Season 1 (Part 2) | Episode 7: The Imposter

☎️ Episode 7: The ImposterEver tried to survive a medical appointment without developing a full-blown identity crisis?If you’ve had your symptoms dismissed, your instincts undermined, or been told to “just relax” while a metal instrument is inside you, stay on the line, Thea Baker is here.In this week’s episode, we sit down with Thea Baker, a mother, counsellor, trauma-focused somatic psychotherapist, personal trainer, PhD researcher at Deakin University in Melbourne and wonderfully noisy advocate for women’s health. Thea joins us at the intersection of lived experience, clinical insight, and systemic frustration. Her story begins not with a medical chart, but with a poem, a reflection of her experience and a love letter to every woman who’s ever been made to feel incompetent in their own body.Thea shares her own story of navigating reproductive and general healthcare as a woman, across years, continents, procedures, and countless missed questions. Instead of safety, she encounters assumption.Instead of curiosity, condescension.Instead of collaboration, a power imbalance so entrenched, even knowledgeable women are made to feel small.And that’s the point, Thea isn’t just a patient. She’s a mental health professional, a trauma specialist, a researcher. She speaks the language. She understands the system. She knows her body.But even now with all of that, she still finds herself shrinking in exam rooms, over preparing for appointments, and replaying every conversation afterward wondering, “Why didn’t I say it better?”Together, we unpack:* The expectation for women to “relax,” stay quiet, and surrender your voice in places of care when you’re already quietly losing your mind* How dismissive care like “it’s just age” derails real investigation* Being repeatedly asked about sex and the cost of clinicians asking the wrong questions, leaving women to piece together their own diagnoses* Informed consent and the need for trauma informed care in medical spacesThea also shares her groundbreaking research project that bridges mental health with physical activity through a non-contact cardio-boxing program developed for victim-survivors of gender-based and intimate partner violence. A space where women relearn safety, agency, and the power of inhabiting their bodies without apology.Her honesty, humour, and vulnerability remind us:You never needed a ring.Just you.Thea’s story is a testament to every woman who has ever walked into a medical room and felt themselves disappear and to every woman fighting to return to her own authority.💌 Subscribe for real conversations about invisible illness, trauma, and the radical act of trusting your own body, especially when the system doesn’t.Listen now → 🎙️ Episode 7: The Imposter(Available wherever you get your podcasts.)Disclaimer:Hysteria Hotline is for listening, laughing, and occasionally raging, not for medical advice. This podcast contains strong language, sensitive topics, personal stories, blunt opinions, biting truths, and the horrors of the patriarchy. By tuning in, you accept that we’re here to expose bias, share experiences, and spill the tea on medical nonsense — not prescribe treatment, give medical advice or diagnose.If you have health concerns, always seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medical condition. For everything else like commiseration, validation, and a healthy dose of outrage, then you’re in the right place.Side effects may include laughter, rage, validation, and the sudden urge to demand better care.By listening, you acknowledge that the hosts and producers of Hysteria Hotline are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hysteriahotline.substack.com