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Grab your burnout workbook HERE.

Imagine being a regional farmer living in remote Australia. Then imagine deciding to swim the English Channel.

This is part 2 of our chat with Brendan Cullen. I highly recommend listening to part 1 first. After his journey with his mental health, Brendan decided to make some big changes, and one of those was getting into swimming. But he didn’t just dabble, Brendan decided to go all in on swimming.

In this episode he shares:

- His unexpected journey into swimming and how a simple local event sparked something much bigger

- The obsessive progression from short swims to extreme endurance training

- What it really took to prepare for the English Channel, including isolation, sacrifice, and relentless discipline

- The mental toll of training in remote conditions and the grind of simply accessing water

- The reality of the Channel swim itself, from brutal conditions to complete physical and mental exhaustion

- The moment he reached France and the emotional release after years of effort

- How this physical challenge compared to his earlier struggles with trauma and depression

- The importance of saying “yes” and how that decision shaped the entire journey

- The unexpected difficulty of life after achieving such a massive goal

- How sharing his story and writing his book became a way to help others and find purpose

Key Quotes

“After 12 hours, it was dark. I had no idea where I was. I had no idea how long I'd been in the water. I had no idea how far I had to go. I've completely gave myself over to the boat hoping that they would get me there.”

“I got caught in a four and a half knot rip not far out of France, and that's a solid rip… so, you know, mentally really tough.”

More about Brendan

Find his website here. And his book here.

You can get involved with the podcast online

On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus

Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus

If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.com

Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com

If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:

http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Try our FREE burnout quiz.

Grab your burnout workbook HERE.

We know remote and regional Australia has often been a space where mental health and abuse can fester untreated, and Brendan Cullen’s story is a prime example of this.

Brendan has always lived and worked on stations outside of Broken Hill, but his life has been much more than just managing stations.

With his diagnosis of depression from the steps he took up to the Broken Hill hospital, he has found himself not only living a happier life but having opportunities he could never have imagined. From these opportunities Brendan has become an Ambassador for Lifeline Regional SA & Far West NSW and a Champion for the Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern section We’ve Got Your Back initiative.

In this episode he shares:

- His childhood growing up in the bush and the freedom that came with that life

- What it was like being sent away to boarding school from a young age

- The childhood sexual abuse he experienced and the impact it had on him for decades

- How trauma shaped his ability to read people and the world around him

- The effect of carrying secrecy, fear and shame for so many years

- How alcohol, overwork and constant pushing through became part of how he coped

- The warning signs of depression that were building long before he asked for help

- What happened when he finally walked into hospital and was diagnosed with depression

- The tools and mindset shifts that helped him begin healing and quiet the noise in his mind

- Why sharing his story through his book has opened the door for others to speak about their own trauma

Key Quotes

“I was flogging myself by running. I was flogging myself working. And then I was self-medicating at night, so I was just burning myself out totally.”

“The closer I got, the worse I felt and I just thought it was my schooling, but I know that it was the abuse that I'd felt anxious, the uneasiness about all of that, and that feeling lasted for about 30 years.”

More about Brendan

You can get involved with the podcast online

On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus

Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus

If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.com

Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com

If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:

http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Try our FREE burnout quiz.

Grab your burnout workbook HERE.

We’ve heard before about receiving a diagnosis later in life, but imagine the confronting experience of being admitted to a psych ward as an adult and being told you have bipolar disorder.

Laura Schiller is a self-proclaimed hot-mess wife, mom of 3 and retired lawyer.

Five years ago she was a content wife, mom, lawyer, and successful entrepreneur and then she found herself unexpectedly in a mental hospital.

She is thankful for the experience and learned so many great lessons in the mental hospital. Now she signed on with a publisher for her book about her mental health journey.

In this episode she shares:

- Her life before hospital

- Her experience of going to hospital

- How the psych ward differed to the mental hospital

- What she wishes she knew back then

- If she sees signs in your past that you had bipolar disorder

- What happened when they told her she had bipolar

- Her book and what she hopes to do

- What it was like leaving the hospital

Key Quotes

“They put me on suicide watch. I had never been more confused in my life and I didn't know I was on suicide watch.”

You can get involved with the podcast online

On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus

Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeus

If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.com

Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com

If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:

http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.