Dr. Lisa Gadd has always been fiercely passionate about health, however, it wasn't until suffering a serious health issue in her mid-twenties that she was able to appreciate the implications of what it is to deal with the emotional loss of poor health and to understand the resilience required to rebuild the mind, body, and spirit post trauma.
What was the defining moment that changed the way you viewed your health?
Like every 24 year old I was living a normal life. I’d graduated from university and was working as an osteopath, going out with friends, playing sport on the weekends, then all of a sudden I found myself in hospital. I’d had a stroke. It was my little brother first told me what had happened to me and I said ‘no, that only happens to old people’. I was so fit and healthy, I couldn’t comprehend that I'd actually had a stroke.
The first 3 weeks in hospital were a roller coaster in terms of my condition, to the point that I had my medical team tell me that 'I shouldn’t be here'. That was a turning point for me because in my mind I knew that I was here to do something more. That was the moment I really had to choose, my health was in my hands and I had the choice to decide whether I was going to live or not.
How did you find a new level of healthy when you were already a healthy person?
I actually went vegetarian and gave up alcohol, at the time it helped but after 3 months I started craving protein, particularly chicken. Meditation was my key, I got into the practise of daily meditation to keep my mind clear and focused. I'll be honest, I had days when I would think to myself, 'why me?' It wasn't always flowers and sunshine but what got me through was sticking to my daily practise of meditation and yoga, surrounding myself with good people and nourishing my mind with positive affermation.
What was the biggest fear you overcame in your recovery?
In my community I was talked about a lot, and I learned the hard way in understanding who my true friends were and who just wanted to have a little bit of gossip. I went from having a massive group of friends to realising, OK, if I have five really great friends who I can really rely on and who genuinly care about me, then I'm actually doing really well. So the fear for me was actually finding out who my real friends were.
Who's your go-to for inspiration and motivation to reach your goals?
My go-to podcast is 'On Purpose' with Jay Shetty I find his topics always resonate with what I'm currently going through and he happens to have a solution to it. I find Jay is really real and authentic and he always provides tangible tools that can be easily implemented.
My go-to book would have to be Louise Hay's 'You can heal your life'. I read this book when I was in recovery from the stroke and it really helped because it highlights that mind, body connection and how a lot of illnesses can be manifested by ourselves in terms of holding onto things in our life that we haven't really healed or dealt with. Louise Hay does a really good job of identifying health issues that can be due to our mind.
How can we thrive in times of uncertainty?
When there is so much happening and pulling us externally, now, there is no better time for us to go inward. Take the time to stop and check-in with our mind and body. What is it that we need right now and how can we be of service to ourselves and give our body what it needs to heal.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I've had lots of clients experiencing anxiety and stress due to the uncertainly we are facing currently so I'm offering a free 30 min clarity call to help people check-in with themselves, to help people manage their stress a little bit better and to teach some tools to help navigate through these uncertain times.
To book a free 30min clarity call with Dr. Lisa Gadd either head to her instagram and reach out or head to her website to make a booking.
You can watch the full interview here:
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