From Breakdown to Breakthrough

In this raw and uplifting episode Thesia Kambabanza — stand-up comedian, and founder of the Banza Bridge Foundation —chats to Scotland's Women for a deeply honest conversation about mental illness, healing, faith, and finding your light in the darkest of times. Thesia shares her remarkable story: from a seven-month period of isolation in her room, to multiple psychiatric hospitalisations, to becoming the "advocate for all the patients" even while being the sickest person on the ward. With warmth, humour, and hard-won wisdom, she explains how she rebuilt herself from the inside out.

She opens up about what "don't stay broken" really means, drawing on a biblical story that became the turning point in her healing journey. She speaks candidly about her experience of mania, and psychosis — and the deep stigma she faced as an African woman navigating the mental health system in Scotland.

She traces her path from retreating into her room for seven months to running a charity, performing stand-up comedy, and launching her own podcast. Along the way, she reflects on how she moved from religion to spirituality, and how discovering meditation transformed her relationship with her own mind.

Thesia also explores the personal patterns that contributed to her breakdown — including years of over giving with no boundaries — and the moment she realised that being "too nice" had come at a tremendous cost. She describes finding God not in a church, but alone in a psychiatric ward, and shares the painting she made during that time, where a flash of light in the darkness turned out to mean everything. We also hear about her comedy alter ego Foxy Noir, how she bridges African and Scottish cultures on stage, and the work of her nonprofit Banza Bridge Foundation, which is dedicated to uniting people across cultures through community and connection.

Thesia's Advice to Anyone Who Is Broken Right Now "It's okay to be selfish. Pour into yourself first. Healing is not a destination — it's a journey."

Connect with Thesia:

TikTok | Instagram | Facebook: @TesiaBanza

Charity: Banza Bridge Foundation

Join the revolution of Scotland's Women, a podcast celebrating the voices and experiences of women from all across Scotland. Each episode features inspiring, honest and unfiltered conversations with women from all walks of life - sharing their journeys, challenges, triumphs and perspectives.

These are real stories of women shaping modern Scotland - leaders, creators, dreamers and change makers - offering insight, advice and inspiration to listeners everywhere. Whether you're looking for empowerment, wisdom, or simply a connection to authentic stories, this podcast reminds us that every woman has a voice!

Visit our website and get in touch: https://scotlandswomen.com/

Follow us and join the revolution : https://www.instagram.com/scotlandswomen/

Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review.

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

Your darkest night is just the canvas — your light was always there.

What does it really mean to "don't stay broken"? In this episode, Scotland's Women chats to Thesia Kambabanza —stand-up comedian (Foxy Noir), and founder of the Banza Bridge Foundation — for an honest, moving, and very funny conversation about mental illness, faith, healing, and finding your light.

Thesia shares her journey from university breakdown to hospitalisation, from brokenness to comedy stages, and from surviving to truly thriving. She opens up about the stigma of mental health in African communities, how faith and spirituality carried her through her darkest moments, and why she believes healing is not a destination — it's a journey. And through it all, she brings a warmth and humour that will stay with you long after the episode ends.

This is a conversation about courage, self-love, and the light that was always inside you.

Full episode coming soon.

Connect with Thesia:

TikTok | Instagram | Facebook: @TesiaBanza

Charity: Banza Bridge Foundation

Join the revolution of Scotland's Women, a podcast celebrating the voices and experiences of women from all across Scotland. Each episode features inspiring, honest and unfiltered conversations with women from all walks of life - sharing their journeys, challenges, triumphs and perspectives.

These are real stories of women shaping modern Scotland - leaders, creators, dreamers and change makers - offering insight, advice and inspiration to listeners everywhere. Whether you're looking for empowerment, wisdom, or simply a connection to authentic stories, this podcast reminds us that every woman has a voice!

Visit our website and get in touch: https://scotlandswomen.com/

Follow us and join the revolution : https://www.instagram.com/scotlandswomen/

Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review.

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

What if the diet, the discipline, and the drive to be "good enough" were never the problem — and the real answer was already inside you?

In this episode, we meet Gosia — coach, competitor, mother, and founder of GLOW Online Coaching — for a conversation that is as raw as it is liberating. Gosia shares her journey from a girl told she'd never be athletic, to a bodybuilding competitor who achieved the "perfect" body and still hated herself, to a coach now helping women break free from the exhausting cycle of starting over. This isn't another episode about dieting. This is about identity, self-trust, and finally learning to listen to yourself.

Gosia opens up about the real cost of chasing perfection — the years of sacrifice, the stage day she'd worked so hard for, and the devastating anticlimax that followed. She shares what it was like to lose her period for nine months, to binge after months of restriction, and to realise that looking healthy and actually being healthy are two very different things. It was pregnancy, that finally taught her what it felt like to eat intuitively and trust her own body.

Gosia goes deep into the "stop-and-start" pattern — the all-or-nothing mindset that keeps so many women stuck, where one biscuit feels like failure and failure feels like the end. She explains why this cycle has nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with the beliefs we formed about ourselves long before we ever started a diet. She also breaks down the philosophy behind her coaching brand GLOW — Growth, Love, Ownership, Wellness — and why real, lasting change has to start from the inside out.

Contact Gosia at glowonlinecoaching.com or on Instagram at @gosia_mumscoach.

"There is always a way. Better, worse — but there is a way." If this episode stirred something in you, that's not an accident. You might not have all the answers yet — but you're already on your way.

Join the revolution of Scotland's Women, a podcast celebrating the voices and experiences of women from all across Scotland. Each episode features inspiring, honest and unfiltered conversations with women from all walks of life - sharing their journeys, challenges, triumphs and perspectives.

These are real stories of women shaping modern Scotland - leaders, creators, dreamers and change makers - offering insight, advice and inspiration to listeners everywhere. Whether you're looking for empowerment, wisdom, or simply a connection to authentic stories, this podcast reminds us that every woman has a voice!

Visit our website and get in touch: https://scotlandswomen.com/

Follow us and join the revolution : https://www.instagram.com/scotlandswomen/

Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review.

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