Harri is an adventurer, researcher in preventative medicine, and women's health advocate who has spent her life choosing the scary path over the false comfort of security. From solo travel adventures that left her face-to-face with a black widow spider in a steep Thailand ravine to driving a 4x4 completely solo into the desert of Oman, she has continuously tested the limits of her capacity to grow as a person.
But living a life of adventure became a massive hurdle when she began experiencing severe endometriosis symptoms. For years, she suffered from debilitating full-body pain, chronic fatigue, and severe depression. She had to navigate a deeply flawed medical system where women's pain is routinely dismissed, spending two years on a surgical waiting list while being offered standard treatments like birth control and chemical menopause that severely impacted her mental health.
Now, with a qualification in women's health and hormones, she is helping women understand the "language of their biology". She teaches women how to track their menstrual cycles and navigate the four phases—menstruation, follicular, ovulation, and luteal—to take back control of their well-being. She is a passionate advocate for self-advocacy, helping women find their voice so they can fight to be heard in a healthcare system that too often ignores them.
In this episode, we delve into Harri’s incredible story of resilience and self-discovery. We discuss the gender health gap and medical research disparities, how our hormonal phases affect our mood and athletic performance, the biological purpose behind our brain’s fear signals, and why we must refuse to define our lives by our highest pain days.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
- 00:00 – Introduction: Choosing the scary path over comfort and security
- 03:15 – Lost in Thailand: Facing a black widow spider alone in a ravine
- 08:20 – The "Airport Panic" and the raw reality of solo travel
- 14:10 – The Gender Health Gap: Why women's pain is dismissed in medicine
- 17:30 – Dealing with the daily, debilitating reality of endometriosis
- 21:50 – The diagnostic struggle: Waiting years for surgery and medical answers
- 31:15 – Connecting hormones and mental health: Releasing the "me problem" shame
- 41:30 – Learning the language of your biology: The four menstrual phases
- 64:00 – Reframing fear: Why your brain's self-sabotage is actually self-preservation
- 75:20 – Reclaiming identity: Driving a 4x4 solo into the Oman desert
- 82:15 – The ultimate advice: Why you must not define yourself by your highest pain days
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
On releasing the self-blame of hormone fluctuations: "When I finally realized that that was the thing influencing my depression, I was like, it's almost like I'm not broken. It wasn't a me problem. It was a biology problem... Years of thinking I was the problem."
On managing chronic conditions and keeping your spark: "Don't define yourself by your highest pain days. It's so easy to kind of set our capacity to manage the worst days... but you've got to find a way to do the things that you love still... You are capable of this."
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
- Connect with Harri: Contact info will be shared on our social media channels.
- Chloe Brennan: Listen to Chloe's previous episode on identity and mindset here.
- Sign up for the newsletter to get your weekly dares: www.shewhodareswins.com
- Join the Dare Club community
🎙️ WANT MORE?
- Chloe Brennan – discusses identity, mindset, and merging your hyper-driven side with your fun side:
- Amanda Perry – discusses unlocking ADHD in business, late diagnosis, survival, and triumph:
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