Something Happened Last Week, and I Have to Tell You

I want to share something personal with you. Something that happened last Thursday that stopped me in my tracks and made me subtly cry... Not out of fear or sadness, but out of pure, overwhelming relief and pride.

My doctor called me last Thursday. And he told me I've reversed my hypothyroidism.

I stood in my kitchen, phone pressed to my ear, and I was just in complete shock. Happy tears that were slightly ugly… If you've ever been told your thyroid isn't functioning the way it should, that your body is essentially working against itself, you know what a long, frustrating, and often invisible battle it is. The exhaustion that no amount of sleep fixes. The weight that doesn't move, no matter what you do. The brain fog that makes you feel like you're wading through mud every single day. The feeling of being disconnected from the body you're living in.

That was me. For a long time, that was my normal.

And now it's not.

I Made a Decision to Choose Myself

But here's what I need you to understand. This didn't happen by accident. It didn't happen because I found some magic supplement or followed a perfect protocol I read about online. It happened because I made a decision, slowly and imperfectly, to actually start taking care of myself. Not as an afterthought. Not in the spaces left over after I'd given everything to everyone else. But as a priority.

I started walking. Not because I had to, but because being in the sun and fresh air was the one thing that made me feel like myself again. I started doing pilates, those slow, intentional movements that taught me to reconnect with my body instead of fighting it. I picked up weights with a client because strength felt like something I wanted to claim back. I began learning, really learning, how to manage stress, how to slow down when everything in me wanted to keep pushing, how to recognise the difference between being productive and being depleted.

I won't pretend it was easy or linear. There were weeks I fell off everything. Weeks where the stress crept back in, and I forgot every good habit I'd built. But I kept coming back to it. I kept choosing myself, again and again, even when it felt selfish. Even when it felt hard.

And on Thursday last week, that choice paid off in a way I didn't even know was possible.

You Are Probably Running on Empty

I'm sharing this because I know so many of you are running on empty right now. Doing everything for everyone, your work, your family, your relationships, your obligations, and leaving yourself absolutely last on the list. I know because I was you. I am you on the hard days.

But here's what I've learned: you cannot pour from an empty cup. You've heard it a thousand times, but let me say it differently. When you're depleted, everything suffers. Your creativity. Your relationships. Your health. Your dreams. The things you're working so hard toward? They need a you who is well enough to show up for them.

Taking care of yourself isn't a luxury or a reward you earn once everything else is sorted. It's the foundation. It's the thing everything else is built on.

That walk in the morning? It's not time you're stealing from your to-do list. It's the reason you'll be sharp enough to get through it. The hour of pilates? Not indulgent, essential. Slowing down, sitting in the sun, saying no to things that drain you? That's not a weakness. That's wisdom.

And your body, your brilliant, resilient, complicated body, is listening to every choice you make. It remembers when you sleep. It responds when you move. It heals when you let it.

This Is Why We Do What We Do

At The Intimate Company, everything we do is rooted in this belief: that women deserve to feel good in their bodies and in their lives. Not someday. Not once, everything else is in order. Now.

Today's phone call reminded me why that matters so deeply to me. When a woman feels well, truly, fundamentally well, she becomes unstoppable. She shows up differently for her work, for the people she loves, for the life she's building.

So wherever you are in your journey, I want to gently ask: what's one thing you could do today to choose yourself?

It doesn't have to be big. A walk. A glass of water. Ten minutes of quiet. It just has to be yours.

While I celebrate healing my thyroid, I still have a long road ahead of me. I continue to deal with high-histamine issues and still have PCOS in my left ovary. Stand by for updates. 

Lastly, you're worth it. I promise you, you are worth it.

With love, Ivana x

Founder of The Intimate Company