When the Strongest Person I Knew Was Gone — Me10 Des 2025

Collapse Isn’t Weakness

In today’s podcast you’ll hear the vacuum in the background, Inanda barking — real life, unfiltered.

Hi, my name is Jetaime. Once an IFBB athlete, a former Warrior Elite winner, OCR World Champion in my age group in the USA, and a provincial powerlifter. Someone recently reminded me I even did the Bear Grylls race in the UK — I had completely forgotten about that.

I was also a busy mom of three junior elite triathletes, now studying as student athletes in the USA. I thrived on being busy, on organisation, on control. Until my body and mind just unexpectedly decided to take a break. No warning. No time to prepare. And with it came life‑altering changes.

🎙️ This is my 12th podcast: When the strongest person I knew was gone – Me: Collapse isn’t weakness. Don’t expect perfect words or perfect sentences. Don’t expect perfect at all. It’s imperfect, like my life.

Yesterday’s treatment was brutal — targeted brain laser and drip. Twice I had to ask Kami to slow it down as my throat and chest tightened, nausea and heart palpitations hit, and extreme fatigue followed. By 2:45 p.m. I was in my pj’s, asleep before 8:30 p.m., waking three times through the night. At 1:30 a.m. I washed dishes, later neatened the lounge, and by 4:15 a.m. I was taking painkillers for a monster headache.

Yet here I am, up and getting ready for the day. Today marks my last psychologist appointment of the year. As much as I resisted it, Dr. Kirsten has been a blessing — steady, insightful, and patient — helping me navigate my ever‑evolving, constantly changing life.

💙 Collapse isn’t weakness. My body finally had permission to let go.🌐 Connect with me: Instagram: @jetaimeribbink Facebook: Jet’aime Ribbink X: ChangedOvernite YouTube: ChangedOvernite Podcast: ChangedOvernite (Apple / Spotify / Afripods) Substack & Medium: ChangedOvernite #ChangedOvernite #PodcastJourney #Resilience #HealingJourney #CollapseIsntWeakness #MentalHealthAwareness #Identity #GriefAndGrowth #LettingGo #Transformation #Authenticity #Storytelling

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(19)

Finding joy in the small wins

I’m not “winning” in the way I used to think about it. There’s no race, no finish line, no endless striving anymore. Instead, I’m winning in quieter, more personal ways.After a life‑altering event in ...

20 Jan 8min

Letters to My Daughters: Love, Courage, and the Journey Ahead

💌 A letter to my daughters…You are my why, my pride, and my purpose. Every word I wrote to you—about love that never makes you small, courage that sometimes whispers instead of roars, and growth that...

19 Jan 12min

Unfinished, But Enough

✨ For 11 months I waited. I thought I’d bounce back, that life would resume as normal, that I’d wake up one day and everything would be okay again. But life had other plans.I’ve had to learn that bein...

16 Jan 11min

You Can Try Forever, But I Choose Doing

✨ You can try forever and never end up doing. People throw out the word try so easily, it looks like effort, but it’s really hesitation, a soft no disguised as action. From a distance, trying looks ef...

15 Jan 12min

Enough: A Mother’s Story of Bullying, Judgment, and Choosing Courage

✨ Podcast #15: Enough — A Mother’s Story of Bullying, Judgment, and Choosing Courage ✨I’ve held onto this blog and podcast for a while, wondering if I should post it. But the more I’ve thought about i...

15 Des 202521min

Losing and finding my tribe

Yesterday was one of those rare, quiet days. No treatments, no injections, no clinic visits. Just a slow walk with Pinky and the dogs, and by 3:30 I was back in my pajamas.My girls are scattered acros...

12 Des 202512min

When It All Changed: Moving On With Resilience

✨ Episode 13 is live! In this conversation, I open up about resilience, imperfect routines, and the reality of living through change. From crooked Christmas trees to time‑loop doctor visits, it’s raw,...

11 Des 202515min