the pill.

SPEAKER_03 10:07

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

My mum took me, and it was just like, how can she cope with it? And the doctor was like, Well, slap her on the pill, basically, and she just wanted it, or like I would get my period every second month with the sugar pills, and I think there was a year where they were like, just stop it altogether. And so I blindly did because you're trusting, like you don't know. Yeah, especially at that point, like you know, 10 years ago, we definitely didn't know that was the answer to everything. No, and no one really wanted to look into it otherwise. At least that was my experience, and so we were just doing what we thought was right. Totally.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

So did you do you think that you know this so when you had your first period, did you notice it was quite painful from 13? Or did that kind of start to progressively happen?

SPEAKER_02 10:54

Yeah, uh straight away, basically. I think by this time like I had like my third or fourth period, and it was just agony. Yeah. So I knew fairly early on that this was gonna be a painful experience for me. Yeah. And especially when you're younger and you're in school and like you can't be bent over in pain.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

No.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

Or you've still got like PE class and all of that, and like you can't so it took a lot of time out of school.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

Yeah. So you're part of that statistic of of women who spend a lot of time either out of work or out of school, and that then in turn can also impact your education.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Did you notice like feeling like this going through high school up until now? Did was it like this only when you got your period, or did you notice other parts of your cycle as well that were really kind of holding you back?

SPEAKER_02 11:46

Yeah, I'm part of the lucky group where I my pain was really unpredictable in terms of like the cramping, and I I describe it like a stabbing sensation. Like I feel like I'm getting a sharp pain in my sides. And so for me, it wasn't just around when I would get my period, or for me when I kind of was taking the sugar pills like that type. It was constant, and I think as I got older, it got more intense and more frequent up until like a few years ago where it was almost daily pain for me. Daily, wow. Yeah. So it was really a quick lesson on how to push through and learn to live with the pain.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

Oh my goodness. And so going to the doctor, how many times did you go to the doctor until you got your diagnosis?

SPEAKER_02 12:36

Yes. Yes, multiple doctors' visits. A lot of doctors were just like, you know, you're already on the pill. Like, what can we do for you? And it would be like, I remember sitting vividly in the office, like doctors and just crying and being like, it shouldn't be this sore. Like, I'm reading all these articles, like maybe I have PCOS or Endor, like something's wrong, like it's not normal. Like, I don't feel normal, something's not right. And they were just like, Oh, we could refer you, but you know, you'll probably get denied. So there's not really any point. And then so I just accepted that as like, okay, that I was defeated at that point and was like, okay, I know something's not right, but like, what am I gonna do? Because no one's listening to me. Up until I actually relocated down south a little bit further and got a new doctor, and I did like the first like introduction appointment, and I was like, I'm just gonna tell her everything that's going on, like see what she and she was like, that's not normal, like daily pain is not normal, and that is not okay. And that really started the journey for me to get diagnosed with both PCOS and endometriosis. And like just having someone that heard me, yeah, was like, yeah, that's not normal, and like you know your own body best. And so I think it's really just finding people that listened to me. Yeah. And that were like, you're not crazy. Was it uh mostly male doctors that were kind of brushing you off? I actually had more experience with female doctors doing it. Oh, okay. Yeah, there was a couple of male doctors, but predominantly it was female because at that point I was trying to see all the doctors at my practice to get hurt. Yeah. And the majority of them were female, which was really discouraging because I thought, okay, well, they'd know, right? Like they would know like what they're talking about because they too go through it. You would hope. Yeah. And that was it. It was like, okay, so maybe like I'm just over exaggerating the pain. Like I can live with it, so it's fine.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

And you know it's interesting, there's a a statistic where women are less likely to be offered pain medication or take pain medication for being in severe pain. Generally, we just get it turn kind of shoved back in our face that it's it's all in your head. It's all in your head. So I can imagine there would have been a lot of frustration there. But it's a good example of advocating for yourself and continuing to advocate for yourself until you get the answers you need and until you find the health professional that can help you.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah. And I think the lesson that I wish I took on board sooner was when it comes to something like periods, the reproductive system, anything to do with that, the doctor doesn't know best because they don't practice that every day. They're not experts in that. And so something I've spoken about, like with my mum as well. Like, we're like, we just wish we got me in front of a gynecologist sooner, someone that knows their stuff. This is their bread and butter. This is something that they're really educated in. Yeah. And I just wish I did that sooner. And it's one of those things, like, you know, if I could redo it, I would just skip the doctors completely. Yeah, go straight to a specialist. Yeah, as a specialist in it.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Totally. So on your journey, obviously you went to the doctors, but did you seek help from like a nutritionist? And did you see anyone else to help you with everything you're going through? Because obviously we've got like the medication and the medical side of things, but then the massive part of that that can help us massively when we learn about it is the nutrition, is the movement side of things. Did you get referred to anyone like that?

SPEAKER_02 16:12

Yeah, so a lot of the time when I would get pushback from doctors, it was because they were like, you are overweight, you carry a lot of weight, you need to lose weight, like, and then you'll be fine. And so that's not always the answer. No, and I was like, I was playing hockey four to five days a week, like I was eating really good, like I was super active. I just couldn't lose the weight. Like, and I wasn't overly big either. And so it was so confusing. But I always got referred to dietitians, nutritionists, and I did take them up. Like I'm someone who's open to help us trying to live life. So I definitely learned a lot about nutrition and like having balanced whole foods, keeping uh things like fats and sugars to like not too, not too much.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Exercise definitely was one that like I learned pretty quickly what worked for me and what didn't, and what made my pain worse and made me more tired. And so I think learning to keep the cortisol levels, that stressful loan low, yeah really helped me in terms of like when I was exercising, doing things like HIIT workouts or anything that was too, too exhausting, too quick wouldn't actually help me in the long run. And like I saw less results. But then when I saw things like Pilates or weight training, I saw a lot more results from that. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

As you would, right? Like, do you think though you went down the hit route because the doctor was like, you need to lose weight. This is the weight problem. This is nothing to do with your hormones, like didn't you know, kind of pushing you in that direction. So mentally you think, okay, well, what do I gotta do? And what does the internet tell us? Oh, let's just train as hard as we can seven days a week and do HIIT training and train yourself to absolute exhaustion every time.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

Yeah, yeah, 100%. And like you viewed it as like I was unfit because I, you know, I was big, so I was unfit. And so how do you get fit? Is you do cardio and like you do all of those extreme things, and like a hundred percent that was all we were seeing online, like that's how you got fit. And so I was confusing like fitness and better health a lot, and so it was just trying to get fitter with all of those HIT workouts, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

It's and then that's a that's a that's definitely a route a lot of young women go down when they first start their fitness journey is they think it needs to be intense, hardcore, seven days a week, all or nothing. And if there's one thing that I always say as a health professional myself and always kind of preach on the podcast as well, is that exercise is a tool for health and longevity. It's not it's not something that we should be doing every day to try and lose weight. And that then creates a really negative relationship with exercise. And we're only doing it to try and break a sweat and burn it and burn some calories. But when we start lifting weights to build muscle, to build strength, to build power, to build resilience, and we change our mindset from it being something about a weight loss goal to I'm doing this for my overall health, we show up more. We exercise more because we're doing it for better reasons and we love it and actually less is more when it comes to training. Yeah. So having gone from HIT to now finding a new way that worked for you, what does your exercise routine look like for someone who has endo and PCOS?

SPEAKER_02 19:24

It's definitely understanding what days I can tolerate more and what days I need to take it easy but still move my body. Uh, I definitely go through phases where I'm like on top of my shit and I'm like Pilates, walking. I do a lot of walking and a lot of at-home Pilates workouts. Even if I'm like, I don't feel like doing anything, I'm sore, I do a stretching class. But it's definitely listening to my body and seeing what I can tolerate. I fatigue very easy. So it's definitely my routine involves a lot of low impact movement. And if I'm just moving my body, it's a big win.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

It is absolutely you're showing up for yourself, and that's beautiful. Now, having dealt with the fatigue, and I feel like I'm getting my nutrition nutritionist head on now. Have like what is your nutrition structure around training and trying to cope with that fatigue?

SPEAKER_02 20:16

It's quite poor, to be honest. I've got a lot of room for improvement, and I I hope in the next six months is gonna kind of that was my next focus for my life. But nutrition, I try and support myself with lots of protein and like fiber.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

Good.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Love hearing that. Yeah, I mean, that was the one thing that like from through all of my like research online, like that's what everyone says. So I was like, okay, those are achievable, attainable like goals to set. Because I'm someone that like I think about so many things when it comes to my health and wellness that I get overwhelmed and then I just sing it all, which is like never good. So I'm like, if I just have small little targets like my protein and my fiber targets, I can easily get those with like so I'm I mainly focus on protein and fiber.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Beautiful, lovely. And then also for hormones, good fats. We need our good fats, like our avocado, our olive oil, our nuts, our seeds, our walnuts, things like that as well are so important for hormones. But it sounds like you're trying your best to navigate this journey. And since having like changed your exercise up a little bit, do you feel like the pain has become a little bit more manageable since you've gone a little bit low impact versus the high impact stuff you were doing?

SPEAKER_02 21:31

Oh, a hundred percent. When I look back at like when I would push my body to its absolute max, I was the most tired, the most sore I've ever been, and not just like in a physical sense, just like uh mentally as well. And I think the fatigue is real with someone who struggles with PCOS, especially. And it's not just the body fatigue, it's the mind fatigue. And when I was exercising so hard or pushing myself. After its absolute my body to its absolute max, I was noticing that everything else was crumbling along with it. So it was like almost not worth it. And now that I've made that switch and I'm listening to myself, listening to my body, I'm working with it, not against it anymore. And so that's just made all the difference of how I feel after I exercise, before I exercise. It's like you said, finding the enjoyment in it. I enjoy doing Pilates. I enjoy stretching and weight training.

SPEAKER_01 22:29

Like it's not just like, oh, I have to go do this. Totally. Absolutely. And I think that's so cool that you've found a structure that works for you and it's something that you're able to commit to and show up to because ultimately the best exercise plan is the one that doesn't burn us out. And the one that we can commit to and stick to for the long haul. Now, when you were diagnosed with endometriosis, do you know, did they give you any insight of like the severity of your diagnosis, of your endometriosis?

SPEAKER_02 22:57

Yes. So I had my surgery a year ago. And so I'm, I guess what I would say, I'm one of the lucky ones. It's mild. So for me, thankfully, they didn't find a lot of it. It doesn't mean to say I had a lot of scar tissue from my endometriosis, so that was the root cause of a lot of my pain. So they were able to release the tension of the scar tissue. And since then I've had a lot less pain. So really thankful for that.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

But yeah. Good. That's amazing. So you know that it's mild. And do you have to go back in for surgery? Do you do you have to like do a follow-up? What's the protocol and what's the next step for you there?

SPEAKER_02 23:39

Basically, we see how we go. I potentially might have to have a repeated surgery if I'm still finding that I'm getting pain and it's frequent to the point it's not tolerable. At the moment, I'm a year post-drop, so I am still going good and I've had a lot less pain. Like I say, I was getting it daily. It was daily pain and it was more sure. Whereas now it's every now and then. And when I get it, it is intense. And I think it's more intense than it was, but potentially I'm just not as used to it anymore. And I'm forgetting what that pain felt like, which is amazing. So it's a lot more tolerable now. And so up until the point I can no longer live with it, and it's stopping me or holding me back from life is kind of where we're at in terms of like my treatment plan.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Beautiful. And so with endometriosis obviously holding you back prior, do you feel like a newborn woman? And do you feel like this is this regrowth that and this rebirth that you're moving through? Do you feel like you've almost been given another chance actually feeling what it can feel like to feel normal day to day rather than being in pain 24-7?

SPEAKER_02 24:45

Yeah, I just feel like I got to breathe again and my body was in such a state of fight or flight. And I think it was one of those things that I didn't realize how bad it was and or how bad I was until I wasn't in that state of fight or flight and constant inflammation. And even just in the way my body looks, I've lost a lot of weight since then, but even in the way my body looks, in terms of I was so puffy, and like the retention that I had was crazy. And even just talking about how I was as a person, I was in constant fight or flight. I didn't have time for or energy for anything else. And that felt like my whole life. And then now I can just breathe and like I can allow myself to focus on a weight loss journey or bettering my life, or I can focus on work more. Like I can just live, I can just be a somewhat normal, like girl in her 20s, just figuring her shit out. And like the weight that that has lifted off my shoulders, I couldn't even describe. I can't describe. And now I can I feel like I can show up in so many other areas, even for my friends and family. Like I can be there and be present, not like, oh my god, I'm dying on the inside. Like I don't want to be here. I can't be, like, I want to go. Like that was me before, but now I can just show up for myself for everyone else.

SPEAKER_01 26:13

That's incredible. I I suppose when you're in so much pain, you don't have the capacity for much else apart from like just coping to like getting from A to B. You'll survive. Absolutely. So, what changes have you made in your lifestyle now that have also helped you on your journey?

SPEAKER_02 26:29

A lot of it has centered around how I'm living my life. I think the main thing that I kind of have come to terms with recently is I don't want to work against my body and I want to work with it. And I feel like that's the biggest theme in my life right now. And just creating those habits in an safe environment, a calm environment, you know, to keep those cortisol levels down, not taking on too much stress or not letting stress take me over because I benefit negatively from that. And I think it's just creating a life that I don't want it to center around my health and wellness, but since I've had that as the main focus, life has gotten a lot better and a lot lighter. So it kind of goes to show me that maybe life does have to center around the syndromes and the, you know, the endometriosis that I've been diagnosed with because that is me. That is my makeup. And so I need to live like I have it.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Mm-hmm. And so what is that what is living like you have it? What does that look like from you know all the details as in like how you start your day, your rituals, everything?

SPEAKER_02 27:39

Yeah, so water. Water's a big one. Keeping hydrated, having breakfast before I have my coffee, that's a really big one. And actually one that I've started recently is a protein coffee. So mixing protein powder with my coffee, and I've noticed such a change. I used to be like coffee straight away, like before breakfast, and I'd be like a jittery, anxious me. And now I've realized that I need to fuel my body first and then I'm uniform with a coffee, and I'm like, oh, okay, I'm a lot better now. Even just little changes in the way, like the times I'm eating, making sure it's consistent or not pushing it too far because then I notice that I'm starting to fatigue or feel a little bit off. And really just keeping stress in my life to an absolute minimum. So if I'm feeling overwhelmed, I can hit restart on the day at any point. And that's something that has really benefited me. Like I even do like a mental, like, okay, like we're restarting the day, like I'm overwhelmed, I'm stressed. It's actually not that big of a deal. Like we can restart. And that's one that's like been really big to benefit like a my life going forward. But yeah, it's really centers around like the low impact, like training and the nutrition.

SPEAKER_01 28:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

Eating more whole foods, balanced meals.

SPEAKER_01 28:57

Absolutely. It makes a massive difference. And because when we eat more whole foods, we're focusing on improving our gut health and our gut microbiome. And that has a massive part to play with our hormones and our hormone health. So it sounds like you're making some beautiful lifestyle changes that you can continue to do. You know what I mean? You're not just putting yourself on some crazy protocol, like you're just slowly integrating these beautiful practices into your life that are going to transform your health long term. And that's so positive. That's like the best thing you can do with someone who has, you know, both endometriosis and PCOS. I'm interested to know a little bit more about like were you diagnosed with PCOS first, or was that in, or was it endometriosis, like how did you get the diagnosis of both?

SPEAKER_02 29:41

Yeah, so first off, I was diagnosed with PCOS. And yeah, so uh that involved like a few blood tests throughout different points of my cycle. And at that point in time I was on the pill, so I had to come off of it so that I we could get like a true reading and representation of how what levels my hormones were. So I got diagnosed with that probably like three years ago, and that was something that we always pretty much knew that I had. It's one of those things that they kind of like if you have five of the symptoms, you basically have it. We just reconfirmed it with the blood testing.

SPEAKER_03 30:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

And then endometriosis was one that we were pretty 80% sure I had it just based off symptoms, but if I didn't, the only way they can confirm it with 100% certainty is the surgery, and that was something that I wasn't quite willing to do at that point in time until I needed to and felt like we needed to solve the problem. And so I got to that point last year, and yeah, within the next month I was having this surgery, and it was confirmed that I had mild endometriosis. Yeah, so we have to go through pretty major things to get diagnosed officially, and that's one of the frustrating things is like it's not just as simple as like a blood test for a lot of the things that we need confirmation.

SPEAKER_01 31:07

Totally. And I think I think now I've even been I guess I listen to a lot of scientists overseas, and I was listening to this one scientist who works with women's like in women's health and talks about hormones a lot, and she said that now they're figuring out something to do with poo, I'm pretty sure. Or the way someone poo's or some kind of symptom with their poo. Yeah. And then and and something to do with that, and they can almost like tell straight away. I think it's the poo, or it might be a sign like in the rectum. There's something to do with that area of the body where they can now almost figure out what they're they're pretty certain that a woman can have endometriosis. So hopefully, with a lot more work going into the hormone space, especially with woman's health, we do have, you know, protocols in place for an earlier diagnosis or catching things as soon as we can, or as soon as there's any symptoms, rather than just saying to a young girl, okay, here's the pill, actually working out a protocol and it that can help her with your lifestyle. Because ultimately, diet and exercise and our stress management and our nervous system, like it all plays a massive part in how bad, like how bad we feel with something that we have. Our symptoms are worse when we're stressed, our symptoms are worse when we're undernourished, our symptoms are worse when we're not hydrated and we're not getting the fuel and things that our body needs to feel its best. So, do you feel that now that you've got all these in place, you feel like it's almost manageable? I mean, obviously it is because you're you're finally feeling like you can live your life, which is so exciting.

SPEAKER_02 32:38

Yeah, it definitely is. And like for the first time, I can manage it. And so that's allowed me space to, you know, open myself up to what else do I want to focus on? Because that's not like the the center of my universe. It's not the only thing I can focus on. So I think that's where I said like earlier, like I can rebrand, like I'm like figuring this out because I have the mental capacity to do so. So I can move on from that final flight mode.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

Yes. Huge. Do you do anything else in your life to help with your hormones? Like, for example, for me, I in the last couple of years I gave up perfume and fragrances in my space to help with hormones. Do you do anything quirky like that?

SPEAKER_02 33:21

Um I actually recently read that carbonated drinks are quite bad. Right. Yeah, I used to be like, oh, the only thing that would like get me is like a crispy coat from the so I've cut that out recently. Yeah. But I have been reading lots about like lotox, and I think that's like the new, the new thing that we're all talking about, which I love because absolutely a good trend to like makes sense though, doesn't it, as to why it's affecting our endocrine system.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

Like a lot of female underwear is made out of plastic. I mean, polyester is plastic, right? And so we're literally right now, you know, if you're sitting in underwear and you look at the tag and it says polyester, you're literally putting plastic on your vagina. And how that's what we're absorbing. Exactly. Because your vagina has its own biome, it has its own microbiome. So you're absorbing all of those fibers, and then you think about like women, especially are are exposed to more toxins than men because we wear makeup, we wear we wear perfume, we get our hair done, shampoos, conditioners, body soaps, creams, lotions, everything. Like we're exposed to a lot more. And in today's world, I think because especially with social media and every influencer trying to sell you everything, there's just so many different products that it's overwhelming, right? And then we're just exposed to so many things. And I think that definitely has a part to play with why women's endocrine systems are so disrupted. But yeah, I think for me personally, recently, maybe two years ago, I've I gave up perfume and I've now when I smell it, like if I spray it on like if someone sprays it near me, like a friend or something, and we're getting ready, I actually feel like dizzy. It's weird.

SPEAKER_02 35:09

And it goes to show how potent and strong. And then what's great now is like now that it's becoming more of a trend, it's been more spoken about. Yes, there's brands that are creating clean products that we create. Clean products, 100%. And I think, yeah, it's like if you don't know, you don't know, but it's good that now we're having these conversations, and you're so right, we are exposed to so much more. I mean, I put makeup on, you know, we're bleaching our hair. Totally, yeah. Like it can't, it can't be good.

SPEAKER_03 35:41

And it's not good.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

So we probably should be trying to change it or switch it up.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

Like, there's so many more replacements becoming available that totally I I think like changing it up to to go as low tox as possible. And then I think there's an element there that we as women need to just accept and love ourselves for who we are.

SPEAKER_03 36:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:03

And we need to be able to wear our natural hair, and we need to be able to be okay every now and again without feeling as though we need to wear makeup all the time. I wear makeup too, but sometimes I don't because I'm like, oh, I feel like my skin needs to breathe, you know? And just really accepting who we are and loving ourselves, you know? And I feel like if we did that a lot more, maybe we wouldn't feel the need to, as women, to do the things we do, you know?

SPEAKER_02 36:31

100%. And I think like society is it's a it's a real damaging thing. And I think we're lucky now that there's more good society coming through with the needs of like accepting ourselves and showing up naturally and like that is more okay and acceptable. Like, even like I'm in a corporate world, I feel like I have to wear a full face of makeup, otherwise I'm not put together, I'm not ready for work. People can be like, oh my god, why? What that doesn't affect me. I still feel tidy and presentable, like it, but it's that's what society is built up.

SPEAKER_01 37:08

I'm still working just as hard. I just don't have makeup on today. Like 100%. It's just I guess it's just this facade that we live in. And we're living in this this world that is very perfect. Yeah, we've been conditioned to believe that that's a certain you have to look a certain way to have a certain status or reputation and it's just it's bullshit, you know. Yeah. And I think slowly we're learning. We are like a lot of women are waking up. Yeah. We're all waking up to the idea that we've just been kind of I don't know, we've been fucked with a little.

SPEAKER_02 37:44

Yeah. Who told us? I mean, who made the rules for us? I know where it's like, no, yeah, I don't want to do that. I don't have to do that. Absolutely. Like, why?

SPEAKER_01 37:53

Because who said so? Exactly. And I mean, like, the propaganda starts as child, like as it when you're a child, like you think about, you know, preteens or like 10-year-olds, like the types of toy like not really toys, because you kind of stop playing with toys at that age, don't you? Like, but what's on offer is like, okay, lip glosses and fragrance sprays and all these types of body butters and stuff that your little 10-year-old body is exposed to because it's like almost getting women in this headspace that like this is what you need to get used to having. It's it's products, it's makeup, it's it's everything, you know.

SPEAKER_02 38:29

Yeah, and it's so crazy. I never thought about it until my niece came into the world, and you know, me and my sisters have had chats about it, and we're like, she'll see us put makeup on and stuff, and she'll be like, put it on. She's like, Oh, I'm beautiful, but then we're like, no, but you're beautiful without it. We do it because it's fun and we're fun and we yeah, it's art. Beautiful without it as well. And so like it's it's pulling it back and being like, okay, what do you want for the future for future children and stuff? Like, would you want them to be raised the same way we were? No, I don't want them to have the same pressures that we did. No I did, like where I had to feel like I was perfect and put together all the time, even when I wasn't feeling okay. And just thinking I wasn't beautiful without makeup. Like, that's not right.

SPEAKER_01 39:15

And so it's changing. It's changing. It is, and like it's so fine every now and again to I I don't know about you, but sometimes I just love getting dressed up and going out to dinner and like no no reason at all, but just to go out and enjoy like a that's literally me full face with them off to dinner after this. Absolutely nice, I love that. But you know what I mean? It's like it's it's yeah, it's great to do that, but we we shouldn't have to feel pressured to be like that all the time. And I know that we've gone on a tangent, but it makes sense and it really does relate back to why women's hormones are so messed up because we're stressed, we're overwhelmed, we're exposed to so many toxins that do affect the endocrine system, and we also have to deal with so much in society, it's no wonder women are feeling so um overwhelmed and are getting these diagnoses. You know what I mean? Like I do think sometimes it's unlucky that women are, you know, diagnosed with endo and PCOS, but I do think a lot of it does come down to being like the pressure because you think about that nervous system being so fried and your cortisol being so high all the time, it's no wonder these things come to fruition. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 40:19

Yeah, and you know when you look at it holistically as wow, women store trauma in the womb. Totally that I don't see like I can put pinpoint the exact moment where I was like, I've 100% got PCLS before I was diagnosed. I was under so much stress and like traumatic life, like time period in my life, and like I can pinpoint it, and I'm like 100%, because I was holding on to that because again, we have to be proper, put together, and you know, we're exposing ourselves to everything. And I think it's really interesting when they say that because it's like, yeah, it's true.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

It is true. My sister works a lot in that space, she does womb higher mass massages actually, um, and helps helps a lot of women with with moving through things because we do store a lot of trauma in the womb. We also have a lot of creativity in that space too. Like we birth children, women, women, women birth ideas and creativity all the time, but when we're not connected to that part of our body, it is really hard to feel your best, to feel your most authentic, creative, expressive self. Because a lot of it does start from there, you know. And I truly believe that a hundred percent do. When we dive deeper and we really think about every part of our body and we're connected to it, we are unstoppable beings, and maybe that's why they want women not to be loud and proud and opinionated, which is another thing too. Like we're so suppressed of being, you know, if you if you're angry, you're a bitch. Or yeah, you're crazy, or you're you're oh, she's too opinionated. It's like, hang on, how come I'm not allowed to use the emotion anger? There's a reason it's a core emotion. So then we store that in our body, and that builds up as stress and tension, and then all of a sudden, boom, it hits why are women the first ones to call each other that as well.

SPEAKER_02 42:03

I know like it actually is we're almost pinned up against each other, and it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

I know. And we should be supporting us each other more. I think that's so important, you know. I think we've got a long way to go, but I feel like things are starting to make a real positive turn. And I really hope, I really do hope that it that it happens sooner rather than later. I have a daughter, so I'm like, oh, I don't want her to feel like this either.

SPEAKER_02 42:29

Yeah. But I think her initial surrounding, you're her model. So like seeing that and she's hearing these conversations that are so and like open to the other side of things, not just what society says, which is so important. That's also part of why I started sharing my life, my journey, my thoughts as well. Cause I'm like, from another perspective, I was struggling to find people in their 20s talking about things. It was people post-kids, thinking about having kids, and that's why they were talking about it. And I'm like, I'm just trying to figure shit out. And like, yeah, now we've got all this stuff going on, like, let's start talking about it. And now that I'm surrounding myself with that, it's becoming a lot more acceptable and better.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

So that's so cool. How positive for you? I love that. This conversation is is like, I'm loving this. I feel like we could talk for hours. I love it. Do you do you think like I want to like dive a little bit deeper into the emotional side of your endometriosis, your PCOS? Do you feel like this like affected your relationship with your body? Did you feel as though your body had failed you at some point?

SPEAKER_02 43:32

Yeah, that's one that really hits me deep. That that feeling of I just remember sitting and being like on the bathroom floor in pain. Like, why does my body hate me? What did I do to deserve this pain, this feeling? Like, why me? And that was something that like almost I almost didn't connect with my body because I was like, I don't trust it to help me. I don't trust this body at all. Like it was just fighting me at every point. And then I'd do something to try help it. Then it would like something else would pop up. And so it was just like such anger towards my body and myself. But like, why are you failing me so heavily like this? And like ruining my life. And it was just the hardest feeling and like something that felt so lonely to go through because yeah, I just was like, no one else was going through it as heavily and as hard as I was. And so it was just like, well, why me? Why my body? Why is it doing this to me? And that was really hard to go through.

SPEAKER_01 44:38

That would have been, especially because this is the only body, this is the only real home you get, right? You get one body, you get one that's it. And so to feel that way would have been so hard. And especially not getting answers either. Yeah. That must have been incredible.

SPEAKER_02 44:55

Yeah, I can't imagine someone going through this journey not having the supportive circle that I had. Like I'm so lucky. Like I said, I've got sisters, I've got mum, I've got really great parents, like both mum and dad listened to me, heard me, and never told me I was like, oh, crazy. They were like, okay, what can we do? What do you need? I was lucky that I could access what I needed to access. And I can't ever imagine what it would have been like if I couldn't access what I needed to or be heard in the way that I was. And so that's another thing that like I was able to have those conversations with people and they like my loved ones and they were able to support me through that. And like beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 45:40

Yeah. And even if you haven't got family, it's finding a circle that can support you. And that comes back to what you said about understanding your values and ensuring that you're surrounding yourself with people that align with your values. Because if you are going through something as traumatic as this and as painful as this, you do need to be able to rely on your circle from time to time. And that's that's so cool that you had that. Absolutely. What do you feel like? The moments that you felt so disconnected from yourself, what were they like?

SPEAKER_02 46:11

Life altering. Uh those moments when especially dark for me, and you just I just felt so alone and so shattered with everything, and it was really hard to see that life was gonna be anything different. I just was like, okay, well, no one's listening to me, no one's hearing me. Like this is it then. This will be the rest of my life, and great, perfect. And like all you were seeing online, especially when I was younger, was like PCOS endometriosis means no kids, like infertility, like that was the message. It wasn't anything supportive, it was just so negative, and it was just so lonely, and like I can't, it's hard to describe how lonely and isolating that those moments really did feel, but they were just like I was down a deep dark hole. And like they're really in those painful moments when I was sitting on the floor crying, there's just nothing. I felt like nothing was gonna fix it, and there was just nowhere that I could go. I couldn't run away from it because that was my body, this is my life.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

Totally. And thank God you've come out the other side of that. And and it is so possible to have babies if you have got endometriosis and PCOS. You know, there's yeah, you know, I know actually a woman I interviewed for this series, she has two kids and had endometriosis. So it is possible, and I think it's just you've got to keep doing what you're doing, and that's you know, your whole food-based diet where you're eating nutritious foods, but you're also, you know, having balance as well because you've got to live life. You're finding an exercise routine that works for you, so that you're staying beautifully active. You're trying your best to manage your stress so that your nervous system doesn't feel so overwhelmed. However, the beauty of, you know, strength training and getting stronger within your body and Pilates and just getting stronger in general, that actually improves your resilience and your body. So the fact that you're doing all these beautiful things is gonna help so much for when that time does come one day in your life. You know? Yeah. Yeah. And it's it's not impossible, it's possible. So be careful because you can still get pregnant.

SPEAKER_02 48:21

Yeah, and that's it. Like, thank God the messaging around that has changed. And I think science has come a long way too in terms of like what's available for people if they do struggle. But that was the exact conversation I had with my gyno. She was like, I wouldn't worry. Yeah, I wouldn't worry because that's what everyone tells you, but it's not true. And so it's like, oh, okay, I can like not focus on that because that's not my immediate future, but I wanted it to be my future.

SPEAKER_01 48:48

But yeah, it's definitely what you're doing so young now, I think, is so positive because by the time that time in your life does come when you do want to have children, you're doing all the right things now. And actually, that really makes a big difference. What we do in our 20s really impacts impacts how we feel in our 30s. And so you're going to move through the next five years doing all these beautiful things for yourself, showing up for yourself in ways that maybe you couldn't imagine a couple of years ago. And you're gonna you're not gonna know yourself. You're gonna be unstoppable. That's exciting.

SPEAKER_02 49:18

And that's what I figured. Like, if I'm going to do it at any point in my life, it needs to be now while I'm young enough where I have the capacity, yeah. I have the time, you know, I don't have dependence, I don't have those big, huge responsibilities. Like I have the time, so now is it?

SPEAKER_03 49:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:33

Like set myself up for success, I think. And like living the way I was wasn't working. So why the hell would I keep doing that?

SPEAKER_01 49:40

Like hundred oh, you have hit the nail on the head there. Because you know, if we keep showing up in the way that doesn't make us feel good and we want to achieve something, and if we don't change what we're doing, we're never gonna see the change. We have to actually change the environment, change the habits, change what we're doing slowly to then see that like next version of ourselves. Yeah. And it sounds like you're doing that beautifully, which is so cool to hear. If there was one thing that you could say to women out there who are struggling, whether they're in pain all the time, they've got irregular periods and they they can't explain it, and they're really struggling, they might not have been diagnosed yet. What is something you have to say to those women?

SPEAKER_02 50:20

Listen to your body, you know what's best, you know what's going on. And I think you're the only one that can advocate for yourself. So just because someone says no doesn't mean that's what's true or factual. You know your body, listen to it, and you'll figure out what's best for you.

SPEAKER_01 50:41

Beautiful. What a beautiful message to take away and for others to listen to. And I think, you know, you're on this beautiful journey, and it's only going to get better and better as the time goes on. You're very positive, which is really exciting. And I'm sure it's taken you a while to get to that point too, with everything that you've been through. So thank you. Thank you so much for sharing your story and your journey. So, where can people find you? And I'll put all this in the show notes, but if you just want to let us know where people can find you, maybe even, you know, have a chat with you about similar things or even just find you on socials.

SPEAKER_02 51:15

Yes, my DMs are always open. I feel like since I've started sharing, I've created such a cool community of people that I chat to, like my online besties. Yes. And I can relate to them and they can relate to me. And so my DMs are always open, but I'm on Instagram and TikTok. It's Shannon underscore scudder.

SPEAKER_01 51:32

Beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 51:32

That's where you can find me, and that's where I'm creating my little safe community.

SPEAKER_01 51:36

That's so cool. I love that you've started a community online. It's definitely the way to find a like-minded community these days. It really is, especially if you're struggling to find that in person. So beautiful. Well, thank you so much, Shannon, for joining me on the Wild Body Podcast. It's been an honor and it's been so lovely to meet you online as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thanks for listening to the Wild Body Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a review or share it with someone who needs to hear it. You can find more support, resources, and information on my website at www.beyondhebody.co. Until next time, I look forward to having you in the next episode.