Welcome to the 3rd season where I’ll be talking about finding & healing the root cause of our suffering. Understanding what happened inside of us as a result of our trauma and working with primary pain, so that we can finally heal and be free from the pain of our past.
My guest this week is Leona O’Neill - Head of Undergraduate Journalism at Ulster University and advocate of better mental health in newsrooms.
Leona’s esteemed career in journalism began almost 25years ago. She has worked all over N.Ireland, fearlessly reporting on everything from rallies to presidential visits, interviewing pop stars to covering the riots on the streets of N.Ireland.
4 years ago Leona’s emotional world was torn apart when she witnessed the horrific murder of fellow journalist, Lyra McKee. In the hours and days that followed, Leona found herself struggling internally to stay in what she describes as “her reporter mode - where it was safe and nothing could touch her”.
Fast forward 1 year and she was exhausted, burnt out from work - the one thing that was meant to protect her from the internal impact of what she had witnessed. Leona was now suffering with debilitating anxiety so she courageously sought help and her journey with PTSD began. A journey that forced her to turn in, look inward and that ultimately gave her her voice back.
A truly inspirational story of the strength & power of the human condition that you won’t want to miss.
I believe that we all have the ability to heal ourselves from within. It is my mission to show you how. It is my hope that these conversations go some way to help you on your own journey, so let's begin.
With Love Shauna X