December 4, 2024 • 29 mins
Feeling uncertain and self-conscious after explant surgery? You're not alone. Together, we'll unravel five transformative steps you can take action on immediately, all designed to help you embrace your body's changes with confidence and optimism.
As we navigate this path, we’ll explore how self-compassion and patience are not just ideals but daily practices that can significantly enhance your healing journey.
Links and resources:
- Download 44 Healing Affirmations:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fSH8BTY8qoxiDWa3wozj0AaeQlvJSRW2/view?usp=sharing - Listen to this episode about breast healing and fluffing: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2073651/episodes/15235081
- Empowered Explant Website Resources
https://www.empoweredexplant.com/resources - For coaching and support before or after surgery, visit: http://empoweredexplant.com/support
Please help us be heard and raise awareness:
- Subscribe to the show
- Rate and review
- Share with your friends
Let's connect!
Join the Empowered Explant Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/empoweredexplant
Connect with Darnah on Instagram: @darnahmercieca
Interviews and sponsorships email: podcast@empoweredexplant.com
Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/ilya-kuznetsov/anticipation
Disclaimer: This podcast does not constitute medical or mental health advice. Darnah is not a medical practitioner. She shares from personal experience, research, and conversations with other people. If you are experiencing symptoms, pain, post-surgery complications, or mental health concerns, please seek care from your medical provider or surgeon.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Darnah Mercieca (00:02):
I know that this is something that so many
of us feel when we first haveour breast implants removed.
We look in the mirror and maybewe feel shocked, maybe we feel
discouraged, maybe we feel down,maybe we feel terrified about
what we see in the mirror.
This is empowered explant thepodcast helping women ditch
(00:25):
their breast implants withconfidence.
I'm D Merzica, board certifiedhealth and wellness coach and
explant warrior.
Today I did a live Q&A.
So I've been doing this liveQ&A series for a little while
now actually a couple of monthsand every Saturday I've been
(00:45):
going live on my Instagram andalso in the Empowered Explant
Facebook group and answeringquestions that breasties women
on their explant journey havehad for me, and so they've been
DMing me questions, leavingquestions in different places,
and I've kind of been grabbingall those questions and then
(01:08):
answering them in the live Q&As.
And I did this because so manyquestions that we have as
individuals in this journey tonsof other women have those
questions too.
So I figured, oh, how about Ianswer them in a way that
(01:29):
everyone can see, because a lotof us have the same questions.
So all of those replays are nowavailable on my Instagram.
They're going to be, you knowthey're all available in the
Empowered Explant Facebook groupso that can now become a
helpful resource.
(01:50):
But one of the questions that Ianswered today, I thought, wow,
this would be really great onthe podcast because this one
really stood out to me and myanswer today was quite lengthy.
And I know that this issomething that so many of us
(02:13):
feel when we first have ourbreast implants removed and we
look in the mirror and maybe wefeel shocked, maybe we feel
discouraged, maybe we feel down,maybe we feel terrified about
what we see in the mirror.
And so one of the questionsfrom a lovely lady who has just
(02:36):
had her breast implants removedshe's feeling discouraged about
what she's seeing in the mirrorand she knows that she's being
told hey, there's a long journeyahead of you, you're only a
week into this.
Just breathe and trust theprocess.
(02:56):
But it's not always easy to justtrust the process and I think
we can still very quickly findourselves in a place of worry
and concern and anxiety andsadness over what we're seeing
and experiencing.
So I was giving this somethought and I'm like how can I
(03:19):
give a better answer than justtrust the process?
Because there are steps that wecan take, you know, actionable,
tangible steps we can take toimprove our mindset and our
(03:40):
optimism and our positivity andhow we feel in a situation.
So I ended up putting togethera list of five things that I was
like hey, I think that thesesteps will really help.
So I'm excited to share thatwith you here.
(04:03):
In case you are fresh out ofyour surgery and you are feeling
discouraged, I know that thatfirst few weeks is challenging,
that first couple of months ischallenging, and so I really
hope that these insights andthese tools that I share with
you today can help you throughthis early stage of your explant
(04:29):
surgery recovery so that youcan lean into this journey,
feeling really optimistic andtaking the steps that you need
to take to support your body inhealing.
So, without further ado, here isthe recording from today's live
(04:52):
Q&A what helps you through thefirst few weeks after surgery
when you're feeling discouragedabout what you see in the mirror
?
Just a little bit of contexthere, without without telling
too much about this lovelylady's story but she's had her
(05:17):
surgery and feeling just alittle bit down about what she's
seeing in the mirror, which is,I just want to say, completely
normal because like and thisisn't the case for everybody.
I think I talked about thislast week but, like for me, I
get it.
When I first looked in themirror, I was like whoa, whoa,
(05:43):
things didn't look pretty, youknow.
They kind of looked squishedand wrinkly and like empty and I
it.
It was a lot for my brain toprocess and, uh, in that first
few weeks, yeah, there's someadjustments and some like
(06:04):
changes, but it's still veryearly in the process.
So it can be really challengingemotionally for the first few
weeks, even the first few months, and it can be a huge test of
your self-worth and yourself-love.
So I've got a few actually I'vegot five recommendations for
(06:32):
you here, five things that canreally help you in that early
stage of of finding acceptanceand finding optimism.
When you're feeling discouraged,one of the most powerful things
(06:54):
you can do is love yourself,even in the moment that you
don't like what you see, andboth things can be true.
This kind of goes for anythingbody image, wise, right, like we
can look at something in themirror and be like I don't
really like that, but you canstill love yourself and that is
(07:20):
super important.
So how you show up for yourselfand talk to yourself matters
here.
It matters so much.
Can you give yourselfunconditional love and show
yourself that you are worthy?
(07:48):
If your child or family memberor loved one had surgery or was
in an accident and had somephysical healing to do, would
you still love them?
How would you speak to them?
Would you be encouraging anduplifting?
Would you be encouraging anduplifting and how does the way
(08:09):
that you're talking to yourselfon a daily basis right now, how
does that measure up against howyou would treat a loved one if
it was them going through this?
So we need to treat ourselvesthe way we would treat a loved
(08:32):
one, and it's not toxicpositivity as in like ignoring
that there's healing to do,ignoring that there is something
that you're feeling discomfortaround, but you can still be
encouraging and uplifting andoptimistic and loving to
(08:55):
yourself at the same time.
So that is just something thatI wanted to point out here, and
I think that really payingattention to how we're talking
to ourselves and using thatframe of like okay, if this was
a loved one, if this was my bestfriend, how would I be
(09:18):
addressing the situation?
How would I be talking to themand try and do your best to talk
to yourself in that way, in asupportive, optimistic tone.
So that's the first thing.
Number two would be remindingyourself that this is a long
(09:38):
journey.
You've got to give your body upto 12 months of healing space
and time to see those finalresults and how you care for
your breasts.
That entire time matters, sothere's an element of
responsibility on your part heretoo.
(10:03):
I talked about what I did toheal my scars and breasts in
last week's Q&A, so I recommendlistening to that replay, that
recording, and then I also havean episode on the podcast about
how to help your breasts healand fluff.
So listen to that one too.
(10:24):
Okay, listen to both of thosethings, because I talk about my
whole, how I showed up for mybreaths and my scars and my body
after surgery.
And the more that you show yourbody, you're committed to its
healing, the better you willfeel.
The more you do that, thebetter your body heals.
(10:51):
It's really incredible how it'sall connected as well and how
our mindset also creates healingin our body.
It can do either things.
It can create healing in thebody, or it can create the
opposite of healing in the bodyhealing in the body, or it can
(11:15):
create the opposite of healingin the body.
So really committing to thisjourney and having patience,
working on patience, is a bigone.
Number three is gratitudejournaling and this is not
cliche, this is not like, ohreally Like.
No, seriously, it works, Ipromise you.
(11:37):
When you're focused on thenegative, that is all you will
see and it can start to consumeyou.
So I want you to start agratitude journal Every morning
or night.
Write three things you'regrateful for at minimum.
Make it easy, three at minimum.
(11:57):
And that might look like I'mgrateful for another day closer
to being fully healed, likeliterally, if that's all you got
right now, write that down.
I'm grateful for choosing toprioritize my health.
I'm grateful for being bravefor the surgeon who got me
(12:20):
through surgery safely, thenutritious food I ate today, my
body's ability to heal andrepair.
I'm grateful for being able tobreathe deeply again.
I'm grateful for how connectedI am to my body.
I'm grateful for following myintuition.
I'm grateful for whatever it isfeeling lighter, healthier,
(12:44):
sleeping comfortably again,running again, being pain-free.
I'm grateful for the lessonsI've learned on this journey.
Gratitude is powerful and it canreally help get you out of that
funk.
It can help get you out of thatdiscouraged down place and this
(13:07):
is a tool that you can use forthe rest of your life, in
everything, in every part ofyour life.
It just helps also, like, bringyou back to that other
perspective of like, wow, I havelearned a lot on this journey.
(13:28):
Like, wow, I have learned a loton this journey.
Wow, like, even though I mighthave regrets or I might have
things that I don't feel greatabout or I'm still healing or
I'm still working on, there aregood things that I can be
grateful for every day.
And I want you to just really,really lean into that, because
the more we stay connected tothe good and the more we stay
(13:50):
connected to the good and themore we stay connected to our
why and the positive lessonsthat can come out of this, the
better we feel, and that onceagain translates into our
healing and our body's abilityto to heal and repair.
(14:15):
My fourth thought on this is afun one.
It's to create a healingcalendar.
Use a calendar preferably aphysical one, right that you can
stick on your wall or hang onyour wall, to set assessment
(14:35):
milestones at three months, sixmonths, nine months and 12
months.
Okay, circle those dates on thecalendar Now, all the days in
between that you don't assess,you don't judge, you don't worry
about your results, but you doshow up for yourself daily.
(14:57):
So each day that passes, draw alittle love heart.
That signifies that you're aday closer in your healing
journey and that you showed upfor yourself with love today.
You nourished your body, youmassage, you massage your
breasts and your scars.
You exercised, you repeated anaffirmation, you followed your
(15:22):
detox protocol, whatever it isOkay.
This way.
You control what you can andyou surrender the rest.
I'm saying that again.
That's my favorite mantra onthis journey.
Seriously, I don't know, I needlike a t-shirt with that on it
because I say it all the time,but it's true.
(15:44):
And on those milestone days, soevery 90 days that you've
marked on your calendar, youassess your healing, but not
from a place of judgment, butfrom a place of like.
Okay, how have my breastsimproved over the last 90 days?
(16:05):
How has my health improved?
How have I been showing up formyself?
Is there something that I havebeen doing that's been going
really well?
Is there something that Ihaven't really been doing that I
should be doing more of?
How many symptoms have clearedup?
What do I notice that I'd liketo work on and what can I do
(16:28):
that's within my control tosupport that?
What resources might I need?
What support or help orguidance might I need?
Who do I need to contact aboutthis?
What do I need to look into andwhat do I need to surrender
right now?
What isn't feeling good that Ijust need to surrender?
(16:49):
I don't have control over thatand I'm going to surrender that
up and let go of that so that Ican focus back on pouring into
myself and controlling what Ican, and so I just really like.
I think it's almost like a mindtrick.
(17:11):
Um, it's a way of giving,creating psychological space for
yourself.
I think when we don't havedates set on the calendar, we
can get to that place of likeassessing and judging every day
(17:36):
and being like, oh, I'm nothealed yet.
It's like you only just lookedat that yesterday.
How do you expect it to lookdifferent today?
Or like a week later?
A week later, it's like, yeah,every week is a milestone on
this journey and there isimprovement every week, but
there's not really a whole lotof point in obsessing over your
(17:59):
like, your physical aesthetictransformation week over week.
I think, if anything you wantto like keep that gratitude
journal that I mentioned earlierand give thanks and gratitude
and awareness to like feelingbetter, the things that are
(18:22):
going well, you know, just maybelike the healing of your
symptoms, your health, and focuson that.
But from an aesthetic point ofview, there's just no point in
obsessing week after weekbecause that can just end up or
(18:42):
day after day because that couldjust really end up kind of
doing a negative number on yourmind.
So, yeah, every 90 days, planto come back, give yourself that
(19:09):
little friendly, kindassessment and then go back to
showing up for yourself.
And number five, myrecommendation is to work with a
therapist or a coach,especially if you are really
struggling with some emotions.
You are, you know, even if it'snot like debilitating, but it's
(19:33):
there and you are, you know,kind of looking in the mirror
and feeling down, feelingconcerned.
If you are feeling some worryon a daily basis and stress
around this on a daily basis, itcan be so incredibly comforting
and clarifying to talk with aprofessional on this journey.
(19:54):
I put my hand up as a boardcertified health and wellness
coach who's been through explant, who's been through this whole
journey.
I'm here to support womenthrough this journey in healing,
becoming stronger, becomingconfident.
And if we talk and it seemslike perhaps there's some deeper
(20:17):
trauma that needs addressing,I'll suggest therapy if I think
it's needed, if I think thatyou'll benefit from that and
therapy is a great option aswell even if you just want to go
straight there.
It's just it's different thanjust going through it on your
(20:38):
own.
It's different than just goingthrough it on your own.
You know, having someone thereto keep you accountable, to
showing up for yourself on adaily basis, to talk through
what you're feeling, when youlook in the mirror to um, to
just really help guide you onthat journey.
It's so powerful.
If you want to learn more aboutworking with me, you can go to
(21:02):
empoweredxplantcom forward slashsupport.
That's empoweredxplantcomforward slash support and you
can schedule an initial callwith me and we can talk about
what kind of support might bebest for you going forward.
So that can just be a helpfuladdition and you don't have to
(21:26):
go through all of this alone.
Seriously, I mean, I think justin our lives in general, we all
go through too much on our owninstead of getting support.
I think even and I've spokenabout this openly.
I wish that I got therapy or hada coach or something before I
(21:53):
even got my breast implants,because I believe, I truly
believe, that if I had therapyprior or if I had a coach, that
was like helping coach me in myself-confidence and and getting
to where I wanted to be in mylife, because I had dreams and
goals and aspirations, and letme tell you, my breast implants
(22:18):
were not a part of that.
My breast implants had nothingto do with achieving those goals
and dreams that I had.
I did not need them and if Ihad the right support in my life
prior to getting my breastimplants, I would not have got
them.
In my life prior to getting mybreast implants, I would not
(22:42):
have got them.
So I just think there's so manyareas of our lives that this
kind of support can bebeneficial, whether that's
working on our health, workingon our relationships, working on
our finances, finances,whatever it is.
There are people who are inthis world trained to help us
(23:04):
through and, uh, I'm reallyexcited because I'm at a place
in my life where I'm gettingsupport in the areas that I need
it and it feels so good to dothat.
It feels so good to work withgreat people who have gone
(23:26):
through maybe something similarto me but have like, far
surpassed where I am now, whohave, who are crushing it in
life, in whatever area it isthat I feel like I want to crush
it and I'm looking at thatgoing, wow, I aspire to that.
(23:47):
So why, why shouldn't I workwith that person who's been
through that, who's alreadymapped it out, who's already
gone through that journey?
I mean, it just makes sense.
But yet so many of us kind ofjust fall back to trying to do
(24:09):
everything ourselves, trying tofigure it all out, not asking
for help, not asking for support, and it's like man, it's just,
we just don't have to do that.
And that's been a really coollesson for me through this
journey.
I mean explanting.
Definitely my recovery was notroses.
(24:31):
I went through a really toughtime during my recovery and I've
spoken about this on thepodcast, but you know, if you
don't know, I um, I had a reallyhard breakup four weeks after
(24:55):
my surgery.
I had to live.
I didn't have a job, I couldn'tcarry my suitcases.
It was hard.
I moved from place to place, Ihad to ask for help.
I accepted help from strangerskind, lovely strangers that I'm
(25:15):
so grateful for.
But it was like, like I saidearlier, it was so humbling and
then, ever since I've kind ofrealized like, oh, I don't have
to do everything alone, there'spower in community.
There's there's power in inconnecting with people, there's
(25:38):
power in getting help andsupport.
So you know, that's a big partof why I created Empowered
Explant is to is to give thiscommunity um resources that I
didn't have, that I thoughtwould be really helpful.
To create a sense of communityand sisterhood in the Empowered
(26:06):
Explore community, like theFacebook, the private Facebook
group, for example.
To leverage my knowledge andexperience as a health and
wellness coach and pour all ofthat knowledge into this journey
which you know nutrition,exercise, mindset, all of those
(26:26):
pieces come into play in thisjourney so much so it just feels
so good to be able to use myeducation and experience to
support people, to support womenwho are removing their breast
implants and regaining theirhealth and their confidence.
(26:46):
I really hope that was helpfuland insightful for you and if
you are in this part of yourjourney, I would love to hear
from you, I would love to hearwhat your takeaways were from
today's episode and if you doimplement what I talked about
here, let me know.
(27:06):
Let me know how it goes for you.
Let me know what works, whatdoesn't.
Ask me questions.
If you'd like to dive a littledeeper into anything that I
talked about, you can reach outto me in the Empowered Explant
Facebook group.
You can go and join the group.
I'm in there.
You can ask questions and getsupport inside the Empowered
(27:28):
Explant Facebook group To join.
Just go tocommunityempoweredexplantcom.
Or you can just go to Facebookand search empoweredxplant the
group, not the page.
You can find me on Instagramand DM me there.
I'm often on the gram and youcan email me directly as well.
(27:52):
We're breasties, so you alwayshave a direct line to me.
That is darna atempoweredxplantcom.
All of that is also linked inthe show notes or the
description below.
But yeah, I really hope thatthat was powerful and gave you
some perspective, some newthings that you can try, and I
(28:16):
am just so in your corner.
I'm going to say it now Trustthe process.
You've got this.
You've got this.
It's a journey.
You are embarking on a journeyof health and self-acceptance
and confidence and self-love,and just lean in and give
(28:41):
yourself and your body the loveit deserves.
No matter if there are scars,no matter if there are stretch
marks, your body still deserveslove and you are still beautiful
.
All right, breasty, I'll seeyou here next week.
Lots of love.
I know that this is something that so many
of us feel when we first haveour breast implants removed.
We look in the mirror and maybewe feel shocked, maybe we feel
discouraged, maybe we feel down,maybe we feel terrified about
what we see in the mirror.
This is empowered explant thepodcast helping women ditch
(00:25):
their breast implants withconfidence.
I'm D Merzica, board certifiedhealth and wellness coach and
explant warrior.
Today I did a live Q&A.
So I've been doing this liveQ&A series for a little while
now actually a couple of monthsand every Saturday I've been
(00:45):
going live on my Instagram andalso in the Empowered Explant
Facebook group and answeringquestions that breasties women
on their explant journey havehad for me, and so they've been
DMing me questions, leavingquestions in different places,
and I've kind of been grabbingall those questions and then
(01:08):
answering them in the live Q&As.
And I did this because so manyquestions that we have as
individuals in this journey tonsof other women have those
questions too.
So I figured, oh, how about Ianswer them in a way that
(01:29):
everyone can see, because a lotof us have the same questions.
So all of those replays are nowavailable on my Instagram.
They're going to be, you knowthey're all available in the
Empowered Explant Facebook groupso that can now become a
helpful resource.
(01:50):
But one of the questions that Ianswered today, I thought, wow,
this would be really great onthe podcast because this one
really stood out to me and myanswer today was quite lengthy.
And I know that this issomething that so many of us
(02:13):
feel when we first have ourbreast implants removed and we
look in the mirror and maybe wefeel shocked, maybe we feel
discouraged, maybe we feel down,maybe we feel terrified about
what we see in the mirror.
And so one of the questionsfrom a lovely lady who has just
(02:36):
had her breast implants removedshe's feeling discouraged about
what she's seeing in the mirrorand she knows that she's being
told hey, there's a long journeyahead of you, you're only a
week into this.
Just breathe and trust theprocess.
(02:56):
But it's not always easy to justtrust the process and I think
we can still very quickly findourselves in a place of worry
and concern and anxiety andsadness over what we're seeing
and experiencing.
So I was giving this somethought and I'm like how can I
(03:19):
give a better answer than justtrust the process?
Because there are steps that wecan take, you know, actionable,
tangible steps we can take toimprove our mindset and our
(03:40):
optimism and our positivity andhow we feel in a situation.
So I ended up putting togethera list of five things that I was
like hey, I think that thesesteps will really help.
So I'm excited to share thatwith you here.
(04:03):
In case you are fresh out ofyour surgery and you are feeling
discouraged, I know that thatfirst few weeks is challenging,
that first couple of months ischallenging, and so I really
hope that these insights andthese tools that I share with
you today can help you throughthis early stage of your explant
(04:29):
surgery recovery so that youcan lean into this journey,
feeling really optimistic andtaking the steps that you need
to take to support your body inhealing.
So, without further ado, here isthe recording from today's live
(04:52):
Q&A what helps you through thefirst few weeks after surgery
when you're feeling discouragedabout what you see in the mirror
?
Just a little bit of contexthere, without without telling
too much about this lovelylady's story but she's had her
(05:17):
surgery and feeling just alittle bit down about what she's
seeing in the mirror, which is,I just want to say, completely
normal because like and thisisn't the case for everybody.
I think I talked about thislast week but, like for me, I
get it.
When I first looked in themirror, I was like whoa, whoa,
(05:43):
things didn't look pretty, youknow.
They kind of looked squishedand wrinkly and like empty and I
it.
It was a lot for my brain toprocess and, uh, in that first
few weeks, yeah, there's someadjustments and some like
(06:04):
changes, but it's still veryearly in the process.
So it can be really challengingemotionally for the first few
weeks, even the first few months, and it can be a huge test of
your self-worth and yourself-love.
So I've got a few actually I'vegot five recommendations for
(06:32):
you here, five things that canreally help you in that early
stage of of finding acceptanceand finding optimism.
When you're feeling discouraged,one of the most powerful things
(06:54):
you can do is love yourself,even in the moment that you
don't like what you see, andboth things can be true.
This kind of goes for anythingbody image, wise, right, like we
can look at something in themirror and be like I don't
really like that, but you canstill love yourself and that is
(07:20):
super important.
So how you show up for yourselfand talk to yourself matters
here.
It matters so much.
Can you give yourselfunconditional love and show
yourself that you are worthy?
(07:48):
If your child or family memberor loved one had surgery or was
in an accident and had somephysical healing to do, would
you still love them?
How would you speak to them?
Would you be encouraging anduplifting?
Would you be encouraging anduplifting and how does the way
(08:09):
that you're talking to yourselfon a daily basis right now, how
does that measure up against howyou would treat a loved one if
it was them going through this?
So we need to treat ourselvesthe way we would treat a loved
(08:32):
one, and it's not toxicpositivity as in like ignoring
that there's healing to do,ignoring that there is something
that you're feeling discomfortaround, but you can still be
encouraging and uplifting andoptimistic and loving to
(08:55):
yourself at the same time.
So that is just something thatI wanted to point out here, and
I think that really payingattention to how we're talking
to ourselves and using thatframe of like okay, if this was
a loved one, if this was my bestfriend, how would I be
(09:18):
addressing the situation?
How would I be talking to themand try and do your best to talk
to yourself in that way, in asupportive, optimistic tone.
So that's the first thing.
Number two would be remindingyourself that this is a long
(09:38):
journey.
You've got to give your body upto 12 months of healing space
and time to see those finalresults and how you care for
your breasts.
That entire time matters, sothere's an element of
responsibility on your part heretoo.
(10:03):
I talked about what I did toheal my scars and breasts in
last week's Q&A, so I recommendlistening to that replay, that
recording, and then I also havean episode on the podcast about
how to help your breasts healand fluff.
So listen to that one too.
(10:24):
Okay, listen to both of thosethings, because I talk about my
whole, how I showed up for mybreaths and my scars and my body
after surgery.
And the more that you show yourbody, you're committed to its
healing, the better you willfeel.
The more you do that, thebetter your body heals.
(10:51):
It's really incredible how it'sall connected as well and how
our mindset also creates healingin our body.
It can do either things.
It can create healing in thebody, or it can create the
opposite of healing in the bodyhealing in the body, or it can
(11:15):
create the opposite of healingin the body.
So really committing to thisjourney and having patience,
working on patience, is a bigone.
Number three is gratitudejournaling and this is not
cliche, this is not like, ohreally Like.
No, seriously, it works, Ipromise you.
(11:37):
When you're focused on thenegative, that is all you will
see and it can start to consumeyou.
So I want you to start agratitude journal Every morning
or night.
Write three things you'regrateful for at minimum.
Make it easy, three at minimum.
(11:57):
And that might look like I'mgrateful for another day closer
to being fully healed, likeliterally, if that's all you got
right now, write that down.
I'm grateful for choosing toprioritize my health.
I'm grateful for being bravefor the surgeon who got me
(12:20):
through surgery safely, thenutritious food I ate today, my
body's ability to heal andrepair.
I'm grateful for being able tobreathe deeply again.
I'm grateful for how connectedI am to my body.
I'm grateful for following myintuition.
I'm grateful for whatever it isfeeling lighter, healthier,
(12:44):
sleeping comfortably again,running again, being pain-free.
I'm grateful for the lessonsI've learned on this journey.
Gratitude is powerful and it canreally help get you out of that
funk.
It can help get you out of thatdiscouraged down place and this
(13:07):
is a tool that you can use forthe rest of your life, in
everything, in every part ofyour life.
It just helps also, like, bringyou back to that other
perspective of like, wow, I havelearned a lot on this journey.
(13:28):
Like, wow, I have learned a loton this journey.
Wow, like, even though I mighthave regrets or I might have
things that I don't feel greatabout or I'm still healing or
I'm still working on, there aregood things that I can be
grateful for every day.
And I want you to just really,really lean into that, because
the more we stay connected tothe good and the more we stay
(13:50):
connected to the good and themore we stay connected to our
why and the positive lessonsthat can come out of this, the
better we feel, and that onceagain translates into our
healing and our body's abilityto to heal and repair.
(14:15):
My fourth thought on this is afun one.
It's to create a healingcalendar.
Use a calendar preferably aphysical one, right that you can
stick on your wall or hang onyour wall, to set assessment
(14:35):
milestones at three months, sixmonths, nine months and 12
months.
Okay, circle those dates on thecalendar Now, all the days in
between that you don't assess,you don't judge, you don't worry
about your results, but you doshow up for yourself daily.
(14:57):
So each day that passes, draw alittle love heart.
That signifies that you're aday closer in your healing
journey and that you showed upfor yourself with love today.
You nourished your body, youmassage, you massage your
breasts and your scars.
You exercised, you repeated anaffirmation, you followed your
(15:22):
detox protocol, whatever it isOkay.
This way.
You control what you can andyou surrender the rest.
I'm saying that again.
That's my favorite mantra onthis journey.
Seriously, I don't know, I needlike a t-shirt with that on it
because I say it all the time,but it's true.
(15:44):
And on those milestone days, soevery 90 days that you've
marked on your calendar, youassess your healing, but not
from a place of judgment, butfrom a place of like.
Okay, how have my breastsimproved over the last 90 days?
(16:05):
How has my health improved?
How have I been showing up formyself?
Is there something that I havebeen doing that's been going
really well?
Is there something that Ihaven't really been doing that I
should be doing more of?
How many symptoms have clearedup?
What do I notice that I'd liketo work on and what can I do
(16:28):
that's within my control tosupport that?
What resources might I need?
What support or help orguidance might I need?
Who do I need to contact aboutthis?
What do I need to look into andwhat do I need to surrender
right now?
What isn't feeling good that Ijust need to surrender?
(16:49):
I don't have control over thatand I'm going to surrender that
up and let go of that so that Ican focus back on pouring into
myself and controlling what Ican, and so I just really like.
I think it's almost like a mindtrick.
(17:11):
Um, it's a way of giving,creating psychological space for
yourself.
I think when we don't havedates set on the calendar, we
can get to that place of likeassessing and judging every day
(17:36):
and being like, oh, I'm nothealed yet.
It's like you only just lookedat that yesterday.
How do you expect it to lookdifferent today?
Or like a week later?
A week later, it's like, yeah,every week is a milestone on
this journey and there isimprovement every week, but
there's not really a whole lotof point in obsessing over your
(17:59):
like, your physical aesthetictransformation week over week.
I think, if anything you wantto like keep that gratitude
journal that I mentioned earlierand give thanks and gratitude
and awareness to like feelingbetter, the things that are
(18:22):
going well, you know, just maybelike the healing of your
symptoms, your health, and focuson that.
But from an aesthetic point ofview, there's just no point in
obsessing week after weekbecause that can just end up or
(18:42):
day after day because that couldjust really end up kind of
doing a negative number on yourmind.
So, yeah, every 90 days, planto come back, give yourself that
(19:09):
little friendly, kindassessment and then go back to
showing up for yourself.
And number five, myrecommendation is to work with a
therapist or a coach,especially if you are really
struggling with some emotions.
You are, you know, even if it'snot like debilitating, but it's
(19:33):
there and you are, you know,kind of looking in the mirror
and feeling down, feelingconcerned.
If you are feeling some worryon a daily basis and stress
around this on a daily basis, itcan be so incredibly comforting
and clarifying to talk with aprofessional on this journey.
(19:54):
I put my hand up as a boardcertified health and wellness
coach who's been through explant, who's been through this whole
journey.
I'm here to support womenthrough this journey in healing,
becoming stronger, becomingconfident.
And if we talk and it seemslike perhaps there's some deeper
(20:17):
trauma that needs addressing,I'll suggest therapy if I think
it's needed, if I think thatyou'll benefit from that and
therapy is a great option aswell even if you just want to go
straight there.
It's just it's different thanjust going through it on your
(20:38):
own.
It's different than just goingthrough it on your own.
You know, having someone thereto keep you accountable, to
showing up for yourself on adaily basis, to talk through
what you're feeling, when youlook in the mirror to um, to
just really help guide you onthat journey.
It's so powerful.
If you want to learn more aboutworking with me, you can go to
(21:02):
empoweredxplantcom forward slashsupport.
That's empoweredxplantcomforward slash support and you
can schedule an initial callwith me and we can talk about
what kind of support might bebest for you going forward.
So that can just be a helpfuladdition and you don't have to
(21:26):
go through all of this alone.
Seriously, I mean, I think justin our lives in general, we all
go through too much on our owninstead of getting support.
I think even and I've spokenabout this openly.
I wish that I got therapy or hada coach or something before I
(21:53):
even got my breast implants,because I believe, I truly
believe, that if I had therapyprior or if I had a coach, that
was like helping coach me in myself-confidence and and getting
to where I wanted to be in mylife, because I had dreams and
goals and aspirations, and letme tell you, my breast implants
(22:18):
were not a part of that.
My breast implants had nothingto do with achieving those goals
and dreams that I had.
I did not need them and if Ihad the right support in my life
prior to getting my breastimplants, I would not have got
them.
In my life prior to getting mybreast implants, I would not
(22:42):
have got them.
So I just think there's so manyareas of our lives that this
kind of support can bebeneficial, whether that's
working on our health, workingon our relationships, working on
our finances, finances,whatever it is.
There are people who are inthis world trained to help us
(23:04):
through and, uh, I'm reallyexcited because I'm at a place
in my life where I'm gettingsupport in the areas that I need
it and it feels so good to dothat.
It feels so good to work withgreat people who have gone
(23:26):
through maybe something similarto me but have like, far
surpassed where I am now, whohave, who are crushing it in
life, in whatever area it isthat I feel like I want to crush
it and I'm looking at thatgoing, wow, I aspire to that.
(23:47):
So why, why shouldn't I workwith that person who's been
through that, who's alreadymapped it out, who's already
gone through that journey?
I mean, it just makes sense.
But yet so many of us kind ofjust fall back to trying to do
(24:09):
everything ourselves, trying tofigure it all out, not asking
for help, not asking for support, and it's like man, it's just,
we just don't have to do that.
And that's been a really coollesson for me through this
journey.
I mean explanting.
Definitely my recovery was notroses.
(24:31):
I went through a really toughtime during my recovery and I've
spoken about this on thepodcast, but you know, if you
don't know, I um, I had a reallyhard breakup four weeks after
(24:55):
my surgery.
I had to live.
I didn't have a job, I couldn'tcarry my suitcases.
It was hard.
I moved from place to place, Ihad to ask for help.
I accepted help from strangerskind, lovely strangers that I'm
(25:15):
so grateful for.
But it was like, like I saidearlier, it was so humbling and
then, ever since I've kind ofrealized like, oh, I don't have
to do everything alone, there'spower in community.
There's there's power in inconnecting with people, there's
(25:38):
power in getting help andsupport.
So you know, that's a big partof why I created Empowered
Explant is to is to give thiscommunity um resources that I
didn't have, that I thoughtwould be really helpful.
To create a sense of communityand sisterhood in the Empowered
(26:06):
Explore community, like theFacebook, the private Facebook
group, for example.
To leverage my knowledge andexperience as a health and
wellness coach and pour all ofthat knowledge into this journey
which you know nutrition,exercise, mindset, all of those
(26:26):
pieces come into play in thisjourney so much so it just feels
so good to be able to use myeducation and experience to
support people, to support womenwho are removing their breast
implants and regaining theirhealth and their confidence.
(26:46):
I really hope that was helpfuland insightful for you and if
you are in this part of yourjourney, I would love to hear
from you, I would love to hearwhat your takeaways were from
today's episode and if you doimplement what I talked about
here, let me know.
(27:06):
Let me know how it goes for you.
Let me know what works, whatdoesn't.
Ask me questions.
If you'd like to dive a littledeeper into anything that I
talked about, you can reach outto me in the Empowered Explant
Facebook group.
You can go and join the group.
I'm in there.
You can ask questions and getsupport inside the Empowered
(27:28):
Explant Facebook group To join.
Just go tocommunityempoweredexplantcom.
Or you can just go to Facebookand search empoweredxplant the
group, not the page.
You can find me on Instagramand DM me there.
I'm often on the gram and youcan email me directly as well.
(27:52):
We're breasties, so you alwayshave a direct line to me.
That is darna atempoweredxplantcom.
All of that is also linked inthe show notes or the
description below.
But yeah, I really hope thatthat was powerful and gave you
some perspective, some newthings that you can try, and I
(28:16):
am just so in your corner.
I'm going to say it now Trustthe process.
You've got this.
You've got this.
It's a journey.
You are embarking on a journeyof health and self-acceptance
and confidence and self-love,and just lean in and give
(28:41):
yourself and your body the loveit deserves.
No matter if there are scars,no matter if there are stretch
marks, your body still deserveslove and you are still beautiful
.
All right, breasty, I'll seeyou here next week.
Lots of love.
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