Stacy Scarcella, a former corporate executive, transitioned to a creative entrepreneur after 13 years in fashion, advertising, and technology. Diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome at 25, she faced significant challenges, including legal blindness and potential infertility. Despite a grim prognosis, Stacy pursued self-care, research, and adaptive activities like Zumba and yoga. She emphasized the importance of self-advocacy and resilience. Stacy also works in mental health advocacy, particularly for adolescents, highlighting the need for early intervention and support. Her journey underscores the value of creativity, freedom, and positivity in overcoming health challenges.
For the transcript and full story go to: https://www.drmanonbolliger.com/stacy-scarcella
Highlights from today's episode include:
Be your own health advocate and move one step at a time: When she was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome at 25 with a very grim prognosis, Stacy chose not to stay stuck in fear. She did her own research, sought multiple opinions, adjusted her lifestyle, and focused on "What can I do right now and one minute forward?" rather than catastrophizing the future.
Create freedom and possibility by redefining your path: Leaving a "boxed-in" corporate career, Stacy built Plaid Pony Productions around freedom: choosing diverse projects, not being tied to one creative partner, and continually pivoting (Zumba, yoga, events, mental health advocacy). Her core mindset
Bedside manner and medical 'fashion' can shape a patient's fate: Manon highlights how the way a diagnosis is delivered can deeply harm or help a patient. She compares it to her own experience of being told she "needed" a C‑section because of narrow hips, only to safely have a home vaginal birth after seeking many opinions. She stresses that practitioners must be conscious of their language and the current "fashion" in medicine, because patients often meet a diagnosis first as doom and gloom, with very little visible information about alternatives, self-care, and hopeful possibilities.
ABOUT STACY SCARSELLA:
For more than two decades, Stacy Scarsella has built a career defined by vision, resilience, and reinvention. A former corporate executive turned creative entrepreneur, Stacy spent over 15 years climbing the ranks in fashion, advertising, and technology working with industry giants such as Armani, Macy's, Talbots, TJX Companies, and Bose. Her career trajectory pointed toward becoming a CMO, but the demands of corporate life, constant travel, long hours, and lack of fulfillment sparked a personal reckoning. In 2015, following a season marked by profound loss and transformation, Stacy traded boardrooms for the beaches of Los Angeles, where a moment of clarity reshaped her entire future.
That clarity became Plaid Pony Productions, a full-service production company known for its storytelling integrity, cinematic creativity, and world-class brand activations. From major commercial campaigns to experiential events, Stacy leads her team in producing standout work for global names including Disney, AT&T, and other Fortune 500 companies. Known for her strategic foresight and innate ability to forecast industry shifts, she's built a business that blends artistry with operational precision delivering results that can't be replicated by automation or artificial intelligence.
But Stacy's story runs deeper than her professional accomplishments. Diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome at 25 and told she might never have children or live past 40, she defied every prediction. Today, at 43, she's a mother of two, a mentor, and a passionate advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention causes close to her heart following the loss of her best friend. Her philosophy, "Why not?", defines her approach to both business and life: embracing creativity, curiosity, and courage in the face of uncertainty.
Beyond the studio, Stacy is a creative force in every sense an artist, yoga enthusiast, avid gardener, and dual citizen of Italy who finds joy in simple rituals like family dinners and dancing in the kitchen. Through speaking, consulting, and community initiatives, she now helps others humanize their brands in the age of AI, teaching entrepreneurs how to connect authentically and lead with purpose. Her work, both on and off the set, is a testament to her greatest belief: that success is not about control it's about creating a life that feels deeply alive.
Core purpose/passion: My philosophy is: "Why not?", and it defines my approach to both business and life: embracing creativity, curiosity, and courage in the face of uncertainty.
– Facebook | Website | LinkedIn | Instagram - Stacy | Instagram - PladPony
ABOUT MANON BOLLIGER, RBHT, FCAH:
As a retired Naturopath 1992-2021, I saw an average of 150 patients per week and have helped people ranging from rural farmers in Nova Scotia to stressed out CEOs in Toronto to tri-athletes here in Vancouver.
My resolve to educate, empower and engage people to take charge of their own health is evident in my best-selling books: 'What Patients Don't Say if Doctors Don't Ask: The Mindful Patient-Doctor Relationship' and 'A Healer in Every Household: Simple Solutions for Stress'. and What if Your Body is Smarter than You Think? I am the Founder & CEO of The Bowen College Inc. which teaches BowenFirst™ Therapy and holds transformational workshops to achieve these goals.
So, when I share with you that LISTENing to Your body is a game changer in the healing process, I am speaking from expertise and direct experience".
Mission: A Healer in Every Household!
For more great information to go to her weekly blog: http://bowencollege.com/blog.
For tips on health & healing go to: https://www.drmanonbolliger.com/tips
Follow: Manon Bolliger website | Linktr.ee | Rumble | Gettr | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | LinkedIn |
Follow: Bowen College Inc. | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube | Twitter | Rumble | Locals
ABOUT THE HEALERS CAFE:
Manon's show is the #1 show for medical practitioners and holistic healers to have heart to heart conversations about their day to day lives.
Subscribe and review on your favourite platform:
iTunes | Google Play | Spotify | Libsyn | iHeartRadio | Gaana | The Healers Cafe | Radio.com | Medioq | Audacy |
Follow The Healers Café on FB: https://www.facebook.com/thehealerscafe
Remember to subscribe if you like our videos. Click the bell if you want to be one of the first people notified of a new release.
* De-Registered, revoked & retired naturopathic physician after 30 years of practice in healthcare. Now resourceful & resolved to share with you all the tools to take care of your health & vitality!
00:00:00
Introduction: Welcome to the Healers Cafe, the #1 show for
00:00:04
medical practitioners and holistic healers to have heart
00:00:08
to heart conversations about their day to day lives while
00:00:12
sharing their expertise for improving your health and wellness.
00:00:20
Manon Bolliger: Welcome to the Healers Cafe, and today I have
00:00:24
with me Stacy Scarcella. And for more than two decades, Stacy has
00:00:29
built a career defined by vision, resilience and
00:00:34
reinvention. So basically, a former corporate executive
00:00:39
turned into a creative entrepreneur, and I'll have
00:00:43
Stacy explain a little bit more what she was doing, but
00:00:48
basically climbing the ranks in fashion, advertising and
00:00:53
technology, working with like Armani Macy's tablet, TJ
00:00:58
companies And boss and and then, yeah, and then something
00:01:03
changed, and I wanted you to just take it from there and
00:01:08
explain your this transformation. And also, you
00:01:12
know how the condition that you didn't talk about, Marfan
00:01:17
Syndrome came to your attention and did it impact you? Did
00:01:22
anything change because of it? Or were you just always meant to
00:01:27
be? Stacy,
00:01:28
Stacy Scarsella: I love it. Well. Thank you so much for
00:01:31
introducing me. It's such a pleasure to be here and talk
00:01:36
with you today. Yes, I have, you know, had a very amazing career,
00:01:41
and it's still going, and it's ever changing, and I'm always
00:01:46
pivoting and moving and shifting. I was in corporate
00:01:50
because that's what you do. You go to college, and then you get
00:01:55
a job and you follow the rules, and I was a great rule follower,
00:02:00
and I had incredible mentors and teachers that really guided me
00:02:05
into, you know, getting into corporate and after 13 years of,
00:02:10
you know, really working hard at different companies that, you
00:02:15
know, some of the ones that you mentioned, I realized that I
00:02:19
wasn't truly fulfilled. And what does that mean? I mean, I think
00:02:24
when you get to a place of, you know, in your career, where you
00:02:29
think, Oh, I can go to the next level, but every single level I
00:02:34
went to, I wasn't filling that void. And, you know, I had some
00:02:39
traumatic experiences in my personal life that helped me
00:02:44
lead to that, for sure, but that was the that was when I decided
00:02:49
to leave corporate and move my family across the country and
00:02:54
start my own company. And I had to learn everything from
00:02:58
scratch. I did not know the first thing about opening a
00:03:02
company, and so everything was self taught, reaching out to
00:03:07
people I knew. And now I've been running my company. I'm I'm in
00:03:12
my 11th year, and it's been really a fun, incredible journey.
00:03:18
Manon Bolliger: And so what is it you do now, and what is
00:03:22
making it more creative, or what is it that gives you that
00:03:26
fulfillment at this point?
00:03:28
Stacy Scarsella: Absolutely so I am a producer, and that's really
00:03:32
been my overarching title. Through all of my roles and all
00:03:35
of my positions, I produce, I take a creative idea and I make
00:03:40
it come to life in the simplest explanation of the word
00:03:46
producers tend to be a title production, you know, and in
00:03:50
itself is ambiguous, you can there are so many different
00:03:54
types of producers. I specifically work in
00:03:57
advertising. So I take campaign briefs and RFPs, and I turn them
00:04:03
into a physical shoot or strategy to actually bring an
00:04:09
idea to life. And so my company, plaid pony productions, we take
00:04:15
in RFPs and we look at the bid itself, we create the bid, and
00:04:19
most of our projects are triple bids, and when we win the
00:04:23
project, we work closely with the director and the
00:04:26
photographers to execute the concept from, you know, paper to
00:04:32
the real shoot, and then we edit and help with the post and
00:04:36
deliver. And so some of the projects are we We handle
00:04:40
everything from soup to nuts. Sometimes we just shoot the
00:04:44
content and we we do a data dump of files, and the client handles
00:04:47
everything in house, or, you know, we are part of the pre Pro
00:04:54
or just the post. And so there's all different ways I've been
00:04:57
brought into projects over the years. We also. Have a side of
00:05:00
the business that does experiential events, and that's
00:05:04
basically a commercial in real life. So that's why, that's why
00:05:08
I describe it. So I work with brands to bring a concept to
00:05:12
life, whether it be a pop up shop or an experience or an
00:05:17
event, but the business itself is a B to B business. Okay?
00:05:22
Manon Bolliger: So, so both of them, you're doing something
00:05:27
creative, but what? What is it that made you feel better about
00:05:36
doing it on your own and being an entrepreneur without knowing
00:05:41
anything about that
00:05:44
Stacy Scarsella: great question. When I worked at corporate, I
00:05:48
really was I had to work on the projects I was assigned, and
00:05:53
there wasn't a lot of diversity in the projects. You know, I
00:05:57
would just be working on tech, or I would just be working on
00:06:00
fashion. And part of what I love about advertising is it is so
00:06:05
expansive. You could be working on something with beauty and the
00:06:08
next day telecommunications. And so when I built the company, I
00:06:13
wanted to make sure that I had as much freedom as possible. So
00:06:18
freedom is definitely the the theme of what gave me the
00:06:25
confidence to make that jump. And when I started, I had a lot
00:06:32
of directors come to me and photographers, and they wanted
00:06:35
me to represent them, but part of me having freedom was not
00:06:39
being tied to one concept. And so I flipped the script a
00:06:43
little, because that's not the traditional way production
00:06:45
companies are set up. You are usually paired with a creative
00:06:49
and we source unsigned and independent creators for all of
00:06:54
our our projects. And it gives me that flexibility and freedom.
00:06:59
And so when I left corporate, it was a box, and I wanted to open
00:07:03
the box and have it as wide as possible. And so that's what's
00:07:08
been so fulfilling over the last decade, is I am never bored. I
00:07:13
am working on Fashion One day, the next day, a tech product
00:07:17
that hasn't launched yet, and then the day, a day after that,
00:07:21
I'm working on some fashion brand, or I'm working on a
00:07:25
health product. It is so fun because every day is a different
00:07:30
type of project.
00:07:33
Manon Bolliger: So I'm in the parallel creative I think you
00:07:36
had in both, but in really it's the freedom, freedom of
00:07:42
creativity and creativity. Yeah, so I just, I'm just curious,
00:07:46
because, you know, according to your bio, you were diagnosed
00:07:50
with Marfan, which, you know, if you read the diagnosis, it's
00:07:56
pretty grim. And you know, there's a lot of things that are
00:08:00
you know that if you absolutely were mortified by it, you would,
00:08:09
you know, see yourself at some point having a heart issue,
00:08:14
absolutely no children and all kinds of, You know, physical
00:08:20
disadvantages. Let's call it that way. That is not your
00:08:24
story. So what was your attitude towards, you know, shifting,
00:08:31
wanting to be creative, looking for freedom during a time where,
00:08:35
you know, a lot of people would be in panic and in fear with
00:08:39
their diagnosis. What do you see like you know, we're we become
00:08:46
who we are by the challenges we we face and the things that we
00:08:50
learn from, at least on some level, I believe, you know. So
00:08:55
what can you share you know to an audience that might be
00:08:58
challenged with some diagnosis where they're, you know, feeling
00:09:03
quite stuck, definitely uncreative about it. And, yeah,
00:09:10
so what? What happened with you? What? What did you do? Or it's
00:09:16
Stacy Scarsella: an interesting journey, because it was, for
00:09:20
sure, a shock when you're 25 years old and you're going in
00:09:24
for support, because I had struggled with so many different
00:09:29
types of of ailments over the years. And I was a caf I was a
00:09:33
college athlete, I was very active, and the last thing I
00:09:39
ever thought was wrong would be a heart condition and everything
00:09:45
else that comes with Marfan Syndrome. It's not just the
00:09:48
heart that it affects. It affects everything. I'm legally
00:09:52
blind in my right eye, and I had no idea that was tied back to
00:09:56
the same syndrome that affected my. Back and my knees and my
00:10:01
wrists and my my rib cage. I mean, so many different things.
00:10:07
And when I was diagnosed, I was only 25 and it was a fairly new,
00:10:12
you know, discovered syndrome. I mean, it's not mainstream. To
00:10:18
this day, many caretakers and providers and doctors don't even
00:10:21
they have to go back and Google it. It's just not something that
00:10:25
is as mainstream as some other conditions. And when I found out
00:10:30
the doctor that was telling me she really didn't have amazing
00:10:35
bedside manner, and she was just like, well, you can't have kids.
00:10:39
You may live till you're 40. Good luck and pretty intense.
00:10:46
And I was by myself because I didn't, I didn't know I would be
00:10:49
receiving these, this news, and so I left pretty shell shocked.
00:10:54
And you know, it was the beginning of a lot of you know,
00:11:00
self work to say, Okay, I have two choices here. I can dwell in
00:11:05
my diagnosis that was told to me by someone I barely know, or I
00:11:11
can do my research and continue to live my life. Obviously,
00:11:17
there were some things that needed to change immediately,
00:11:19
and that was, you know, how I worked out, how I, you know, was
00:11:23
stayed physical, and that was all just part of, like a
00:11:27
checklist of do's and don'ts. Everything outside of that, I
00:11:32
had to figure out myself. And this was not during, you know, I
00:11:36
didn't have a great, you know, AI partner with me. I had to,
00:11:41
you know, read books and and research and call different
00:11:45
doctors to figure out, okay, well, can I have kids? And you
00:11:50
know, a lot of them said no, because, you know, the second
00:11:53
trimester is when your aorta heart really expands, and even
00:11:57
before then, and depending on, like, your body, and so if I was
00:12:02
to dilate that part of my heart, I would have a massive heart
00:12:05
attack. And so I did not think I could have kids, and I was
00:12:10
dating my now husband, and he was so incredibly supportive.
00:12:14
And I think that is a huge part of why the ride itself was
00:12:19
easier because of my partner and we went to so many different
00:12:26
doctors together. We weren't engaged, we were not family
00:12:29
planning, but he knew I needed that to move forward, because I
00:12:33
needed information, and I I kind of accepted the fact that okay,
00:12:39
I won't have kids, that's okay, that's not in my cards. So I got
00:12:43
to that place, and five years later, or two years later, we
00:12:48
were married. We actually got married, and then we started
00:12:53
living our lives together. We traveled all over the world. We
00:12:56
were like, This is amazing. I mean, okay, we might not have
00:12:58
kids, but we're going to have all of these memories, and we
00:13:01
weren't sure if we wanted to adopt or anything in the future.
00:13:04
We were still so young. But then I I got pregnant when I was 30,
00:13:12
and it was a surprise, and I went to the doctor and I said,
00:13:16
you know, how do I have to make a really hard decision today?
00:13:20
And I had been keeping up with my cardio appointments, and they
00:13:25
were like, your heart looks amazing. I think we should try
00:13:28
to get you through this pregnancy. And that was the that
00:13:32
was a shock, right? Like, I did not think able to carry my own
00:13:38
baby or even have a child. And so I was high risk, even at, you
00:13:44
know, 30 years old, I was a high risk, very I saw the doctor one
00:13:47
to two days a week. So there were a lot of appointments, a
00:13:50
lot of testing, and I made it through the pregnancy. And it
00:13:54
was such a success that I just, I think, the universe around me.
00:13:59
I mean, who knew that it was possible, but it's because I
00:14:04
truly did. I just said, why not, and that's kind of in my motto
00:14:10
over the years, why not. So I'm going to pause there, because I
00:14:16
know you have
00:14:17
Manon Bolliger: no no I'm listening very attentively, but
00:14:20
so why not? But before the why not, you were you were really
00:14:26
doing an information search and as unbiased as possible. In
00:14:32
other words, anything to give you more insight and your your
00:14:39
focus, if I'm getting this right. Was self care. How do I
00:14:44
manage this? You know, the best so I can have the best life
00:14:49
possible.
00:14:50
Stacy Scarsella: Well, and I think that's what's so
00:14:52
incredibly important. When you receive any health news that may
00:14:57
not be positive, you have to take a. Breath and say, Okay,
00:15:02
well, the sun will come up tomorrow. I'm still alive. What
00:15:06
can I do with my time and be an advocate for yourself? That is
00:15:13
the biggest thing that I've seen throughout my years. You know,
00:15:16
even with other friends that have had very hard, you know,
00:15:20
diagnosis cancer, MS, like different types of ailments, and
00:15:27
you really do have to do your own research. I mean, the
00:15:31
doctors are only they're only going to share so much
00:15:34
information because they do not have the time to spend with you
00:15:39
and their 1000s of other, you know, all of the other people
00:15:42
that need help. And so just having that information and in
00:15:48
front of you, that information in front of you gives you the
00:15:52
tools you need to decide what to do next. You know, what is your
00:15:56
next step? I mean, and this is something I tell my kids and I
00:15:59
live by, how can I focus on right now and one minute
00:16:04
forward, that's it. That's all you can do when you're really
00:16:09
stuck in confusion or you know, or or just going through sadness
00:16:15
because you're you're grieving a side of your life that is gone
00:16:19
right because now you have this new information and you have
00:16:21
something that you have something that you have to deal
00:16:23
with and and I think that's really powerful to just say,
00:16:29
okay, what can I do right now? Me, that's it.
00:16:33
Commercial Break: What would your life be like if you were
00:16:36
pain free? If you were one of the millions who suffer from
00:16:40
chronic pain, the thought of just one day without it may seem
00:16:44
impossible. This is often because conventional medicine
00:16:49
tends to fall short in the treatment of pain, opting to
00:16:53
prescribe pills or recommend surgery rather than getting to
00:16:57
the root cause of the problem. But if you are suffering with
00:17:01
emotional or physical pain, there is hope. Join the founder
00:17:06
and CEO of Bowen College, Manon Bolliger, live online for your
00:17:10
body mind reboot. Learn how to listen to your symptoms and get
00:17:15
to the root cause of your pain, plus be trained in basic Bowen
00:17:20
therapy moves so that you can reboot your body for optimal
00:17:24
health. You don't have to live in pain. You can heal, stop the
00:17:28
pain pill cycle by visiting www.yourbodymindreboot.com, to
00:17:33
learn more and to register
00:17:42
Stacy Scarsella: what nobody else included. How do I move the
00:17:46
needle? How do I move forward? Because you have two choices.
00:17:49
You can stay where you are, or you take the step forward into
00:17:53
whatever direction you're going, but you at least move right.
00:17:58
Manon Bolliger: Yeah, no, it's, I think that is the key I was.
00:18:01
It made me think back a little bit to so I used to have, I used
00:18:06
to be very, very skinny, which is has changed over the years,
00:18:12
but my hips were very narrow. And at the time, I was in in
00:18:18
Montreal, and I went to an obstetrician, and they said, Oh
00:18:23
no, you're going to need a cesarean. There's no way that a
00:18:27
baby can get through because I was pregnant and get through
00:18:32
hips like that. So I went. I didn't give up. I went because I
00:18:37
thought, like, this is ridiculous. Have they never gone
00:18:40
to Japan or China, or like any other country, I just thought,
00:18:45
this is I, you know, sure, I'm skinny, but I'm not that skinny,
00:18:49
you know. Like, there's something wrong here, you know.
00:18:52
So I went to eight different people, and I basically got the
00:18:57
same one opinion and, and that kind of woke me up. It's like,
00:19:02
Gee, you know, it's like, fashion. You know, if it's mini
00:19:06
skirt time and you ask what to wear, they'll say a mini skirt.
00:19:10
But when it's just above the knees or just below the knees,
00:19:13
that's what you're going to be told to wear, right? And I saw
00:19:17
sort of medical procedures and advice in the similar way,
00:19:22
right? Because it's wasn't the time. It was the fashion to have
00:19:27
Cesareans anyways, though I didn't want one, and I didn't
00:19:31
feel like a natural body needed to do that. That's an emergency
00:19:35
measure, right? So, of course, I had a home, you know, birth. I
00:19:38
had vaginal everything was fine, and I got a midwife. I mean, a
00:19:42
lot of decisions were made because of the small mindedness
00:19:47
or the fashion at the time, right? So I, you know, I
00:19:50
shifted, just like when you're saying later, you know, you went
00:19:54
to another doctor many years later, and they're looking at a.
00:20:00
A new reality is like, wait a minute, this heart is looking
00:20:04
really good. Why don't we try, you know? And it's like, it
00:20:08
changes, right? Like it
00:20:09
Stacy Scarsella: really does. And I had to create. I had
00:20:12
another one. I mean, I'm blessed with two beautiful sons. And
00:20:16
yes, the second pregnancy was hard, and it was a reason. We
00:20:20
were like, Okay, we tested, you know, we further. We definitely
00:20:25
had a very stressful pregnancy. And you know, both of us are
00:20:29
lucky to be alive, you know, my son and myself, but we did. We
00:20:33
made it right. And it's also knowing when to cut your losses
00:20:36
right. You might, you might be like, Okay, I'm going to go
00:20:39
research and find out what I need to do, but also give
00:20:42
yourself grace to accept that you might not be the exact same
00:20:46
as the person sitting next to you, right? Because you have
00:20:48
this different type of body that's diagnosed the way it's
00:20:52
diagnosed and and I love your story, because I think that's,
00:20:58
that's it. You know, if there, if you when there's a will,
00:21:02
there's a way, right? And when I first find found out, I was a
00:21:09
bit I worked out every day. I was very active. I was, you
00:21:13
know, I played college basketball, so I wanted to
00:21:17
continue staying active, and I didn't know what else to do. And
00:21:20
there was a cardio dance class that was being offered at my
00:21:23
gym. And I always thought those were the people that just don't
00:21:28
they're not athletes, right? They're just, like, in there,
00:21:30
just dancing around the little aerobics movement. And I took my
00:21:35
first Zumba class, and this was in 2006 so it wasn't like, a a
00:21:41
big wasn't really a big deal yet, yeah, and I loved it, and I
00:21:48
was able to keep my heart rate up at a stable because my my
00:21:52
workouts had to change, right? I couldn't do hit classes. I
00:21:55
couldn't do high, low intervals like before, no more burpees, no
00:21:59
more hard, intense workouts. But that doesn't mean I can't get my
00:22:03
heart rate up and keep it up for 30 minutes, 45 minutes, however
00:22:07
long. And so I started my Zumba, and I went and decided to get
00:22:11
certified. I took in it full head first. I'm six, three. I do
00:22:17
not dance. I wasn't not a dancer, and I why not. And I
00:22:25
went and got certified to teach Zumba classes because I loved it
00:22:30
so much. And I did that for, gosh, five or six years, until I
00:22:34
was pregnant, and so I stopped teaching, but I kept going to
00:22:38
classes all the way through, and just this morning, I went to a
00:22:43
Zumba class. So I still dance, and I still love it. It's such a
00:22:48
great way to move your body and keep your heart rate up. But I
00:22:50
would have never, ever, ever fallen into that class and
00:22:56
continued that incredible, weird journey of, hey, I was a Zumba
00:23:00
instructor on, you know, amongst itself, and it was so fun, and
00:23:09
it just has brought so much joy to my life that, if I had never,
00:23:14
you know, and that's the other thing. It's like your path is
00:23:18
your path. And when you have these bumps in the road with
00:23:23
your health, look at it as an opportunity to explore something
00:23:28
that you and I know that's hard when you're you're going through
00:23:31
really, really tough news, but you know it's you got to start
00:23:35
somewhere, right?
00:23:36
Manon Bolliger: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you get opportunities,
00:23:40
or you get, you get to see them as opportunities, eventually,
00:23:44
Stacy Scarsella: eventually, yes, in the moment, it can be
00:23:46
really
00:23:47
Manon Bolliger: like Zumba, oh, my God, I'm never gonna do that,
00:23:51
you know? And then, right, yeah, very interesting. And it's,
00:23:56
it's, I can, I mean, I think of all the stories I've heard it
00:24:01
really is like that. The key is to to sort of stay in the moment
00:24:06
and and take the next step. Don't get stuck, you know,
00:24:13
because the moment is the past. The moment it happens, right?
00:24:16
And if you're stuck more in the past, about what it could mean
00:24:21
you're, if you're doing the coulds and the shoulds and the
00:24:24
woods, you're not actually actively moving the very next
00:24:31
step, right? And I think that's it's very important to do, you
00:24:36
know?
00:24:37
Stacy Scarsella: Well, I think it continues to change right,
00:24:40
like after I had children, my hips, because of my condition,
00:24:45
never pulled back in. And so I had massive, you know, I have
00:24:49
major si issues, and my hips pop like you wouldn't believe. I
00:24:54
mean, it's, it's, you know, fascinating how your body can
00:24:58
change and shift. Left. But with this syndrome, I have, you know,
00:25:03
have this extra level of, you know, discomfort that I've that
00:25:08
natural childbirths. So I had to revisit, right? Okay, what do I
00:25:12
do now? And so I got into yoga bodies, and I really started to
00:25:17
build my pelvic floor and really try to figure out, okay, this is
00:25:22
what my body's doing. Now. What do I do? Okay, I might not be
00:25:27
able to run anymore like I used to, because I used to love
00:25:31
running, and it just things change, especially as you get
00:25:36
older. And I think that has been fascinating. Again, another
00:25:40
pivot, and I now have this incredible yoga community that
00:25:44
I'm part of. I'm I have a yoga event coming up on Monday. I
00:25:49
love putting together events for other women and people that may
00:25:54
be struggling as well with okay, what do I do now? You know, and
00:25:59
it can feel very frustrating when you think you've found a
00:26:03
solution to a health situation, and then something else goes out
00:26:08
right, like, Oh, now your ankle is hurt, or your shoulder or and
00:26:13
with Marfan Syndrome, it affects ligaments and tissues. So guess
00:26:18
what? Your whole entire body is full of ligaments and tissue.
00:26:22
Yeah, so it's and because of my my eyesight, you know, being
00:26:27
legally blind in my right eye, as I'm getting older and I'm
00:26:31
losing my eyesight and my left eye, it's not great. It just
00:26:36
makes me enjoy the moments even more to say, Okay, well, right
00:26:41
now I can see, right, going to do as much as I can, and I
00:26:45
value, I mean, gratitude. I mean, I know that's something
00:26:49
everybody's talking about, right? Have a gratitude journal.
00:26:54
Write down all the things you're thankful for, but it is helpful.
00:26:59
Right, focus on what you do have than what you've lost,
00:27:03
Manon Bolliger: right, right? Yeah. I mean, it changes your
00:27:07
inner dynamic and how you perceive things in the end,
00:27:12
right? Yeah, and that's interesting. So one thing we
00:27:16
didn't talk about, I mean, there's many things we haven't
00:27:18
talked about, but I'm trying to see where it was that you
00:27:22
mentioned it, but you do work for mental health advocacy. Do
00:27:31
you want to we have, like, a few minutes left, but I didn't want
00:27:34
to not talk about that. So if you could just share a little
00:27:38
bit of what you do there.
00:27:40
Stacy Scarsella: Absolutely, when I was 33 and my son was
00:27:45
barely two months old, not even I think he was five weeks old.
00:27:49
Actually, my best friend committed suicide, and she was
00:27:53
like a sister to me. And so not only was I going through, you
00:27:57
know, I postpartum, and I had this newborn and I had a two
00:28:03
year old, it was, it was a really hard time. So I was
00:28:07
suffering just as much as some other, you know, obviously
00:28:11
family and friends around the situation. It was a very
00:28:13
difficult time. But through that, I realized it wasn't
00:28:19
isolated. There are so many people out there that are
00:28:22
dealing with with mental health issues. And so it was an eye
00:28:26
opening experience, and that was also the time that gave me the
00:28:31
momentum I needed to leave corporate and start my own
00:28:34
company, because I realized how short life was, whether you
00:28:38
were, you know, however you your life ends. It's short. You never
00:28:45
get enough time. And so I wanted to do something and get out
00:28:49
there. And then over the years, I have really seen an adolescent
00:28:56
space. I have substituted in the schools, and I work really
00:29:01
closely with middle schoolers, and I have an internship at the
00:29:04
high school in our local community, and I work with kids
00:29:09
on, you know, positivity and how to find their superpowers and
00:29:13
how to really tap into what makes them special, because Life
00:29:19
is hard and the real world is not kind and these kids are
00:29:24
already struggling in school, you know, with everything going
00:29:28
on with social media and and technology and just the speed of
00:29:34
how we ingest information, all of that is is Just a it's a lot,
00:29:41
and so if somebody is already struggling with confidence
00:29:45
issues or self worth or just even just depression, or you
00:29:49
have some type of anxiety or stress, and those labels that
00:29:54
are just slapped on people, they they they're being overlooked,
00:29:59
right? Because. They're like, Oh, everybody has anxiety. Well,
00:30:01
yeah, maybe. But why? You know, let's go back to the root cause
00:30:05
and start to figure out solutions, rather than just band
00:30:09
aid the problem with medicine or, you know, oh, they have a
00:30:12
diagnosis. And that is has become a huge part of why I
00:30:17
public speak and why I help, even individuals. And you know a
00:30:22
full adults, you know year olds that are stuck in a career and
00:30:26
they're unhappy. I was directly affected by someone that I care
00:30:32
deeply for that took her own life, and she had everything on
00:30:38
paper, right. And when you see how mental health can be so
00:30:44
private, it's something we we should talk about more. And,
00:30:48
yeah, it's a very hard topic to address and discuss, but I am, I
00:30:56
definitely that's that's really what kick started my mission,
00:30:59
and why I continue to be so so much involved and and about
00:31:04
positivity and looking for the possibilities, and why not?
00:31:09
Because otherwise you can get stuck. And my kids are in middle
00:31:13
school right now, and they are going through it. Middle School
00:31:15
is not easy, so it's really something that's near and dear
00:31:20
to my heart?
00:31:23
Manon Bolliger: Yeah, I think it's, I live in Canada, and we,
00:31:27
we have very limited solutions for people, the way I see it. I
00:31:34
mean, one of the solutions is, I don't know if you've heard of
00:31:37
this, maids, medically assisted suicide. And you know, it's the
00:31:44
third business, whatever you call it in in Canada, because
00:31:50
they also do organ harvesting when people say yes. And you
00:31:55
know, you can be depressed because you can't pay your rent.
00:31:59
You know it that is not a reason to get that type of assistance.
00:32:03
So I know there's now a lot of advocacy. They're trying, you
00:32:08
know, but we have a lot of censorship here in Canada, so
00:32:11
you can't really say things against the powers that be. So I
00:32:16
take opportunities and little podcasts to share this so that
00:32:19
people become aware of this because, I mean, you don't even
00:32:25
have to tell your parents. They don't have to even tell your
00:32:28
parents.
00:32:30
Stacy Scarsella: I think adolescent suicide, for sure, is
00:32:33
it's such, I mean, it's just crazy. I mean, when I grew up, I
00:32:36
didn't even really, I don't even know if I knew about what that
00:32:40
was. And so, you know, and that's part of the information
00:32:45
overload that kids these days are just able to access
00:32:48
anything, yeah, and it can be really scary, and, and my
00:32:52
solution is direct, like, like, I picture myself as a center of
00:32:56
a web, and who can I touch? Right? Who are the people
00:32:59
closest to me, and then hoping that they spread the
00:33:02
information. And it does start with a podcast, or it starts
00:33:05
with a conversation or a phone call or a yoga event, and just
00:33:10
talking about it, and being okay with talking about really
00:33:15
difficult things, because you never know who you're going to
00:33:19
talk to, who may have more power to make your changes exactly.
00:33:26
Manon Bolliger: Well, that's our time together, but I think, I
00:33:30
think we covered quite a lot, and thank you so much for
00:33:34
sharing your experience and knowledge.
00:33:38
Stacy Scarsella: Yes, thank you for having me so thoughts
00:33:41
Manon Bolliger: with the interview with Stacey Scarcella,
00:33:45
my first thought is really for practitioners, people in
00:33:49
practice, to just realize bedside manners. You know, if
00:33:53
you go tell a person that they have syndrome, whatever it is,
00:33:58
and make it sound like doom and gloom. If you don't have a
00:34:03
personality like, like this person here, you would go
00:34:07
downhill really quickly. I mean, maybe that's the thing, the
00:34:11
tipping point that makes you go uphill. It's possible too. But
00:34:16
just to be aware of the the impact that a diagnosis can
00:34:20
have. And sometimes, you know, when it's not as well known as
00:34:25
as this one is not the the thing is that when people look it up
00:34:30
on, you know, Google or whatever, they're not finding
00:34:34
different information, right? There isn't enough to to show
00:34:39
that there's alternative things, that there's attitudes that can
00:34:44
change it, that yes, you know you can have a child, but you
00:34:48
have to look after yourself a lot of self care and a lot of
00:34:53
heart care. Uh, you know. So there really isn't all the
00:34:57
information out there. It's really, these are the symptoms.
00:35:02
This is the diagnosis, and boy, it's doom and gloom, and you
00:35:07
will die by the age of 45 pretty well, that's what they say. So
00:35:11
it's, you know, just be aware that even though we have now
00:35:16
chat GPT and God knows who's feeding that information, and we
00:35:21
have Croc and, you know, I don't know where all the information
00:35:26
is gathered. Some like they know more, but others just repeat the
00:35:31
same stuff, you know. So yeah, so just be aware of your bedside
00:35:36
Manon, the impact of sharing something significant with your
00:35:40
patient. If you're a doctor or naturopathic doctor, you know
00:35:45
it's really, really important. And even as a boa and
00:35:49
practitioner, look up these things if you know you're not
00:35:53
going to say anything, because you're not the main thing you're
00:35:58
doing, you're not diagnosing that's not within the scope, but
00:36:03
your attitude matters. So that's my takeaway from this. I think
00:36:08
the other side was well expressed. So that's just the
00:36:12
thought I had.
00:36:13
Ending: Thank you for joining us at the Healers Cafe. If you
00:36:17
haven't already done so, please like, comment and subscribe with
00:36:22
notifications on as I post a new podcast every Wednesday with
00:36:26
tons of useful information and tips for natural healing that
00:36:31
you won't want to miss you.