A Wake Up Call

If you have ever wondered:

“I feel fine, so why would I book a check-up?”

“Is one glass of wine really affecting my sleep and next day?”

“Which health checks am I actually meant to be having at my age?”

This episode is for you.

This week on Ask the GP, Layne and Tess put Dr Preeya Alexander, practising GP, author and AIA health expert, in the hot seat with the health questions high performers Google most and act on least.

Preeya starts with the pattern she sees every week: people coast while they feel fine, put off prevention because there is no symptom forcing them to act, then arrive when something is already wrong. Her message is simple: don’t wait for symptoms, and if one does show up, go early.

The conversation covers AI and where it helps or fails as a health tool, bowel cancer screening, gut health and the SMILES trial, GLP-1 medications including Ozempic, unregulated peptides, alcohol, sleep and the health checks people commonly miss.

You’ll hear about:

Why prevention matters even when you feel completely healthy.
Where AI health advice can help, where it gets things wrong, and the risks of treating it like a doctor or therapist.
Bowel cancer screening: two pinpricks, microscopic blood, free screening from 45, opt-in from 40, and why so many Australians never return the kit.
The SMILES trial and how a Mediterranean-style diet improved symptoms of depression.
Gut health and Preeya’s simple advice: feed your gut bugs a rainbow.
GLP-1 medications: who they can help, where the risks are, and concerns around unregulated peptides.
Alcohol and sleep: Australia’s guideline of no more than 10 standard drinks per week, why alcohol can help you fall asleep but disrupt sleep later, and practical ways to drink less.
The checks people often miss: heart disease risk assessment from 45, cervical screening every five years, breast screening from 50, bowel screening from 45 and conversations around PSA testing.

Preeya also shares her own non-negotiables: colour and variety on the plate, regular movement and protecting her sleep.

The episode closes with the AIA Do It For Life toolkit and one simple challenge: choose one action this week and start there.

Guest:
Follow Dr Preeya Alexander on Instagram @doctor.preeya.alexander
Listen to Preeya’s podcast Happy to Health and hear her on ABC’s Health Report
Mentioned in the episode:
AIA Vitality Age Calculator
https://www.aia.com.au/en/health-and-wellbeing/aia-vitality/age-calculator
National Bowel Cancer Screening Program
https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/national-bowel-cancer-screening-program
The SMILES trial, Deakin University Food and Mood Centre
Kate Save on Food as a Performance Tool, Episode 42
Join the Awake Collective Community
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales
Get Awake’s book Know Yourself Grow Yourself
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
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Sponsor the podcast or book a workshop:
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer
The A Wake Up Call podcast is for general informational, educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, psychological or therapeutic advice.

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

This episode discusses eating disorders, weight-loss medication and alcohol. Nothing discussed is individual medical advice. Speak to your own GP about screening, medication and your personal health.

If you or someone you know needs support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 4673.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have ever wondered:

“I work with negative people and it really affects how I feel. How do I stop letting them influence my emotions?”

“I am in my 50s heading into my 60s. How do I stay strong for the people I love as the years tick by?”

“What do you do when things keep going wrong? Not one setback, the whole pile-on, all at once.”

- this episode is for you.

This week A Wake Up Call is a solo listener Q&A, Part 4, and the thread running through all three questions is energy. Layne and Tess start with the colleague who drains the room: why emotions are contagious, why an emotion lasts about 90 seconds in the body but the story you wrap around it can last for years, and the four default responses to a dream thief (fight, flight, freeze and the one nobody names, fawn). Layne owns hers. Then the tools: check your own energy before you walk in, time the hard conversation for when you are clear, say how it lands instead of pointing the finger, and put down the luggage that was never yours to carry.

The second question is about ageing strong. Tess sets out the decade rule (what you do in your 40s hits you in your 50s), the I Am mantra as a mental fitness weight, and the overhead-locker test for the life you want at 70. Layne adds the one-gap-at-a-time rule and a shout-out to Tess's mum, adventure granny, who changed everything in her 70s after one episode of this podcast.

The third question pulls a story out of Tess she has never told on the show: the bladder test she could not pass in the spinal ward, the radical acceptance that finally moved her forward, and a cafe, a jug of water and the greatest act of love she has felt. Layne answers with her own pile-on, chronic fatigue two years before her first world title, and the fear that lit the flame. The reframe they land on together: how is this happening for me, not why.

You will hear about:
Why emotions are contagious, and the 90-seconds-versus-years rule for the stories we wrap around them.
Fight, flight, freeze or fawn: how to spot your default response to a dream thief and step out of it.
Two energy tools for a negative colleague: fill your own cup first, and hold the hard conversation when you are clear, not depleted.
“When you say this, it makes me feel this way”: finding your voice without blame, and why hurt people hurt people.
The decade rule, the I Am mantra and the overhead-locker test for staying strong into your 60s and 70s.

Links text

Mentioned in the episode:
Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones (Netflix documentary) https://www.netflix.com/title/81214929
Dr Stacy Sims on A Wake Up Call (Episode 13) - the episode that got Tess's mum lifting weights.

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

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.

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.
This episode discusses a period of depression and suicidal thoughts. If you or someone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24 hours) or visit lifeline.org.au.

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

If you have ever wondered:

“How does someone come out of the worst thing that ever happened to them more grateful, not less?”

“What am I supposed to do with myself once I have finally got the thing I was chasing?”

“Why does money stress leak into everything else, even when the numbers are not that bad?”

- this episode is for you.
Tristan Knowles OAM has been given his odds twice. At nine he lost his leg to childhood cancer. At twelve he found out that the 50/50 his parents and his doctor gave him when the cancer came back in his lung was a white lie, and that his real chance of surviving had been closer to 5 per cent. This week he sits down with Layne and Tess to talk about what that does to a person, and what he built out of it.

It runs from a foam cover cut off a prosthetic leg at 17, to gold in Beijing and the email from his coach that was waiting when the team got home, to ranking themselves across 30 separate parts of their sport so that being the best would not make them soft. Six Paralympic Games, a gold medal, back to back world titles, and a definition of success that has nothing to do with winning.

Then it goes somewhere nobody expects a Paralympian to go: money. Tristan has spent more than a decade in financial advice, and he makes the case that how you handle money quietly decides how much energy you have for everything else. Financial stress and mental health run in both directions, and most people never touch either because they think it is complicated.

You will hear about:
● The 50/50 his parents and his doctor agreed on before he ever asked, and the real number he learned at twelve
● Why cutting the foam cover off his prosthetic leg at 17 was the most liberating thing he has done
● The three questions he uses to define success instead of winning, and why the result is not one of them
● The email waiting after Beijing gold, and how ranking themselves on 30 parts of the game kept the team hungry
● What financial stress actually costs, and the simple split he gives people who think money is too complicated
● The question from Tuesdays with Morrie that he put to Layne and Tess live, and why everyone answers it the same way

Guest links

Tristan Knowles: https://tristanknowles.com.au
Follow Tristan on Instagram @tristanknowles09
Support Australian Paralympians (virtual seat, donations are tax deductible): https://www.paralympic.org.au

Awake links

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

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:

“How can two people hear exactly the same thing and walk away with completely different stories?”

“Why does disagreeing online get personal so fast?”

“What do I actually do when something I read online gets under my skin?”

- this episode is for you.

A few weeks ago Layne and Tess posted a 49-second clip from the podcast. They thought they were sharing a conversation about performance and what it was like to compete in conditions that were never built for you. Instead it reached more than 400,000 people, picked up 41,000 likes, 2,000 shares, 2,000 saves and almost 200 comments, and the comments turned into something none of them expected: a live social experiment in how people hear, judge and defend.

So this week they turn the comments off and turn the conversation on. Layne walks through what actually surprised her, which was not the disagreement but the vitriol, and how quickly people stopped arguing with her and started attacking each other. Tess reads out what came back, from the woman sent to the worst break so the blokes could keep the good waves, to the claim that corporate Australia still parachutes in a female CEO when a business is already sinking. Together they pull apart why perception hardens into narrative, why narrative hardens into belief, and why most of us would rather be right than happy.

The back half is the useful part for anyone leading a team. Advocacy beats mentorship. Confirmation bias is usually cheaper to fix than hostility. And the three things every performer needs, something to believe in, someone to believe in and someone who believes in them, are exactly what women’s surfing was missing in the 1990s and exactly what it has now. It closes with the AIA Do It For Life toolkit for the moment something online gets under your skin, and the three questions worth asking before you type anything at all.

You will hear about:
What 49 seconds and almost 200 comments revealed about identity, leadership and judgement, and why turning the comments off was the right call
Why people defend identity instead of facts, how confirmation bias quietly decides who gets the seat, and where the scarcity mentality comes from
Advocacy over mentorship: “don’t teach us how to surf, show us where the best waves are”, and what real allyship sounds like at work
The money myth in sport: whether bigger audiences justify bigger pay, why the flights do not cost less for Serena Williams, and what Layne would have done with pay equity instead of four part-time jobs
The AIA Do It For Life toolkit for getting triggered online: why am I triggered, what do I need to decompress, get curious about your response rather than the comment, and the three questions - is it true, is it kind, is it necessary

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 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
Bring more energy, motivation and connection to your team wakeup@awakeacademy.com.au

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.

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. Help is always available, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text on 0477 13 11 14.

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

If you have ever wondered:

“How do people actually do hard things when I can barely find the energy for mine?”

“Why does every achievement seem to cost me so much?”

“Is pulling back going backwards, or is it the smartest move I can make?”

- this episode is for you.

Sam Gash was a corporate lawyer when she decided to test the limits of what she was capable of. That decision made her the first woman, and the youngest person at the time, to complete the legendary Four Deserts Grand Slam: 1,000 kilometres across some of the world's harshest environments. She has since crossed India on foot to support education initiatives, traversed Nepal's Great Himalaya Trail, played Australian Survivor and become an AIA ambassador. But this conversation is not about running.

Layne and Tess sit down with Sam for a conversation about what it really takes to keep moving when life gets real hard: where unwavering self-belief actually comes from, why she stopped waiting to be invited and backed herself first, and what she learned when a natural disaster left her stranded for 12 days on a 50-day expedition. Sam is disarmingly honest about the cost side of achievement, the invisible rules she is still uncovering, and why she now walks on stage without a bow to put on the story.

At its heart this is an episode about capacity and self-leadership: honouring the person you are today rather than the person you were a year ago, finding an easefulness to effort, and using the power of the pause to catch your default settings before they run your day.

You will hear about:
Why resilience is being adaptive, quicker and with greater ease, and why the reflection after a hard thing (not the hard thing itself) is what builds capacity
What the Four Deserts Grand Slam actually involves, and what carrying everything on your back teaches you about your real baseline
Why you should not wait to be invited: how Sam sponsored herself when nobody else would, and why action builds confidence rather than the other way around
The 12 days Sam spent stranded on the Great Himalaya Trail, and how it rewired what success and finishing mean to her
The AIA Do It For Life toolkit: the power of the pause, uncovering your invisible rules, and closing the gap between the person at home and the person in the outside world

Links text

Connect with Sam Gash https://www.samanthagash.com
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

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.