Hello and welcome to episode 201 of The Entrepreneurial you podcast. I’m your host Heneka Watkis-Porter. I am still reeling from the excitement of last week when I reached the milestone of 200 episodes. To celebrate I interviewed Seth Godin live and what a time that was! If you haven’t listened to it yet, go check it out. Seth is just such a wealth of inspiration. 

This week, I am doing a solo episode chronicling my 2020 experience. It is interesting because while this journey makes the COVID-19 pandemic seem like a walkinthe park, it was then that I truly leant how to live (literally and physically).
HERE ARE THREE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE:

I elaborate on my top 3 lessons learnt in 2020.
Learn about my worst 2020 moment
Hear what my 2020 high points are

EPISODE SOUND BITE
Back to 2019…
In order to go forward, let me go back a little to 2019. If you were listening to episode 147 which was published on January 7, 2020, you will recall it was titled “The Highs and Lows of 2020.”

I shared at the end of 2019 how I was slowing down, how tired I felt because of chronic insomnia and the deep, dark depression that I fell into. I also shared how I had found a cure. 

Well, after that, things went downhill from there. What happened next was something I wasn’t prepared for by any stretch of the imagination. I found myself fighting for my life on the night of January 9, 2020. Remember how I told you that I was taking sleeping pills and then I discovered marijuana tea? Well about 10 pm this night in question I drank some marijuana tea. I boiled maybe 1.5 grams for an extended time in milk to get the full THC effect. But I totally forgot that the previous night I had taken Zopiclone to help me to sleep. Apparently, it was still in my system coupled with the very potent THC from the marijuana…a deadly combination!

Somehow (I don’t know how) I made it through the night. The following morning I got 4 bags of drip + valium and injection from the doctor as they did everything to get the drug out of my system. Except being traumatized for days, all went back to normal.

 
This is How 2020 Started
I continued life as I knew it – finishing up my 5th book, Podcast Power: The Quick-Start Guide To Launching And Leveling-Up Your Brand; I traced to the US to do 3 major speaking engagements (ATD Tech Knowledge, Podcast Movement Evolutions and PodFest multi-Media Expo).

So let’s fast track to April 1, 2020. You see, April 1, 2020, began as an ordinary day. I got up early, said a prayer (I think) and then went on to do a myriad of interviews on both sides of the mic, i.e. being a guest on a few shows and interviewing guests for mine. It was a long day, I felt tired but I knew I would have time to rest after my last interview which was scheduled for 8:00 pm, OR SO I THOUGHT!

I am strong, resilient and determined so I should be able to get through this final live interview. BUT it was not to be. In the middle of the live recording there began the first of many health challenges. I began feeling as though I was passing out. I had to stop immediately. Since it was night and the curfew in Jamaica had begun that very evening, I consulted with a telemedical professional. Based on the symptoms I was experiencing, he promptly made a referral to Andrews Hospital, all this while every breath seems to be leaving my body (and yeah got stopped in the curfew too by the cops).

From there, all went down there from a medical standpoint. I have seen so many doctors within this time, including a Psychiatrist. Some of the symptoms included,  but were not limited to the below:

…depression triggered the physical situation which then caused anxiety.

Some of the physical symptoms: