110: You are the Expert of Your Body with Amy Denson

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With me today is Amy Denson, a retired professional athlete who played collegiate basketball at Arizona State for four years and made it to the Sweet 16, a historic achievement for their program. She has lived the dream of any aspiring female basketballer: playing professionally overseas for eight years in Puerto Rico, Poland, Romania, Australia for three years, and Spain. In today's episode, she shares life experiences and advice regarding careers and their associated stresses. Amy is now certified as a nutritional therapy practitioner and is on a mission to ensure that no other woman ever feels dismissed, especially since they are the experts of their body.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amy begins by discussing her journey with details from her basketball career, like her travel adventures, being a basketball coach, and then a nine-to-five job. She talks about her retirement and the stress she faced in adjusting to the typical profession, staying in the same place for long without traveling, and dealing with a toxic work environment. Amy shares how she was a people pleaser, and did not speak her truth or stand up for herself, which brought a lot of stress and negatively impacted her health. She discusses her first real job at 33 years old, then getting into 50-plus hour weeks, which culminated in Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that led to balding. Although Amy was told by the doctors that there was nothing she could do, she did not buy into this report. Instead, she sought better appropriate support and alleviated her agony. In essence, she encourages women facing similar ordeals to listen to their body and gut, and seek adequate, proper support from those who actually listen – a powerful lesson for us all from a one incredibly powerful woman.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As always, if there is ever a topic you would like me to discuss, a guest you'd like me to interview on the podcast, or feedback you wish to offer, please feel