Episode 31: Faith, Hope, and Lyme Disease - Janna Johnson
On this week’s episode of Pain to Passion Live, I interviewed my amazing and beautiful friend, Janna Johnson, who has an incredible story of overcoming Lyme Disease.
I had to hold back the tears listening to Janna share her story - she was so real, vulnerable, and relatable, and I think most of us will be able to find ourselves in pieces of her story. She shared what it was like becoming ill with an invisible disease, and the crazy process of even being able to figure out exactly what was going on. Once she learned she had Lyme disease, there was so much to figure out and so much suffering to endure along the way. At times, she felt like she was losing herself and became hopeless. But she chose to press into her faith, to lean into prayer and to choose to change the narrative and believe that she was going through this suffering for a reason. She knew that if she had to go through this that she wanted it to be so that she could help someone else in the future.
Her story is truly so beautiful, and to see where she’s ended up - helping others who suffer by teaching them how to heal using the nutrition they eat and up-leveling their mindsets - is incredibly inspiring.
Soak in this goodness - it will stick with you for a long time!!
More about Janna:
As a Holistic Nutritionist & Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, I have the training & knowledge to help others feel their very best, but my biggest teacher was overcoming & healing myself from Lyme disease! Food is your medicine & mindset is EVERYTHING!
Connect with Janna:
Instagram - @revivebyjanna & @revivewithjanna
Podcast - Revive with Janna
Website - revivebyjanna.com
Connect with Gabi:
Instagram - @gabiruth
TikTok - @gabiruth84
Facebook - facebook.com/@gabiruth84
Website - gabiruth.com
(TRANSCRIPT) Ep. 31: Faith, Hope, & Lyme Disease - Janna Johnson
Note: Transcript is created by AI. Please excuse any errors.
Gabi: Hello, my friends. Welcome back to Pain to Passion Live, guys. I am so happy because right now, I get to talk to my beautiful, amazing friend, Janna Johnson. I love this woman. She is incredible. We got to meet each other through Amberly Lagos Mastermind, and I just feel so blessed to have her in my life and you guys are going to love her.
So, hi Janna. Thank you so much for being here with us today.
Janna: Hi. Thank you for having me. I'm honored to be on your.
Gabi: Oh, I'm so, so happy you're here. And I know that we're gonna get so much out of this today, . Um, I would love for you to just kind of tell us like who you are, where you live, a little bit about what you do, and then we'll.
Dig a little deeper.
Janna: Yeah, so I'm a Texas native and I currently reside in Austin, Texas. I've lived here for 18 years. I love it. I don't love the allergies, but I love Austin and I am a single mom of three. And I am currently engaged to get married in June. Yay. And, um, I am very blessed and lucky. I get to do what I love, and that is a nutritionist.
Um, I'm a holistic nutritionist, integrative nutrition, health coach, um, and just a wellness warrior. You know, I through my own battles and overcoming the impossible, um, Lyme disease and autoimmune diseases. You know, that's where I found my calling. Hmm. And you know, I went from accounting to, to nutrition, so
Wow. Never thought I would be a nutritionist at all. But, you know, sometimes we find our, our callings, um, when we least expect it. Right.
Gabi: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, that leads us right into your story. First of all, I don't think I knew that you were in accounting before that. Like what a jump , and you really must have become so passionate to make that big of a shift.
So I think just without any further ado, like just tell us this story of Lyme, like you said, overcoming the impossible and how all of this has played out in your.
Janna: Yeah, so this has been, um, it's been 11 years back in 2012, and I had my two oldest kids who are now 14 and 12. They were, um, about three and one and, um, I woke up with a, with a rash on my leg, and I had no idea what Lyme disease was.
I'd never heard of it, so, um, I just was like, you know, I was a country girl. We lived out in the country, and I was like, oh, there's a rash on my leg. It didn't itch, didn't hurt. So I was like, eh, it'll go away. Um, and you know, Within a week or so, it faded away. And I did have like a, I did get a really bad headache, um, and I did feel kind of just like really tired.
But I mean, you're a mom. You know how it is when you, when you don't feel your best, you just chalk it up to your mom and you're sleep deprived and you're stressed out and all you do is take care of your kids and you don't really think about, maybe there's something I need to look into. Right. So, um, it went away, it faded and I never heard of it.
You know, my, my mom was actually there in town and she, you know, she didn't know what it was either. And, and, you know, the mistake I made was I didn't go with the doctor, but within six months I started to just get a lot of symptoms I'd never had before. Um, the brain fog, I got really, really bad. Um, and depression was kind of creeping in.
My anxiety was at an all time height I was having really. Um, menstrual cramps and things around my cycle. Tired all the time, fatigued and just started to have a lot of gut issues. Like my body wasn't responding the same to the, to the same foods I'd always had. And so within six months, that was April, 2012.
And then by that fall I pretty much, um, my body pretty much shut. Um, I'd been to a few doctors and was just told that, um, you know, it was Epstein Bar virus and my hormones were a little imbalanced. Um, and I had a lot of tests run. Um, but you know, that's really all it showed. Um, and then right before Thanksgiving, um, I remember I was in a grocery store and I, I i's like, I didn't know where I.
Oh my gosh. And I felt very lost and I was scared to death. And you know, I, at the time I had no idea what was making me feel that way, but it was that the brain fog was so intense and the inflammation in my brain, it was, it was like I just. There was no function there. Wow. And so that's when things took, took a turn for the worst.
And, um, I had to, I had to get a full-time nanny. I couldn't take care of my kids. Um, I was a controller of a few different entities and I, I could, couldn't do numbers. And um, I started to go to a ton of different doctors, endocrinologist, hormone, you name it. Found out I had hypothyroidism, and I'm thinking, okay, great.
I'm gonna take this little pill every day. And I'm gonna feel fine. Mm-hmm. , all that's not at all what happened? Um, so long story short, this went on for about a year and a half of going to doctors. Nobody knew what it was. In fact, one doctor I went to actually test tested for Lyme disease. And you know, I learned afterwards that the conventional testing for Lyme disease is, is, it's not accurate at all.
Oh, wow. Um, in fact, I got a, a negative one twice. and I finally found functional medicine and, and it resonated with me because it finds the root cause. And you know, at the time I wasn't a health nut. I thought I was healthy, like I was gluten free. Right? I worked out all the time. I thought I was healthy, but I, I wasn't, right.
I was consuming a lot of sugars and dairies and just, , you know, the things that you, that you think are healthy, that are not mm-hmm. . And so when I found a functional medicine doctor, um, they did, um, the functional tests for Lyme disease along with the host of other tests. And I was very sick with Lyme disease.
I had like eight to 10 strands of it. Wow. And because it had been a year and a half, I had chronic lime, finding out what it was, was like a, a huge weight off my shoulders, but, When I started to look up Lyme disease and saw that, you know, there's really not a specific cure for it. There's not a, a one one, um, thing fits all for getting well mm-hmm.
um, and the horror stories, I mean, it was like a punch in the gut. Right? And at the same time, life hasn't stopped for around me. You know, I've got two little kids still and, you know, a, a husband who's an ex-husband now who. Didn't understand it at all. Right. Yeah. And, and people judged me because, you know, I looked fine on the outside.
Mm-hmm. , I can look at pictures now and be like, oh gosh, I, I, did I look sick? Mm-hmm. , it's everyone else, you know? And it was nothing visible they could see. And so when they don't see that and they just hear you say like, I don't feel good, and they have anxiety, it's just kinda like, oh my gosh, stop complaining.
and I realized really quickly that with invisible disease you just learned to say that you're fine because people don't really care and they don't understand. Yeah. And maybe they, maybe they care, but they just don't get it. Right. They don't want to hear it. It's like, I don't know what to do for you to make you feel better.
You know, you look fine to me, and you know, this was by people very close to me who are supposed to be close friends, family members. There's an emotional side to living with an invisible disease. That's absolutely brutal. And Lyme disease kills a lot of people, and it's not the disease itself, it's that they take their own lives because it is a very hard disease to live with.
What it does to you mentally and emotionally. Some people with Lyme disease, you know the bacteria, it's a little corkscrew shape. Bacteria barrels down into your tissues. For some people, they just get a lot of muscular pains and things like that. For me, it infected my brain and my symptoms were just unbearable.
And so, This is all new to me. Right. And I got these little kids and at this point the depression had set in so much I just didn't wanna live anymore. And I would go to bed at night and tell my then husband, I'd pray I don't wake up in the morning. Oh my gosh. And he's like, why would you say that? You got kids thinking about?
And I was like, exactly. They deserve better. I hope I don't wake up so I don't have to feel this pain for another second. I haven't had one second of reprieve in 730 days and I can't live this way anymore. Mm-hmm. and my, my worst moment rock bottom, that was a, a little bit of a game changer for me was probably when I was in my s u v by myself.
I didn't drive much at the time. But I was still kind of expected to work a little bit, and so I was on an overpass and I just realized I could just veer off and end it. Yeah. And I didn't because I didn't wanna hurt the, the innocent people. And that realization happened because I realized I couldn't remember my kids' names or where I lived, or my own address.
Oh my gosh. And I prayed. I felt like I prayed 24 7. and I just felt like I wasn't getting any answers and that this was just how it was gonna be for me. You know, this is my death sentence, basically. Mm-hmm. . And, you know, when I went home that day, Gabby, I just fell on my knees and I prayed and I cried and I said, you know, God, if you're, if you're taking me through this to help one more person, bring me through it, but I need your help here.
Yeah. And. . You know, just to backtrack a little bit, I kind of grew up in a very critical environment where I never felt good enough and I was criticized for everything. And you know, my family criticized people when they left, and so I kind of was a little bit of a negative thinker. because I wasn't raised like in a positive household.
Mm-hmm. and my family wasn't there for me. My, my husband at the time wasn't really there for me. Um, and I was just so alone. And so in that moment on my knees when I was crying, I just asked God, like, please just help me out. Father, you helped me. Help me out. And I will go, I'll go through this, but I need you to show me what to.
Wow. And I didn't realize that I do now, but at that moment I was having a mindset shift change. And I remember getting up and I had a lot of body dysmorphia issues and things, and I, I physically couldn't look in a mirror. Hmm. And I got up and I went and looked in my mirror and I said, F you? And I was like, no more, no more.
From this day forward, I'm not gonna look up the negative stuff. I'm not gonna focus. Everything I'm feeling, I'm gonna focus on what I wanna feel. I'm gonna focus on what's there in my future. Wow. And I got this little box. I had like little shoebox and I felt like at the time I was kind of being guided to do this.
It wasn't something I had done before or knew somebody that did it. And I got little pieces of paper, tore 'em up, and I wrote down little prayers. But my prayers. Thank you for not, will you Heal me, God, but thank you for healing me. Wow. Thank you for, and I, and I prayed for everything that I wanted that was going to happen.
I just started to say it's going to happen, and I put 'em in that little box and I put it up and it's still at the top of my closet, . And, and I started to do that in front of my kids, you know? Mm-hmm. . And at this time they were a little older and you know, I, they were like, I want a prayer box, mom. . When I made that mindset shift change, I started to just view everything very differently and I started to view it as, this isn't a death sentence.
This isn't me. I am not lying. I am not depressed. This is what I'm going through. Mm-hmm. , I'm being sent through this for something. I don't know what it is. But the Lord must think I'm pretty strong to give me this battle. Right? Yeah. You're like, he doesn't give me anything I can't handle. I'm like, male, you think I'm stronger than, than I do
Mm-hmm. . And you know, at that moment things really started to change. I started to just focus on myself and, and I started to, to do sp very specific things for Lyme disease to kill it. Um, and I got my doctor's approval on it. It was taking essential oils. I'd done a lot of studying on it, and I didn't realize that during this entire time, Gabby, I, I was, I was, I was kind of becoming a nutritionist in a sense.
Mm-hmm. and. You know, when I realized, you know, that food was medicine, that was the ultimate game changer for me. Um, and that's such like saying it now. I'm like, that just seems like that's how it's always been for me, right? Like, that's normal. But at the time I'm like, food can't make that big of a difference.
Is it really gonna make a difference if I heal my gut and stop eating sugars? My gut really not well. Like, is, are these things really gonna help? Like, come. , like I think, I think my doctor wants me to have a nutritionist and they want more money, you know? Mm-hmm. . But when I started to make those changes and really started to learn about that part of the body and how food is either your medicine or poison that on top of the essential oils I, I was taking to kill the line bacteria, that was just a game changer for me.
Wow. And I started to get well, and as I started to get well, I got stronger. and I just got this fire litt inside of me that was just like, I'm gonna make it. And, and I got this right. And I hadn't had a fire litt inside of me long time. Wow. And my kids started to see it. And then I got to where I was working 40, 50 hours a week.
Again, I don't need a nanny, you know? Mm-hmm. . And, I mean, I got my life back. Wow. And I knew very quickly. What my, what my purpose on in this life was. Um, and it wasn't something I had to think about. I just knew it. And people just kind of gradually started to come to me for health advice and nutrition and what to do and, you know, being a controller, for me anyways, counting Born is boring.
Right? . Mm-hmm. . And I'm like, I'm, I'm really great with numbers, but that's not my, that's not my purpose here. Okay. And, I went, I went to nutrition school, health coaching school and I just dove into that. And you know, it brings me so much joy to just help other people and, you know, to, to show people their true potential and that they can do it themselves and to be their wellness advocate.
And, you know, that wasn't enough for me though, cuz I was like, I got bigger dreams. And so, you know, for me it was always hard for me to take a chance on myself, right? Yeah. Um, because there's all that fear and that self doubt that we put on ourselves, like, you're gonna look stupid, you're not gonna make it.
That's not gonna work. They're gonna make fun of you. Nobody's gonna listen to it. And I'm just like, I can't do this anymore. I wouldn't talk to my daughter or my best friend this way. And I was like, I have this dream. I wanna have my, my podcast, I wanna write a book. I wanna speak. I just know there's something there for me so big cuz I wanna help so many people.
And so last August when I said yes to myself and everything happened right with with Amberley and meeting you and all these wonderful girls in the mastermind. And I just realized, I learned so much in that moment in August because people were like, well what did you do different? I'm like, I just said yes to myself.
Yeah. I started to believe in myself and every single thing that was like I was scared to do my biggest fear, it meant I'm coming and I'm gonna do it. And that's not always an easy decision to make cuz there's still sometimes like, you know, our big top coming up in March. where I'm like, Ooh, I get scared to death.
Wake up at night. And I'm like, oh, I'm gonna make a fool of myself. What am I doing? But that's just the fear. Yeah. And sometimes
I feel like when you have the most fear and you're the most scared, that's probably what you're supposed to be doing, right?
Gabi: Mm-hmm. .
Janna: And you know, it's so important to surround ourselves with like-minded people.
you know, I never would've met you. Um, and all these other amazing women who truly care about each other. Mm-hmm. , I think women these days tear each other down too much and it makes me really sad seeing it with like my, my 12 year old girl and how they are, how they can be at school. Yeah. And, you know, I really just feel like women should empower women and support one another.
You know, help each other go after our dreams and cheer each other on. Um, and you know, it's, it's been huge for me to, you know, to be on a podcast like yours, share my story, um, have my own podcast, and really just help as many people as possible. Because, you know, I wished when there was a time when I was so sick with Lyme disease that I wanted that source of inspiration.
And it wasn't there. Mm-hmm. and I, I was just like, there's gotta be somebody, somebody that's felt as sick as I have that got well and, and I couldn't find it. And I realized that I'm supposed to be that source of hope and inspiration when it comes to something like Lyme disease and living with an invisible disease.
Mm-hmm. and teaching people how to use food as medicine. Teaching people that you can do everything perfect, but if your mindset's not in the right, in in the right, um, space, none of it matters because your mindset is everything. And I think that's our biggest power, honestly. Yeah. Anyways, I just rambled on and on.
No, that was so powerful. Like I was so moved. Honestly. Yes. About me and it's like, yes. An hour in
Gabi: . No, it's so good. And I'm so glad that you shared all of that because I think at least in some part of that story, almost everyone will be able to relate at
some point. Um, something that really stood out to me because I'm someone who has dealt.
Chronic pain who has dealt with invisible illness. I related so much to what you're saying, like people just don't get it. You just start to say you're fine and you move on because it almost hurts more to try to express it to someone and they're like blankface, like Absolutely. Okay. Then just to keep it inside.
Janna: They don't understand. They don't know what to say. They're like, she looks fine. She's negative and complain. Yeah.
Gabi: Or, or even like, but you're here at this event or Oh, yeah. At this dinner, yeah. Or talking to me like It seems like you're coherent and you're okay.
Janna: So , there were so many times I struggled. My absolute worst symptom.
um, was the brain fog. Mm-hmm. , brain fog. There's a tons of different stages of brain fog. Yeah. There can be the like light stage you get when you, like, you feel when you have a head cold. And my brain fog was so bad. It was on the worst level. I was absolutely dealing with confusion. Dera realization. Most people haven't even heard of derealization.
It's literally where you feel like nothing's real. You're not even alive. You know, I used to pinch myself hard. To see if I could feel pain. Wow. Because I couldn't feel anything. Right. Um, you know, I would look at my kids and be like, I, I know I love them. I just don't feel it. I couldn't feel joy, I couldn't feel happiness.
And so when you're in that constant mindset struggle and you can't do or take anything to get rid of it quick, um, and life around you doesn't change. And you, like you said, you go to these social things cuz you, there's still things you have to go to, whether kids', birthday parties, whatever. Right. People have no idea how much you're struggling to make it look like you got it together.
Yeah. When you don't, when all you wanna do is crawl in a hole with a straight jacket. Mm-hmm. . And that's what it felt like for me. Um, and it was pure isolation and loneliness. Nobody understood it. You know, it'd be like, well, why don't you just go take Prozac? I'm like, really? Oh my gosh, . Okay. Oh no. That one was said to me by family.
Yeah, I believe it. I believe it. . Um, yeah. So whether someone's dealing with an invisible disease or not, people are, people are struggling these days mentally and emotionally. Mm-hmm. , there's so much pressure out there with, um, social media. This, this idea of perfectionism that nobody can achieve. Mm-hmm.
there's one perfect person and we all know who that is, right? Yeah. Um, and that's it. And you know, it makes me say to my stomach sometimes when I look at some of the stuff that our, our youth deals with, I see it with my two oldest or 12 and 14, and there's just way too much pressure put on people, um, to be perfect and.
You know, always seem like you're busy and you've got it together. And you know what? Screw all that. Everybody does the best that they can do for that day. And it might not be yesterday's best or tomorrow's best. All you can do is the best that you can do for today. Absolutely. And you know, I try to teach my kids that, um, because the, the sense of competition.
is unlike anything I ever had to deal with. You know, I was born in 81, so in the eighties, nineties growing up, uh, you know, there was competition, but not like it is today at all. Mm-hmm. And I really think social media can, is a, is a major contributor to that. Yeah. Um, and so, you know, anyways, my, my point was that.
you know, whether you're dealing with invisible disease or, or any sort of illness, um, there's so many people that are dealing with, with mental and emotional problems and that are scared to reach out. Yeah. Or they feel like something's wrong with them. You know, people will make fun of them. They don't wanna seem weak and.
You know, so I'm grateful for, you know, people like you, um, and Amber Lee and you know, with what I do to help shine a light on that. Mm-hmm. , you know, it's not just your health. People think health and they think it's all food and, and, and exercise, but it's not. Your mental and emotional health is absolutely everything.
Yeah. And that should be the priority, right? Mm-hmm. , I feel like it could be, it's the foundation and everything else falls into place.
Gabi: No, I completely agree. Absolutely. Um, I'm curious what you would say to someone who might be listening, who has a loved one who deals with chronic pain or an invisible illness and wants to do better.
Yeah. With communicating with that person. Yeah. What advice would you give to them?
Janna: That's a great question. And the what not to do is just to say It's okay. You're fine. You'll get well, tomorrow's a better day. that's brushing it off. You know, all people are ever really looking for is empathy. Totally. And you don't have to understand what somebody is feeling.
You don't have to have experienced it before to just say something like, I can't imagine. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. I am here for you. I don't know what to do. , I don't know what your, what it feels like. Please tell me how I can help. Mm-hmm. and sometimes that right there, it's like a hug.
It's like your, your safety blanket and comfort and, you know, there might be better advice out there, but those were the things that I just wanted to hear. Mm-hmm. on my deepest, darkest days. Mm-hmm. . And I didn't have that from one person. Mm. Not one person. . And I say that because that shines a light on how hard it is to live with somebody that has an invisible disease, because there's no way to understand it.
It seems so foreign, right? It's not like you see me on crutches or I got a scar over here, I'm bleeding, right? Um, but on the, on the inside, the pain is severe. . Um, so, you know, most of those days all I wanted to hear was someone just to say, I'm so sorry. I am here for you. I love you. We will get through this.
Not you will, we will, we'll get through this together. Yeah. How can I help? What do you need? And then not put, don't put pressure on people. You know, don't put pressure on. I'm like, oh, it's just this, just birthday party for two hours. We've just gotta go do this. Like, can't we just, you just need to get outta the house.
Like I don't need you to tell me what I need to do. I need you to just be in my space with me and support and comfort me. And that's it. Yeah, that's my, that's my best advice cuz that's what I wanted. .
Gabi: It seems so simple, but it's so powerful If someone can actually act in that way with someone who's suffering like that, like the power of that.
Even even the healing power of that. Yeah. Like it, it does give you more energy if someone can meet you in a space like that, cuz you feel seen. Yes, but you didn't have that, which you mentioned, which just breaks my heart, . I absolutely hate that for you. But somehow, somehow you were able to find the strength to say, you know what?
This is not my forever. And I'm going to basically declare, like with this prayer box, what is going to happen in my future. Like how did you find. The strength to do that? Was it like pure desperation or what was it for you?
Janna: No, it was, it was an unbreakable faith. Yeah. And I'm gonna be honest with you, I wanted my faith to be broken.
I wanted to give up. Gabby. I used to get mad and I don't know if I've honestly ever shared this before, um, other than maybe with my mom and fiance, but I used to just get mad at myself and it, and at God, My faith was so strong. I wanted it to be broken. I wanted the ability to give up. Hmm. I did. I was like, gosh, like, just give up.
And I'd get so mad because I, I just, I, I just couldn't. Hmm. And I used to not like that. And now, you know, if, if someone sees Wellness Warrior on, on my Instagram or my website, That is because that is exactly what I am. Mm-hmm. , I am just a warrior at, at heart, and I used to not accept that about me at all.
I used to get mad, like, why do I have to be so de I'm strong? Why do I have to endure so much? Like, come on. And I finally just embraced it. And, you know, that, that leads me to, to this next thought, which is I often feel that the things that were. Sent through are being, they're, they're coming to us for a reason, and they're coming to us to change us and to grow us.
And I believe that adversity is our biggest teacher. Mm-hmm. . Um, and you know, I, I was a much different person 10 years ago, 20 years ago. I wouldn't have thought this way or anything. But I am where I am today and who I am today because of the adversity and the hardships and the pain that I had to go through.
And you know, adversity's gonna come everyone's way, right? In all different forms. And I believe that at first you're always the victim because that's natural. Mm-hmm. . But you don't have to stay that. You can become the victor. And I chose that one day when I looked in the mirror to say, no more, you're not welcomed in my body line.
I am not gonna make my body a home for you anymore. I'm gonna starve you out and I'm going to, I'm gonna feed and I'm gonna feed Janet and give her what she needs. And those mindset shifts are huge when you realize, yeah, this sucks. It really does, and I hate it and don't know why it's happening. But I'm not gonna stay in that victim mentality anymore.
Um, and it is amazing what happens when sometimes you just choose to believe and you choose yourself, right? Yeah. Um, so I do believe that things are sent our way to grow us and to shape us, to teach us. And you have to choose that if you feel like you're constantly having the same, um, discomfort come along, whether.
you know, a sickness or just like, oh, why do not always have to be around those people? Whatever it is. Mm-hmm. , I don't care what it is, on what scale. When you're constantly facing the same little discomfort or challenge, that is because you haven't learned the lesson yet. Right. It's like a video game. You have to learn your lesson, and then you get to move up to the next level.
Mm-hmm. . So sometimes we just gotta ask ourselves when things are frustrating, when things are difficult. I think the best thing to do is to ask ourselves. What are you trying to teach me? What do I need to learn? Yeah. And just view it differently. The woe is me thing gets old real quick.
Gabi: Mm-hmm. , . But some people, some people, and I say this with so much empathy and so little judgment because I know I've been in that place.
Yeah. But there are some people who choose to live in the woe is me, level like absolutely for forever.
Janna: for sure, because you get attention there. Mm-hmm. , I mean, that's, it's no different with like, I mean, you're raising kids, you know how it is. Mm-hmm. , they will go after positive or negative attention, right?
Yes. And you know, that woe is me mentality. It's just kind of like, well, people are checking on me and mm-hmm. , you know, and when you start to do good and you're not, you're not chirping so much. , you don't, you kind of lose that in a sense, right? Mm-hmm. , but who wants that attention? Right? Right. And if you are warning that attention, you need to ask yourself, why do I need that attention?
Yeah. Maybe there's not enough self-love there. Mm-hmm. . Because I think when you, when you love yourself, I didn't used to love myself at all. I mean, like, no, honestly, Gabby, it's probably been the. Two or three years, I finally loved, fell in love with myself. Wow. That was hard for me. It was uncomfortable.
Mm-hmm. , that was when I learned forgiveness and what that was. And you know, I can only teach or say something that I've learned and that I've been through. Mm-hmm. , I don't just give my opinion ever. It's based off a personal experience. Um, and I know this, I know when you learn to love yourself. Not only does everything else fall into place, the right people come into your life, then you can fully love and they can fully love you.
Mm-hmm. . But when you fully love yourself, you don't need that from anywhere else in life. Loneliness isn't, um, something that you feel when you're alone. Trust me, I've been in a miserable marriage. Loneliness is Yeah, can be when you're with somebody. Absolutely. But when you're happy with yourself and you're in love with yourself, you're never lone.
Hmm. Right. So I think that if, if someone's stuck in that woe is me thing, maybe they need a little more self-love.
Gabi: Yeah. for sure. Girl. You're full of wisdom. Well, I love you,
Janna: I like that. . Yes. Well, I love you too because I think that you're amazing and what you do is amazing and you're shutting the light on on something that people aren't even quite aware of, right. You. , you had a post the other day about empathy and that sometimes people that have been through a lot of trauma come off like they don't have empathy.
Yeah. When that's really not the case. And I thought that was huge because there needs to be more awareness on that. Mm-hmm. . Um, and so I'm just very grateful for you and your friendship and what you do and what you shed the light on. And, and I think it's important to let people know. Like, we're not perfect.
We don't like happy, positive every day. Um, like we still struggle. There's times where you and I, you know, talk and we have to lift each other up. So, you know, there's, you never achieve this perfect positive life every day. You just do the best you can every day. And having the right people to support you is everything.
Yeah. Um, and I'm very grateful for you and your friendship. You know, I know I can count on you and be like, Hey Gabby, I'm really hard on myself today. Like I told you earlier, like, girl, I, I'm scared of death of my talk in March. Right. And you, you gave me good advice. So it's important for people to know that things aren't perfect every day and constantly have to work on it.
Gabi: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you were there for me last week, , when I thought I wasn't gonna be walking. Well for a while, and I'm always here for you. I know you're wonderful and I appreciate you so, so much. I'm just so grateful to know you. I mean, this was such a powerful conversation and I'm just so glad that I got to even learn more about you.
Um, I believe it or not, you probably do believe it, but that part where you're. I just wish that my faith was not so strong . I was like, oh, it's true. You just verbalize something. I have thought so many times.
Janna: No, I've never shared that. I so appreciate that. People are scared to talk about faith in God and love, but you know, I'll tell you what, if it wasn't for my faith, I wouldn't, I would not be here today.
I wouldn't be on this earth anymore. Yep. Right there. So my faith has gotten me through the toughest, darkest times.
Gabi: Absolutely it. You are living proof that. God is real and um, yes he is. You're a miracle and I love seeing all the miracles that are unfolding because of your life.
Janna: So Well, thank you.
Gabi: Thank you very much.
Thank you for sharing with us today. How, how can the listeners. Connect with you, what's the best way for them to connect with you?
Janna: Yeah, so, um, Revive by Janna is my Instagram and my website as well. And to confuse everyone, Revive with Janna the podcast, and I believe it's gonna be live tomorrow. So my producer told me that earlier today.
Kept getting put off with some, my goodness. Email things. So my podcast should be live tomorrow and um, and I hope that I keep getting to share the stage with you and help spread our message.
Gabi: Absolutely. So, so honored to know you. I can't wait to squeeze your neck in a couple of weeks, .
Janna: I know. I'm like a couple of weeks.
It sounds good and scary at the same time.
Gabi: I know, right? We both have a lot of work to do, ,
Janna: but it's gonna be so good.
Gabi: It's gonna be so good.
Janna: Yeah. I'm looking forward to. Thank you for having me. Like truly. Thank you.
Gabi: Absolutely. I'm so, so grateful. Anytime. Thank you friend . Thank you so much. Well, this has been such an honor, and to our listeners, check out the show notes, connect with Janna.
Definitely follow her on Instagram. She has. So much wisdom and so much to give us. She laughs. But it's true. And we will chat with you all next week here on Paint Passion Life. See you later. Yay.
Janna: Bye bye.