If you have ever wondered:

“Have I taken wellness and optimisation a little too far?”

“Why does chasing the perfect sleep score leave me feeling worse, not better?”

“Is outsourcing my life to AI making me more connected — or more alone?”

- this episode is for you.

This week A Wake Up Call is a solo Health Trends episode. Tess and Layne pull up the cultural wellbeing moments blowing up online and pressure-test them in real time - so you can challenge them, test them, and decide what you actually think.

They start with Steven Bartlett's viral claim that three glasses of wine “ruined” him for three days (cue a very Layne take on quality wine), move into Brian Johnson and the millions-spent quest to never die, and land on the statistic that 37% of Gen Z say they could fall in love with an AI companion. Underneath the laughter - wine-maxing, sleep-maxing, life-maxing - is a bigger question: have we swapped intuition for data, and connection for optimisation?

This is a conversation about trusting your body over the spreadsheet, choosing quality of life over quantity, and - borrowing Mo Gawdat's two campfires - deciding who we want to be at the intersection AI has put us all at.

You will hear about:

• Why wine-maxing, sleep-maxing and life-maxing can optimise the fun right out of your life - and where the middle ground actually is
• Changing your relationship with alcohol: trusting your body's visceral yes or no instead of the after-a-hard-day default
• Brian Johnson, longevity culture and the real question - quality of life vs quantity of life
• The AI connection paradox: 37% of Gen Z open to falling in love with AI, and why outsourcing connection can quietly deepen loneliness
• Mo Gawdat's two campfires - the fork in the road with AI, and why who we choose to be matters more than ever

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academy

Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Mentioned in this episode - Mo Gawdat, Scary Smart (book on AI) [add link]

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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

Episode Description:

If you have ever wondered:

"Why am I so exhausted by my own competence?"

"How do I redefine success on my own terms instead of someone else's?"

"Who am I actually waiting for permission from?"

- this episode is for you.

In this warm, honest and quietly powerful conversation, Tess and Layne welcome Kemi Nekvapil - one of Australia's most respected executive coaches, Penguin author of The Gift of Asking, Power and Grounded Success, a Certified Dare to Lead facilitator trained by Brené Brown, host of the globally ranked podcast The Shift Series, flower farmer, and the woman who has personally coached Layne herself.

Kemi has built her life's work on one radical idea: that you are always worthy of the ask. In this episode she unpacks what that really means for the woman who is endlessly capable, the one everyone relies on, who cannot remember the last time she asked for something just for herself.

She shares the wake-up call that has threaded through her whole life - learning to ask how does it feel to be here - and the day she walked off stage to a standing ovation and thought, I am so bored. That boredom, she realised, was a full-body yes to change. Along the way she and the hosts explore why risk has seasons, how we get seduced into stepping over our own boundaries, and a live coaching moment where Layne works through her own surfing retirement in real time.

This is a conversation about redefining success by how it feels, not how it looks, and remembering that the only person you have ever been waiting on for permission is you.

You will hear about:

Why being endlessly needed quietly keeps capable women from ever asking for what they want

The difference between a full-body yes, a full-body no, and a performance yes

Why risk has seasons, and how to find the version of a leap your nervous system can actually take

How to redefine success by how it feels, and why 70% peace beats chasing more

The one question that ends years of waiting: who am I actually waiting for permission from?

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Connect with Kemi Nekvapil https://www.keminekvapil.com

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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

If you have ever wondered:

💭 "Why am I switched on all day, but never actually powered up?"

💭 "Why do I feel guilty the moment I try to rest?"

💭 "Why do I keep waking at 3am, wired and exhausted at the same time?"

- this episode is for you.

In this fascinating and deeply practical conversation, Tess and Layne welcome Dr Kristy Goodwin - one of Australia's leading neuro-performance scientists, a PhD researcher, keynote speaker to Apple, Deloitte, EY and Qantas, and the author of Dear Digital, We Need to Talk.

Dr Kristy's mission is to help high performers stop paying what she calls the success tax: the moment achievement starts costing you your health, your relationships and your sanity. And she learned it the hard way. At the height of the pandemic she was coaching leaders on stress and burnout while quietly ignoring the whispers of her own body, until she woke up convulsing on her bedroom floor and was rushed to a code red ward on a ventilator. The diagnosis was not just COVID. It was years of chronic stress.

From that hospital bed, she made a pledge to stop living in ways that were incompatible with what she calls our human operating system. In this episode she translates the science into plain language: why you cannot outperform your own biology, why recovery makes you more productive, what your 3am wake-ups are really telling you, and how to empty an overflowing cortisol cup. She also shares, with remarkable honesty, the run of events that recalibrated her values, including her husband's stage four cancer diagnosis and the sudden loss of a close colleague.

This is a conversation about listening to the whispers before they become screams, and learning to live and work in a way your brain was actually designed for.

You will hear about:

Why high performers are the last to know they are burning out, and what the success tax really costs

Why you cannot outperform your human operating system, no matter how capable you are

How proactive recovery makes you 26% more productive, and what a peak-performance pit stop looks like

What your 2 to 4am wake-ups are telling you about an overflowing cortisol cup

A practical daily toolkit: phone-free mornings, delayed caffeine, piccolo breaks and protecting your focus

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Connect with Dr Kristy Goodwin https://drkristygoodwin.com

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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

If you have ever wondered:

“Why do I give my best under pressure sometimes, and completely fall apart others?”

“How do I stay calm when everything is riding on this moment?”

“Is it possible to rediscover my fire after I have walked away from the thing I worked hardest at?”

- this episode is for you.

In this episode, Tess and Layne sit down with Kieran Perkins - Olympic gold medallist, CEO of the Australian Sports Commission, and the man who won gold from lane 8 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in one of the most iconic moments in Australian sporting history.

Kieran takes us inside the hours before that race: the panic, the adrenaline hijack, the dark spiral of consequences, and the single question that flipped the switch - “How did I used to do this?” He unpacks the physiology of pressure, the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic drive, and why the only job in any high-stakes moment is to get out of your own way and let your preparation speak.

Together they explore the gap between chasing excellence and defending it, the surprising differences between elite sport and corporate performance, and the honest story of Kieran’s own health journey - losing over 30 kilos by first stopping exercise entirely.

You will hear about:

How Kieran interrupted a full amygdala hijack in the hours before an Olympic final

Why defending a title is psychologically harder than chasing one

The difference between an athlete’s finish line and a corporate one - and how to close the gap

Why Kieran believes you cannot force elite performance on someone who does not truly want to be there

How stopping exercise was the first step in Kieran’s 30-kilo transformation

The one walk through Melbourne that reminded him what presence actually feels like

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life. https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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

If you have ever wondered:

"Why do I feel like I am performing a version of myself that has nothing to do with who I really am?"

"How do I separate who I am from what I do?"

"What does it actually take to be vulnerable and still feel strong?"

- this episode is for you.

This episode airs in Men's Mental Health Week, and it is one of the most important conversations we have had. In Australia, nine people a day take their own lives. Seven of them are men. So we asked Harry Garside - Olympic boxer, author, ballet dancer, poet and one of the country's most outspoken voices on masculinity - one simple question: who are you, underneath everything you have achieved?

In this raw, honest and deeply human conversation, Tess and Layne welcome Harry Garside - the boxer who broke Australia's 33-year Olympic medal drought with bronze at Tokyo, a Commonwealth and Pacific Games gold medallist, nine-time national champion and Paris Olympian - for a conversation that goes far beyond the ring.

Harry opens up about the moment he wept on national television, telling Australia he had let them down, and asking for a few days to find his strength again. What came back was an avalanche of support. He traces it all the way back to the Reach Foundation walking into his life at sixteen and giving him the first safe space he ever had to be vulnerable as a young man.

He shares the contradiction he has lived his whole life: the conqueror he becomes in the ring, and the curious, tender six-year-old underneath who only ever wanted to be loved. He talks about a mother's post-natal depression and the quiet story it planted that he was not lovable, about chasing world-class success to earn approval, and about the part of him that still tries to blow up the good things before they can leave him. This is a conversation about taking the mask off, and trusting that who you are underneath is enough.

You will hear about:

Why so many men perform a version of themselves that slowly suffocates who they really are

How to separate your identity from your achievements, and why your worth was never in the medal

The difference between competing in fear and competing in love

Why suppressing your intensity makes it dangerous, and how to harness it instead

What it really takes to make vulnerability feel safe for men

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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

If you have ever wondered:

💭 "Why do I feel like I am performing a version of myself that is slowly suffocating me?"

💭 "How do I separate who I am from what I do?"

💭 "What does it take to stop chasing approval and start living from purpose?"

- this episode is for you.

In this raw, honest and deeply human conversation, Tess and Layne welcome Josh Piterman - the first Australian to perform both Jean Valjean in Les Miserables and the Phantom in the original West End production of Phantom of the Opera - for a conversation that goes far beyond the stage.

Josh opens up about the defining moment that launched his West End career: singing Nessun Dorma on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, a performance that found its way to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron McIntosh within two weeks. But behind the marquee billing in London was a man quietly unravelling - running on scarcity, performing for a producer's approval, and placing every measure of his worth in achievement and outcome.

He shares the full story of his three-part wake-up call: the feather (burnout), the brick (a fractured larynx mid-rehearsal), and the train (a surfboard that hit the same spot months later, silencing him for a year) - all while his father was diagnosed with brain cancer and he was performing the most emotionally gruelling role of his career.

You will hear about:

• Why burnout is inevitable for high performers who ignore the signals their body keeps sending
• How to find your authentic self through early childhood play and the bliss body
• The shift from first mountain (achievement) to second mountain (contribution) - and why it changes everything
• The science of heart coherence breathing and how it builds emotional resilience from the inside out

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

https://open.spotify.com/track/1vuf0jxcfB7Ry8qeSr7pBp

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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

If you have ever wondered:

💭 “Why does no one talk honestly about what happens to your body after having a baby?”

💭 “How do I stop feeling like sex is the last thing on my list?”

💭 “What does a healthy sex life even look like when everything in my body has changed?”

- this episode is for you.

In this honest, hilarious and genuinely eye-opening conversation, Tess and Layne welcome Heather Ford, sexologist, women's health clinician and founder of Core Restore Co., for a conversation about the body knowledge most of us were never given, and what changes when you finally have it.

Heather opens up about her own turning point: a trampoline park, a toddler, three months postpartum, and the moment that turned shame into purpose. She went back to university, completed a Master's in Women's Medicine and a Master's in Sexology, and built a practice dedicated to making complex, stigmatised medical topics genuinely approachable.

Together they move through female anatomy in a way that is equal parts educational and liberating. They cover the pelvic floor as a stress response muscle, the real structure and size of the clitoris, how breathing affects arousal, why lube is non-negotiable, and what happens to sexual health through perimenopause and menopause. Layne shares ten years of navigating menopause with honesty and grace. Tess reflects on rebuilding desire after injury.

You will learn about:

• The anatomy most of us were never taught, and why that gap costs us in confidence and connection
• How the pelvic floor connects to your jaw, your breathing, your mental health and your orgasm
• What the research actually says about sexual health, longevity, and why one orgasm a week matters
• How to have the conversations about intimacy that most couples avoid

 Links text

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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

If you have ever wondered:

💭 “Why am I working harder than ever and still feeling behind?”

💭 “How do I stop the spiral in my head from running the show?”

💭 “How do I actually perform at a high level without burning my life to the ground?”

– this episode is for you.

In this energising and practical conversation, Layne and Tess take you to high performance school. They strip back the myth that elite performers are simply more talented, more driven or born different, and reveal the real ingredient: hard work in harmony with your wellbeing, your relationships and yourself.

Layne shares hard earned lessons from 20 years as a seven time world champion and her new life in the business world, including the head knocks, the paralysed face, the broken noses she pushed through, and the cost she still pays today in her body. Tess opens up about her noisy brain, the moment she realised her thoughts were not her, and how shortening the time she spends in the struggle has been her biggest high performance edge. Together they share the science of why your nervous system fires every part of your life, why 90 minute sprints exist for a reason, and why most people schedule every meeting except the one with themselves.

You will walk away with a five step framework you can apply immediately: getting clear on what matters, protecting your energy, training your mind, building disciplined routines and recovering like it matters.

You will hear about:

The difference between high performance and hustle, and how to tell which one you are in right now

Why your state, not your skill, determines your output

The science of matching your energy to the work in front of you

How time boxing, life lists and 90 minute sprints transform overwhelm into action

Why recovery is a performance tool and not a reward, and how to build it into your daily life

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life. https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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

If you have ever wondered:

💭 “What if everything I thought I knew about my health was wrong?”

💭 “Why do I keep pushing even when I know I’m running on empty?”

💭 “How do I slow down without feeling like I’m falling behind?”

– this episode is for you.

In this candid and courageous conversation, Tess and Layne sit down with Damien Mu, CEO and Managing Director of AIA Australia, for a conversation that is anything but corporate. Damien opens up about wearing a biometric device for 48 hours and discovering his stress recovery sat at 23 out of 100 and his restorative sleep at 6 out of 100 – despite feeling like he had everything under control.

Damien takes us behind the role and into the reality: 152 flights a year, four hours of sleep, a first-generation migrant family’s work ethic running quietly in the background, and a deep-seated belief that slowing down was a sign of weakness. He shares what it took to face the data, find his why, and begin the slow, meaningful process of reprogramming a mindset that had served his ambition but was quietly costing him everything.

Together they unpack the difference between health span and lifespan, explore AIA’s 5590 model of modifiable lifestyle behaviours, and make sense of what Australia’s growing mental health claims really mean for all of us. But more than the data, this conversation is about presence, parenting, and what it feels like when your son finally leaves the card game first because his cup is full.

You will learn:

• The truth about “healthy” when the data tells a very different story
• Why the carry-on culture hides the true cost of high performance
• How a first-generation work ethic can become both a superpower and a quiet trap
• What 36 percent of AIA’s disability claims being mental health related really means for Australia
• Why genuine leadership begins with taking care of the leader first

Season 3 is brought to you by AIA, a leading life, health and wellbeing insurer supporting healthier, longer, better lives. Protect what matters most, and AIA will help you do it for life.  Complete your age calculator here https://www.aia.com.au/en/health-and-wellbeing/aia-vitality/age-calculator

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awake’s TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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

Episode Description:

💭 “Am I going crazy, or is this perimenopause?”

💭 “I’m exhausted all the time but I’m not depressed — what is actually going on?”

💭 “Do I have to grieve who I used to be to become who I want to be?”

— this episode is for you.

In this warm, honest and genuinely funny Q&A episode, Tess and Layne open the listener inbox and answer the questions you’re too afraid to Google in daylight. From the full truth about perimenopause (yes, brain fog and anxiety are often the first signs, not the hot flushes) to HRT, burnout, health span, friendship, and what it actually means to let go of an identity that no longer fits.

Layne opens up about going straight to menopause without realising it, visiting a cardiologist for what turned out to be a hormonal heart rate, and her decision to finally give HRT a full year instead of stopping and starting. Tess talks about prepping for perimenopause before it arrives, why the Flow app has become a relationship tool in her household, and the four-step energy audit she uses when someone says “I’m exhausted but I don’t know why.”

You will learn:

• The real symptoms of perimenopause that have nothing to do with hot flushes — and why so many women are misdiagnosed
• Why the story you tell about your treatment might be more powerful than the treatment itself
• How Layne’s relentless pushing through eventually led to chronic fatigue — and what the body whispers before it screams
• The difference between health span and lifespan, and why your 40s are your most important decade for building the body you’ll have in your 70s

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses

https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awake’s TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey — not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

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