This is a short solo reflection from Dr Sula Windgassen on what stayed with her after the first episode of How We Really Feel in conversation with consultant urologist Sachin Malde and pelvic health physiotherapist Clare Bourne about bladder symptoms, recurrent urinary tract infections and the mind body connection in chronic illness.

💡 IN THIS REFLECTION:

• ✅ Why hope itself can feel threatening and why learning to tolerate that uncertainty is one of the most important things you can do on a chronic illness journey
• ✅ Why a negative UTI test is not the end of the road. How curiosity, self-advocacy and perseverance can open up options that a tick-box system never will
• ✅ Why your reported symptoms are often the most reliable measure of what's going on and what it means to hear a consultant urologist say that out loud
• ✅ The psychobiological loop: How feeling unwell feeds uncertainty, which feeds physiological stress, which feeds symptoms and how recognising it can help break it
• ✅ How bodily self-trust erodes when you've been dismissed and what rebuilding it actually looks like in practice
• ✅ Why a pelvic health physiotherapist might prescribe pleasure, connection and friendship alongside physical rehabilitation

🎙️ DR SULA ALSO REFLECTS ON:

Her own understanding of multi-sensory integration: How the brain combines physical signals with memories, knowledge and social messages to determine what you're feeling. Why being dismissed by the healthcare system doesn't just affect your confidence but your symptom experience itself.

If you haven't yet listened to the full episode 'I Can Feel It In My Waters: Bladder Symptoms, Stress and Chronic UTI' this reflection works as a companion to it and you can listen to it here.

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