When Sara Price first spoke to me she was really struggling. She had been burnt out before, but this time was different. She was not only physically exhausted but she had severe brain fog and memory loss that was really scaring her.
After doing some testing with us, she discovered why. Listen to her amazing transformation from burnt out to being able to launch her own business helping people to ‘actually' change the world!
You can watch the video below or listen to the podcast.
What kind of issues were you struggling with?
“Oh my goodness. I think the list is pretty much endless if I'm honest. I was basically burnt out and I'd burnt out a few times before, but this was the first time that it really affected my mental processing. And that was the thing that really scared me.
I had that kind of mental fog, inability to concentrate on top of just being completely exhausted. My legs felt like lead all of the time so I just felt heavy I was having all sorts of digestive issues, my hair was thinning, my skin was drying out, but it was the mental fog and the impact on my memory that that really started to frighten me.”
Did you go to your Doctor for help?
“I went to my doctor who just said ‘it's your age', and I just had to get used to it. So I read all the self-help books about needing to sleep and rest and meditate if you were burnt out. I was doing all of those things and I just wasn't getting any better.
I was actually about to take a sabbatical from work, which was meant to be three months and ended up being five months. So I was resting but I wasn't getting any better.”
So what did you discover from the tests we ran?
“I have to be honest, I was slightly horrified! But also massively relieved because I finally felt like I understood what was going on. I remember having the conversation with you and you saying to me it's not surprising to me that you are struggling. What's surprising to me is that you're still going!
What we discovered was my hormone levels were all completely out of whack. I had way too much oestrogen. I'd been on HRT for a very long time as a result of cancer treatment. I had very little testosterone in my system. I had all the markers for adrenal fatigue and then many nutrients were low. And I had very high inflammation markers as well.
So there was a huge amount of inflammatory response going on in my system. And then the other thing that showed up was my thyroid. I had been diagnosed 15 years ago with hypothyroidism and I had never been tested for any kind of auto immune condition. The tests that you ran indicated that there was an auto-immune response going on. That was most likely Hashimoto's and everything started to click into place at that point.
So many of the symptoms that I was experiencing were auto immune symptoms. I was just so relieved to have some answers at last and to therefore know that there was something that could be done.”
What did you change after the tests?
“Well, first of all I ordered the biggest quantity of supplements the world has ever seen! Now I only take three or four really on a regular basis, but at the time there was so much that needed to be corrected. So we did a supplement regime to get all of my micronutrient and nutrient levels back up into a normal range.
I took dairy and gluten out of my diet which immediately I could feel the difference in terms of the inflammatory response in my system. And massively increased all the things that you know that you should do.; green leafy vegetables, lots of colourful food in my fridge. I've tried re-introducing gluten on several occasions, only to be reminded that it really doesn't work for me at all.
I also extended that sabbatical. So I had five months altogether of resting and focusing on my health and wellbeing.”
How do you feel now?
“I honestly felt like a completely different person. Hopefully people listening to this aren't gonna get to that point of being completely burnt out. And you won't go and see Nicki get all your tests done and then have to take five months off! You only have to do that if you end up in the situation I was in, where I was really kind of on my knees.
But at the end of the five months it wasn't just that I got back to where I had been previously. I was like a new and improved version of myself. I got back to the energy levels I had had 10, 15 years previously.
I've learned a lot about my body and what it needs. My energy levels and my mental functioning were just so much sharper, that I came out of my sabbatical and I had the energy to start a whole new business. When my sabbatical started. I didn't have the energy to work, let alone do everything that's needed to start a business. And five months later I was starting a new business.”
Tell us about your business!
“My business is called Actually and it's about actually changing the world. I work with purpose led, values driven entrepreneurs, business owners people who want to make money and make a difference. It was driven in a way by my fury about the fact that so many people feel that if they want to make a difference in the world they have to give up on the idea of making decent money.
It is simply not the case that you have to choose between making money and making a difference. It is simply not the case that you can't pursue your passion and your purpose and make a profit at the same time.”
Thanks so much Sara for sharing your story, and for trusting us to help you get better.
If you're feeling burnt out or on your way to burn out, or need help with your hormones or health issues, please contact us for more info.