Emerging Stronger: Tajsha Van Den Bergh’s Post-Trauma Transformation

Growing strength and a new purpose in life after extreme trauma. How Tajsha van Den Berg clawed her way out of an incomprehensible traumatic experience to craft a new passionate future!  

 

*Please have Kleenex on hand for this poddie*   

It’s not often the guest is calm, cool and collected and Emma the one in tears….. but this episode of eMpowered will have everyone in tears. Tears of shock, tears of sadness and tears of pride and happiness as you witness the incredible journey Tajsha van Den Berg has faced.  

**Trigger Warning this poddie discusses stillborn births and postnatal depression**

Should you or someone you know need love, support and guidance please do not feel alone or ashamed. Off the back of this horrendous time, Tajsha has reframed her purpose and her future and now is crafting a space for others to be able to arrive at the point in Tajshas life where she is now – giving back from her trauma experience.  

Help is out there, and our Host Emma Herbert is also a survivor. With professionals such as Peachtree parents, Lifeline and your village, please share you are not alone and do not have to struggle alone! 

If you are looking for an inspiration to claw your way back to you after trauma, this poddie is yours.  

Welcome to eMpowered!  

 

If you would like to discuss any of the topics discussed in this episode or if you would like to be a guest on the show, please get in touch either via our website, [email protected] or through any of the links below.  

https://redd.com.au 

Emma (Emma Raphael) Herbert | LinkedIn 

(10) Tajsha Van Den Bergh | LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/redd-digital/

Mindfulness Meditation Brisbane | Ritual Haus Holistic Wellness Space 

 

Thanks for watching!  

You are amazing and you are loved! 

 

You can find the full transcript below!

(00:19): 

Red acknowledges and pays the respects to the past, present, and future Traditional custodians and elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual, and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We further acknowledge the land on which red work of the tolerable and Yarra peoples the struggle you have overcome might be a struggle a queen is currently sinking in. We all have a story and we all need to share that story. Welcome to Empowered here. You will be surrounded by a community of queens who have conquered their own. I’m very, very blessed that I have a village of people in my corner who lead with love, share their success tips and this platform are these stories. If you had the cure at a cancer, you would share it and your story is someone’s cure. Your story will help save a soul. And this world needs a shit load. 

(01:13): 

More of that. The intention for these potties is to host guests with topics and tricks shared to help the listener, to help them live a life full of love, happiness, and success. Be surrounded by queens who have walked your path and resonate with their stories. What do you know now that has helped your journey? And what would your younger self love to have in their toolbox? Welcome to Empowered. Today’s Queen is the one and only Tajsha van Den Berg. Did I say that correctly? Yeah. It’s amazing. I love it. I love it. Welcome. It’s just a chinwag. And I mentioned yesterday because you were, you’re petrified. Let’s just get that out there for all the listeners and watchers. She is petrified. So it is currently 10 36 on a Friday. No judging, but we are having a little splash of wine for the Dutch courage nerves. But I rang you this morning as well and you were like, no, I’m now, I’m done. 

(02:10): 

I’m not, I’m not doing this. I’m going to Nah, no, cancel it. Here she is all glam up looking amazing. You always do, even when you’re doing housework. I’m sure you wear this in Camp Hill. It’s all, I’ve got one outfit. It might be expensive, but it’s all I’ve got. It’s white. You’re true. But yeah, you were petrified. So we are having a Don’t judge me little splash this morning. And with thanks to beautiful Brad, our CEO here at Red. He was our butler this morning. How nice. And he had clothes on. Oh, I told you. This is my Ona potty. Grew up in Harvey Bay. You grew up in Shyla Park. Haven’t we come far? Dar No, you can’t take the Bogan out of us. You, this might be the editor’s worst nightmare of this podcast, but it’s around half an hour, likely. It’s about around half an hour so that you can watch or listen on your way in or out of work. And as per my introduction, I just want to share stories that help people and help them overcome whatever shit storm they’re going through. I was reflecting back on our first time meeting, and as I met you as a customer of Red, and I onboarded you as a customer, the whole chief of happiness. Welcome on board. I had the cupcakes and 

(03:25): 

That was delicious, by the way. 

(03:26): 

Oh, thank you. I feel like you were sitting on the other side of the room going, what is this woman? What is going on here? I was a bit crazy, but it was really, I 

(03:35): 

Actually loved you. Aw, I thought you were fun. And even Micah was like, yes. 

(03:40): 

Yeah, that’s so good for me. Oh, I love that. You guys are my kind of people, which is cool. You’re like polished Bogans. I love Bogans. Who got a bit of money about them. No, but the thing I love about you and Joel and Mica. Hi mic. No brownies today, please. Mic. Hmm. That’s a story, isn’t it? We’ll save that for another day. 

(04:01): 

Body number two. Oh my 

(04:03): 

Goodness. Brownies are not allowed in the podcast room, by the way. That’s fair. If you want to know what that means, you can certainly inbox me, but it’s not for public knowledge. Oh yeah. So you’re my kind of people because you’re just so down to earth. And the fact that we get to do business together and do podcasts together, and you bring your kid over on a Sunday afternoon because you’re in Chermside. I love that. And 

(04:22): 

Share my deepest, darkest stories with you in the first 24 hours of meeting you. Well, that’s 

(04:27): 

What I was going to segue into. I met you, I’m sure I remember your face going, what on Christ on a bike. What is, is this happening in my office? And then I got a call from you the next day and you used the guise of, can you come and show my people what you do at Red, the chief of happiness, the culture stuff. And I went, of course Dale popped out the next week. That was such bullshit. That was not about what it was about. You just 

(04:53): 

Went, that actually was it. I was just a little bit of a crumbling inside kind of human being at that point. Well, I don’t even 

(04:58): 

Think we talked about the business 

(04:59): 

And you were like, I’m sensing a vibe here. It’s not a good one. No, 

(05:04): 

And it’s weird because in my introduction, and I, I’m sure I’ve told you about that late in life diagnosis of adhd, but one of the benefits is this strange pickup on energy shift. Even this morning I texted you because I just felt like you need a little bit of love and you’re like, how did you know that I had a shit house morning. It’s just one of those weird things. But you called me in under the guise of, can you come home on business? Sure. Dar pop out and you just went and just told me all these things. And I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you enough for that. That is a major compliment that you felt safe enough to share everything with me. And I don’t know if I’ve helped, but I hope I have by just sharing that safe space of letting it all out. Yeah. 

(05:47): 

Well you definitely make people feel like that. You know, allow people to open up. 

(05:53): 

And I don’t think you realize your power yet. I think you’re moving into that space of understanding him. It’s a 

(05:58): 

Slow and steady thing. But 

(06:00): 

You also, as a disclaimer said to me, I’ve never met anybody like you before. And you, I swear you were speaking at my pace. So it’s like turbo. I’ve never met anybody like you before. You don’t understand I, I’m a hard ass girl and everybody, nobody connects with me. And I’m not into that mushy hippie shit. And I don’t tell people I love them. And I was like, okay, all right. Let’s unpack this queen. What’s going on for you? Dol. And I think we spent two hours there. Thanks Red. Sorry, I was out of the office for so long and we got really deep. We got really raw and you shared some amazing things with me. And I don’t know if you’ve got enough Dutch courage to share today or just courage in general because it does take courage to share our stories. But what I want to say to you is how proud I am of you and your journey, even since meeting you in that office that day. You’ve totally like you blossomed, you look, 

(06:54): 

I’ve emerged. 

(06:54): 

You have, but you’ve done a lot of work to get 

(06:57): 

Here. Here. I have spent a lot of money and done a lot of work. 

(07:02): 

But it is a journey. Everybody’s different. And this morning when you’re having your meltdown, you’re like, I can’t believe this shouldn’t be this hard with whatever. We won’t go into it. But I 

(07:10): 

Also saw it as an opportunity as well to kind of, you’re right. When you’re feeling emotional and you’re in that space, you kind of feel like you 

(07:18): 

Just got to let it out. Actually, 

(07:19): 

This is probably the perfect time to do it. 

(07:21): 

Yeah. And you said, oh, I rang Joel and said, did you talk to Emma? He said, no, I just picked up on that vibe. Even though we were, I know on the other side of I’m 

(07:29): 

Meant to be together, 

(07:29): 

So meant to be together. We like expensive shit. We like fashion, we like Botox, we like wine. It’s a friendship made in heaven. But I think that safe space to just be raw and real, it’s really rare. And I, again, looping back to the whole empowered intention is I want this because a lot of people just don’t have this space. And growing up, did you have a good support system or did you have bully women in your life? 

(07:58): 

No, not at all. Okay. I don’t remember a lot about my childhood. Not really. It was quite blocked 

(08:05): 

It out. 

(08:05): 

No, no, no, 

(08:07): 

No. That’s another session. 

(08:08): 

No, it wasn’t like that at all was I had a very busy family and there was only three kids in the house, but halfway through primary school decided to up even move to Noosa. And it was just lots going on. And we had businesses and things like that. So no, nothing overly traumatic in my life that would’ve sort of brought me into the now I think probably has a little bit more to do with the fact that three years ago separated from my then husband and then all those balls start to come up in the air. And then other things happen where you find yourself not being able to prioritize what needs to be dealt with first. 

(08:54): 

Prioritize you 

(08:56): 

Well. 

(08:56): 

Yes. Do you think that that’s been the case you’ve put you and your happiness aside and not looked? I looked 

(09:00): 

Definitely deep in, 

(09:02): 

Yeah, 

(09:02): 

That’s definitely been a struggle, particularly when you’ve got children and you do leave a relationship and then you’re trying to sort of manage the kids through that phase, putting in first. 

(09:11): 

Yeah. Cause that’s hard managing and unpacking divorce and moving into a different home. 

(09:17): 

Yeah. And I really didn’t know what to do. It was a really foreign environment for me to be in. And I felt that I couldn’t really, I had to put up this facade that I’ve got three kids I need to get up in the morning, I need to get them to school. And I had always done it on my own because I never had that support from my partner because he worked away. So in fairness, that was sort of our lifestyle, but I didn’t have a lot of time to think or a lot of time for myself. Yeah, sure. Those moments were opened up to me occasionally, but really for the most, I had three kids at home that were, 

(09:55): 

They needed you. Yeah, 

(09:57): 

Basically. 

(09:59): 

So I met you post divorce or 

(10:03): 

Well, going through separate. Yeah. It’s kind of still going. Okay, 

(10:06): 

We’ll never not go be going from what you told me this moment, but anyway. And I wish that I was there to support you through that crappy time. And I vouched to you that I think you 

(10:17): 

Have really well, because I think the way that I traversed through that stage of my life was as a result of all of those things happening at once. True. So not one thing kind of took over the other. Sometimes they were bigger and more prominent, but it was those little things. And my reaction to those were because of where I was at that stage in my life, I probably was slightly just a little bit irrational. 

(10:51): 

We all can be sometimes. 

(10:53): 

And I took everything to heart. I really wear my heart on my sleeve, and I really felt that I was being hard done by, you know what I mean? But that’s because I was in a very, very low point in my life. And 

(11:08): 

You didn’t just dealing with one thing, you were dealing with a 

(11:11): 

Lot. Oh, I had so much going on, which is sort of why I’m here. During that whole period of going through a bit of a bitter separation and trying to build myself up into a new relationship that I’d started my current partner and I had a stillborn at 23 weeks. And that was kind of the peak of it all. There was so much going on, and that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back really. 

(11:50): 

And did you break? Tell me about the break. 

(11:53): 

The break. 

(11:55): 

Because every time I speak to you about it, I’m the one tearing up and you are the one just being so thing stoic. Well, and I don’t know if that’s 

(12:03): 

Your, I’ve done a lot of crying, has been a lot of up upset. And my instant sort of reaction to the whole thing was to just get on with it. Because I had to as 

(12:20): 

In not sit in that space and more angry as 

(12:21): 

Not sit in that space. I didn’t know what that meant 

(12:25): 

At that time. 

(12:25): 

At that time. Do 

(12:26): 

You know what that means? Now I 

(12:27): 

Do know what that means through the help or lots of people, which we’ll get into a little bit later. But it was definitely a journey. And it was a journey that was really difficult for me to navigate initially because I was that stoic person that was like, I don’t need help. I don’t need out to outsource medical intervention to sort of help me through this phase. 

(12:51): 

I’ll just get on with it. I have 

(12:52): 

Done, I’m just going to get on with it. Because 

(12:54): 

Never meditated, never, never. 

(12:56): 

No, never anything. Never really spoken outwardly about my feelings. Not at a deep level. I’d have a rant for sure, but certainly not go delve deep into that space. So 

(13:11): 

It was kind of thrust upon you to have to do that then 

(13:14): 

It was, and I just felt like there was so much going on that I never really got a chance to really sort of heal that trauma because that was such a deep thing to go through. And of course my solution was to bandaid by falling pregnant nearly instantly. 

(13:35): 

Hi Ziggy, we love 

(13:37): 

You. And Ziggy’s nearly one now. It’s gorgeous. So again, possibly another opportunity for me to distract myself from what had really happened. And yes, it was very traumatic and it was a very, very difficult time in my life. And there was some negligence, if you like, that came into it. But what I have found out is the deeper you dive into that space, the less validated it feels because they truly do make you feel like I took it further. I took the whole experience further with a lots of different bodies. 

(14:23): 

Was that your coping? 

(14:24): 

No, that was me going, this is unacceptable it. I do not want this to happen to another human being. 

(14:30): 

Do you think you could share the intricacies? 

(14:34): 

Look, I’ll go into it at a very soft, 

(14:37): 

The reason I say that is we mentioned it this morning and I said, look, you can get, as I know the complete story. Yeah, it’s horrendous. And I think, oh, Jesus Christ, I hope nobody else has to deal with this. But imagine if there is one person out there who just leverages your courage to go, okay, I’m not mad. I do need to do something about this and this is not right. And I love that it’s actually applied for others. Hopefully you get compensated or something in some way, shape or form as apologies or I don’t know what that looks 

(15:13): 

Like. Well, yeah, unfortunately that’s all been put to bed now mainly because in Queensland in particular, we’re not heavily protected from a protection perspective as far as pursuing it. But a lot of it came down to the fact that I was in a very, very difficult position and in which I’d had this baby in a situation where nobody really knew what was happening. And unfortunately, and I might obviously won’t name specifically where I was or anything or hospitals or anything like that. But where I birthed Aria was in a place where they just weren’t in a position to help me in a way that they should have. And they should have known better. It was in a very normal, prominent sort of hospital 

(16:14): 

Because you told me that they treated you like a pleb. 

(16:17): 

They actually did treat me a pleb. They 

(16:20): 

Treated you like, 

(16:21): 

Well, I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know how far along I was all I knew that there was something wrong and I was losing an excessive amount of blood and they needed to deal with that. But I was kind of shoved in a room and it’s a private hospital with a public emergency, and they kind of shoved me in a room and told me to just, you just got to deal read 

(16:51): 

Through it. 

(16:52): 

And they kind of just still didn’t know what they were dealing with. And to me, and I’ve done lots of research into this space, is that the first thing you would do would be scan the woman, right? Because something’s 

(17:08): 

Really, so do you want to give that little piece? 

(17:09): 

Well, so they say, yeah. So I, they’d loaded me up with lots and lots of drugs to try and reduce the amount of pain that I was in. I was literally climbing the walls and I was bleeding and they were like, oh, here, go and go and sort yourself out in the bathroom. And they’d make me walk down this long co corridor and with 6 million other people in the how 

(17:30): 

Embarra in this emergency. How, yeah. Yeah. Just 

(17:32): 

Completely degrading. Degrading. And unfortunately 

(17:34): 

It was, and Joel wasn’t allowed in was 

(17:35): 

He wasn’t let, yeah. So unfortunately it was, it was Easter long weekend as well. So into the bargain. And there was public holidays either side of this weekend. There was nobody around. So they were very short staffed. 

(17:48): 

And you thought you were around eight weeks 

(17:50): 

Or so, didn’t you? Yeah, well, very early on. Yeah. And unfortunately for me, it led into this pain that I actually couldn’t control control. And when they actually told me that I needed to calm down, oh my god, many times, God, they did not. We’ve given you enough pain medication that they could sort of issue to a football team, I think was their words to me. I literally proceeded to birth Aria on my own in a bed in a dark room. They had the lights out. They were trying to get me to be quiet ultimately because I was hysterical. And Joel wasn’t there. No one was there. I was in a dark room. And then all of a sudden I just started screaming for help because obviously I was also high as a kite. So not even in a space where I could make any sort of rational or normal decision. 

(18:50): 

And all I could say was put her back, put her back, put her back. And of course that wasn’t possible. And I think everyone panicked. So in fairness to them, everyone went into a state of what the hell just happened, wrapped her up, put her in my arms, and that was the end. But for me, your instincts, everything kicks in. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve got on board, absolutely, you are straight away on a second. This is not right. All they could think of was getting me out of there and transferring me to a hospital where I could be looked after properly once they knew what they were dealing with. 

(19:33): 

But the events that led up to that and how I ended up laying there with this tiny, tiny little baby and 23 re weeks, you, it’s a fully formed, of course, you’re fully, you’ve got everything. And look, 24 weeks, you’ve almost got a viable baby there, potentially with huge defects, potentially with a really tough life ahead. However, it’s not unheard of a 23 weeker can survive. Can survive. But unfortunately there was no intervention, nothing. Not a second of intervention, really. So she was breathing, but obviously didn’t last very long. And upon having all of the tests done after she’d gone, she was breathing for up to two hours, apparently, that that could be a few minutes up to two hours. But when you’ve been told that you cling onto that, don’t you cling onto the fact that there was two hours between when I birthed her to they could have done something. They could have done something like oxygen for a start would’ve been probably the 

(20:51): 

Easiest one. We ain’t no doctors, but Hello? 

(20:53): 

Yeah. Or certainly some sort of intervention. But they wrapped her up and said, there’s nothing we can do. And the doctor who was on that night, she literally disappeared. She was nowhere to be seen. I was hysterical. I couldn’t stop crying, obviously. Naturally. I was just hysterical. I didn’t know what was going on. Obviously at that point they let Joel in because 

(21:20): 

I lied. But did he know, when did he know? 

(21:23): 

Oh, they handed me a phone and said, ring him. 

(21:26): 

You are kidding. 

(21:27): 

Yeah, not we’re going to How 

(21:28): 

Heartless. 

(21:30): 

Yeah, we’re not going to go and find him outside because he’s lit, literally sitting at the door like peering through a window on the outside. Such stressing 

(21:38): 

Out a loyal, loving sweetheart. We love you so much, Joel. 

(21:42): 

So yeah, it was just such, the whole experience was so traumatic. But what was probably most traumatic was actually having to go through that process afterwards in reprimanding people or trying to get to the bottom of it. I was that adamant to bring them down that I turned up to this hospital. I arranged at a meeting with the CEO of the hospital, 

(22:09): 

Go Queen, 

(22:10): 

And I sat down and he basically pushed a box of tissues across the table, like this table across to me because I couldn’t get a word out because I was mess. We’re talking mess like weeks after this had 

(22:22): 

Happened. Oh, I wish I was there with you. 

(22:24): 

And basically I said, it’s really, the way he explained it to me was is that they’d, all of the staff that night had also gone through this. Are you kidding? Yeah. And that they were being counseled. 

(22:41): 

Hello, what about me? 

(22:43): 

And I could not for the life of me, find a psychologist, a counselor, any human being to help you support me through that time, 

(22:54): 

But yet hear other staff. Yeah, 

(22:57): 

Okay. Yeah. Hear other staff really struggling and the doctors experiencing episodes or however he put it. And for me it was just what? That just made me angry. Of course it did. Because I was like, how dare you da. This has got nothing to do. Correct. You guys deal with people and bloody corpses every day. Exactly. Please don’t undermine what’s happened here because it’s unacceptable. Unacceptable telling the way I telling was treated, it was unacceptable. 

(23:29): 

Your trauma doesn’t count 

(23:31): 

Pretty much. And eve, to cut a long story short, once I actually pursued it in a way that I thought that I would be able to, and for me it wasn’t certainly about money. No. I walked out of that hospital having Aria with a piece of paper saying I could claim child payments, the 

(23:51): 

Whatever it is, the maternity, the maternity government. 

(23:53): 

And I was like, 

(23:54): 

Oh wow. Thanks for that. 

(23:55): 

No, I, I’m good, thanks. Yeah, you can keep your on envelope type of thing. And it was hard. It was super hard because then I had to go home within 24 hours of this all happening and get back into mum 

(24:11): 

Life. Just get, yeah, exactly. 

(24:12): 

Because I chose not to share with the kids because for me, they were far too young to share that kind of information with. I think my eldest at the time was nine. 

(24:24): 

It’s hard to process. And they’ve just gone through a key, you know’s, move with mum and dad. 

(24:28): 

And that was hard. And we were sort of coming out the other end of that. 

(24:33): 

How do you explain that to nine year olds though? Yeah, nine and younger. 

(24:36): 

Yeah, and younger. And to me, I just didn’t think it was necessary under the circumstances. But it 

(24:40): 

Probably also meant that you’d have to unpack it again yourself. 

(24:44): 

Yeah. I mean, for me, I just go now it’s just one, it was a really, really bad moment in my life that I you, and it’s not something like a divorce. Eventually move past it. Whatever the thing is that you’re going through in your life, you’ll eventually move through it. Child loss, you can’t 

(25:10): 

Move past that. Never. Never. 

(25:11): 

It’s not something that you can ever really move on from. You just learn to live with it. 

(25:19): 

But she’ll always be there. And April the first will always be her special day 

(25:23): 

For sure. 

(25:24): 

And it’s okay for you to knock. You don’t have to get over it. You don’t have to grieve or mourn in a certain period of time. 

(25:30): 

Oh, and I don’t think you, it’s sort of a lifelong, lifelong grieving process, I think because you’ve missing, you’ve missed out on lots and lots of things. But I hated that it was dismissed. It was just such 

(25:45): 

A That’s horrendous. That’s so cold. 

(25:46): 

Unfortunately, this is just what’s happened. 

(25:49): 

You stub your toe. That’s unfortunate. Losing a baby. 

(25:52): 

Yeah. So yeah, in Queensland, basically they say that if they can’t measure loss for me, because I’m going in there to say that I’ve experienced a loss. So that’s my loss. It’s not my loss, it was her loss. So it’s not the person that was harmed, it was 

(26:13): 

Her. Oh my goodness. 

(26:15): 

And there’s two of you. For me, I wanted a lesson, not certainly no money, 

(26:21): 

And that’s how I, but 

(26:23): 

Yeah, it was going to cost you lots of money, of course, to be able to pursue it, them. And I think the initial quote was like 20 or $30,000 just to send the paperwork away to have it, they’d send it to another state to have it reviewed into negligence basically to see what the negligence was. All my medical documents that came through from the hospital were all done subsequently because they had that, a small amount of lines on the page that were done on the night. But then because of the whole kerfuffle and the whole event, nothing else was put in there. So if they’ve gone back after the fact when they’ve been requested by a solicitor to have it sent through and they’ve fumbled their way through and it was all lies. There was that many different stories down to she was given oxygen for 30 minutes on my Medicare. So that shows up on my, I can still log into my myGov account. And it says there that oxygen was provided. 

(27:34): 

Was she in your arms the whole 

(27:35): 

Time? The whole time she never left. They got me out of there so quickly. There was no time for intervention whatsoever. They couldn’t have. And they put her in my arms for that entire, I had to sit in an ambulance for 45 minutes longer to get to the other hospital with her in my arms getting colder by the second. And it was just the most traumatic experience. What were you doing, Ken? Just laying there and because I was eyes a kite and I’ve got this 50 year old man sitting next to me saying, this is terrible. How shocking. And all the while she’s possibly breathing in my arms and I can’t do a bloody thing about it. 

(28:19): 

Did you skin to skin with her? 

(28:22): 

I can’t even remember, to be honest. I did. I did in the hospital. I ended up spending a significant amount of time with her afterwards, but I didn’t know what was long enough. How can you sit there for that? And she was cold. There was no life left. Because she was so young as well, she deteriorated really quickly. Whereas you have a little bit more time when you’ve got someone that’s got lots of, and how was 

(28:56): 

The next hospital with you? 

(28:58): 

They were amazing because they dealt deal with this every day in and day out. This was very a normal thing for them. They had the proper suite to deal with this environment, and that was fine. But it was like this time that you just is irreversible. And it’s been a long, long road of me having to go and find lots and lots of different people to help me and support me through that because I knew I couldn’t do it myself. I was sinking quick. Anyway, I found a coach, which you also know of, and I’m still with her now. We haven’t spoken this year, but we have been for a good couple of years now. I’ve been to psychologists, I’ve been to naturopaths, I’ve been to chiropractor to try and reset my nervous system. Where is 

(29:58): 

That trauma? I’ve done that 

(29:58): 

Whole shebang. However, I found myself having to drive all over Brisbane, all over the Sunshine Coast trying to find people to help me through this. But when that happens, you have to retell your story every time, every single time so that they can fully appreciate what your body needs to move forward. And I thought that in 

(30:27): 

Itself 

(30:27): 

Is surely there’s something out there in this world that can be created and born from really bad experiences and shocking trauma that, and it doesn’t even need to be that. It could be anyone. It could be you 

(30:45): 

Dealing with your divorce. 

(30:46): 

It could be that mama that needs to enter back into the workforce, but she’s struggling with the guilt of leaving the kids at kindy. Or it could be honestly anything that serves you in a better place, that empowers you to be a better person. 

(31:03): 

You just gave me goosebumps. That’s not the Tasia. I meant that verbatim, that script there. And not, you said to me, should I write all this down? Cause I know what you are leaning into and the amazing, amazing thing that has come from a horrendous time in your life. And I’m going to be here with you every step of the way, and I’m so excited. But that’s not the Tasia who I met who was strong enough to speak like that and to go through. I would never wish the last two, three years on anyone, let alone you Cause I adore you. But this is exactly what we’re talking about. Your story is going to save a soul. And I know there’s someone crying, listening or watching this right now, but they’re going to follow. And your foot says you are paving the way for others. 

(31:54): 

And instead of you, you’ve been so selfless through the entire ordeal, ordeals, plural, that instead of you just going, oh, that’s what it was, and sorry, beep that out, moving on. You’ve gone Well, I want to help others so that they don’t have to go through that how selfless of you, but how healing for your trauma to be able to give back and say, this is, and I’m sure you’re not going to unpack it at all times every day with every part of what’s next. But if that’s the intention going in, that you’re saving another soul and being selfless and putting your trauma as a learning curve for others, that’s so admirable. And I’m so proud of you and I’m so glad that we’re friends and I love you, but just, I’m just so proud of you and for what’s to come. This is a pivotal moment, and I know you were, I’m so 

(32:48): 

Excited 

(32:48): 

You were petrified coming in. But see how it’s just conversation. We’re just too beautiful, funny friends. Amazing. Yes. Chatting about shit that’s happened. And I’ve shared with you some of my shitty trauma as well, and that even though it’s a bond, because everybody is dealing with something and I really believe that everyone has trauma, but to what degree they’ve had it and how they deal with it and process it and come out on the other side. You coming out on the other side, we talk about caterpillars out of into a butterfly. I mean, you’ve even got puffy wings like a but butterfly today. You are that butterfly. And I’m so proud of you. Oh, 

(33:30): 

Thanks Emma. 

(33:31): 

And you’re just amazing. But you’re petrified this morning and it just came so naturally in a really soft sensitive space. Whereas that wasn’t the taser, I meant, not that you weren’t soft and sensitive, but just on reflection, 

(33:46): 

Just Well, I just think I’ve learned to express it in a way that it, it’s not going to crumble me. I could sit here and blubber my way through that story easily. 

(33:55): 

And we have cried together. We have blabbered 

(33:57): 

Together. But I can’t keep doing that to myself because you have to move through it. And it’s so important to feel all of those feelings and emotions and actually express them in and cry out loud and do the 

(34:10): 

Full 

(34:10): 

Scream, ugly cry. Yeah. But I think for me, who needs to just move to the next step? And I’d rather have a legacy for her than me crumble in a corner for the rest of my days because I do have a young family to raise, so I have to get on with it. And now I’ve got little ziel. 

(34:29): 

No, he’s so beautiful. 

(34:30): 

He’s so cute. And I’m super excited for my little journey to come. So 

(34:34): 

Tell us now that I’m just going to quietly close my eyes so I can stop sobbing. What’s, tell us about what’s next? I know what’s about less, what’s next, but listeners and watchers go on drum roll. 

(34:45): 

So ultimately there is a gap for me. I believe in the industry and 

(34:52): 

I, I’ll stop you there. There’s a gap, not just for you. There is a gap. When you told me this, I was like, divine, you’re such a queen. 

(35:00): 

Well, it’s just for me, as I was saying earlier about having to constantly relive all of that upset and sadness and things like that, every time you go to see a new person or someone’s helping you through this time, I really felt that there was a space for women to come and express themselves in a super safe environment and have multiple modalities that all work together in unison to kind of take you on your journey to whatever it might be, whether it be a healing journey or a transformational or an empowerment or growth or whatever it might be. I just think that there’s seriously a spot for women to come and build rituals and really get into the nitty gritty of what they’re feeling and actually have an end game, workshops, events going on, these treatment plans that are going to take you on just such an amazing journey to wellness really. And I’m so excited about it coming all together. It’s been a bit of a slow start, but I’ve got an 11 month old. Exactly. And I’ve just moved. Exactly. Yeah. So I’m hoping in the middle of this year I’ll be looking for space and I’ll be definitely sharing. I’ve just had all the branding done and it’s 

(36:36): 

Amazing. You made me cry when you sent it through, obviously knowing what the concept was and then seeing it in the brand ident identity package, whatever. Just beautiful. You just 

(36:49): 

Really luxurious. Perfect. 

(36:50): 

Yeah. And it’s just calm, it’s elegant, it speaks to, I almost see it, this calmness after the storm of what you’ve gone through. It’s like this peaceful feeling of looking at the brand and that piece is what you’re enveloping in the whole concept. And it really is beautiful. So I’m so excited. And as I said, proud. Are you proud of yourself? Yeah, 

(37:14): 

I am proud of myself because I think it’s going to be awesome for, people find so many different ways to go on their journey and a lot of people start at a gym, for example, or dive those days or something like that. And I just think that that puts so much extra stress on your body. I think there’s certainly a space for that. But when you are very broken, you really need somewhere where you can calm and tone it right down. 

(37:46): 

You almost need it all there together instead of, I don’t know how you sourced, researched, found next provider or professional. What? That’s insane. You’re dealing with so much and then you 

(38:00): 

Having to, and psychologists are a funny thing because you’ve got to get along with that person. You’ve got to connect. You go through half a dozen of them before you’re like, 

(38:10): 

This person is not 

(38:10): 

For me. This is my person. And you’ve got to be able to do it. So I guess for me, I just wanted to be able to have a space where people can come and only tell their story once and then all of those professions come together, work together to go, this person needs X and it’s going to take this long. And it’s truly for the woman who’s like ready to invest in long term. It’s going to be a space where they can really change their lives and become their own person. So super exciting times ahead. 

(38:45): 

I’m so proud of you. Can’t wait. We’re probably around that time. We could go on for a very long time, but I want to say thank you. Thank you. Is it as petrifying as you com pictured? Yep. Okay. All right. You still shitting bricks? 

(38:58): 

No, I’m okay. Good. 

(39:00): 

Well, here’s cheers to you, Tasha. You’re an incredible queen. I’m so glad you’re in my corner. You’re like, can I drink it now? Go on you. You drink. I’ll talk. You’re an incredible queen. I’m so glad that you’re in my corner. I hate what you’ve gone through, but I feel like it has brought us together in a way, and we 

(39:16): 

All grow from these experiences. 

(39:18): 

We do. We do. I’m proud of you and I love you, and thank you for being part of Empowered. 

(39:21): 

Thanks. Love you Am. Love you 

(39:24): 

Too. Bye. Thank you very much for joining. Whether you listened or watched or cried, that was an exceptional body. I’m so proud of my friend Taisha, and I’m proud to call her a friend. Thank you very much for tuning in wherever you might be, which platform you’ve chosen. Please stay tuned for other episodes of Empowered and again, welcome to Empowered.