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Brilliant at Everything, Invisible Inside | Hannah Dalby on 15 Years of Achievement as Avoidance
Description
Hannah Dalby was a professional Muay Thai fighter. She got sober. She built a business. From the outside that all looked impressive.
But that's not the story.
The real story is that she spent fifteen years being brilliant at everything she tried. Fighting. Training. Achieving. Building. Getting sober. And not once in any of it did she stop long enough to find out who she actually was underneath all of it.
In this conversation Hannah traces the full arc from the little girl selling bracelets door to door at eight years old, through the addiction years, the abusive relationships, the training that replaced the drugs, the ayahuasca ceremony that cracked something open, and the year that followed where she had to gain weight, stop competing and sit with herself for the very first time.
Hannah now works with people on human integration. Helping them feel what's underneath rather than keep finding new ways to avoid it.
This is one of the most honest conversations about high achievement as a coping mechanism I've had on this podcast. I think it's going to reach a lot of people who recognise themselves in it. Even if their life looks nothing like hers.
Content note: this episode contains references to drug addiction, alcohol, domestic abuse and plant medicine ceremonies.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Opening | Brilliant at everything and invisible inside
00:46 Welcome to Hannah Dalby
01:03 Who Hannah was growing up | the eight-year-old entrepreneur
01:39 How fighting came into her life at 20
02:52 Surrounded by people but not letting anyone in
04:07 How she presented to the world versus what was happening underneath
05:33 Was she processing any of it
06:48 The addiction years | what they actually looked like from the inside
09:38 The grief and the rage and nowhere to put it
10:53 Getting sober | what she thought would change and what actually did
13:19 Still high-functioning through all of it
14:45 Why she needed the achievement so badly
15:23 Getting sober and realising she was still an addict | just with a different vice
17:03 The toxic gym and the codependent trainer
20:09 The mushrooms in the Daintree rainforest
21:41 The ayahuasca ceremony
25:52 The year after | grief, weight gain and losing an identity
28:33 The discomfort of stopping
32:29 Avoiding herself for 15 years | what she found when she finally turned around
34:25 Speaking from the heart for the first time
35:47 Can people actually see her now
38:36 Human integration | what she sees in her clients
40:03 What she would want the invisible woman to hear
40:52 The unspoken emotion | grief
41:01 Rachel's closing reflection
HELPLINES |
UK - Cruse Bereavement Support: 0808 808 1677 or cruse.org.uk
UK - Samaritans: 116 123
US - GriefShare: griefshare.org
US - 988 Lifeline: call or text 988
My Free Guide: https://unspokenemotions.co.uk/free-guide
CONNECT WITH THE GUEST
https://www.youtube.com/@IntoTheJungle-HannahDalby
https://thejungle.net.au/
https://www.instagram.com/recoveryjungle
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