When we talk about recovery, we often begin with the struggle, the heavy moments, the setbacks, the emotional storms that leave us feeling fragile and uncertain. Yet there is another side to this journey, a quieter truth that often goes unnoticed: the magic begins the moment we choose ourselves. Recovery is not just about leaving pain behind; it is about opening to what becomes possible once we gather the courage to take even one step forward.

Recently on the podcast, I had the joy of speaking with Sunshine Witchski known to many as The Pink-Haired Sober Witch, whose journey to sobriety began in 2019. She shared how traditional recovery methods didn’t quite speak to her heart, so she turned inward and returned to the spiritual path she knew best: witchcraft. Her healing became a tapestry woven with rituals, intuition, energy work, and a deep connection to the natural world.

Listening to her story, it became clear that healing does not follow one path. It does not need to be tidy, logical, or conventional. It simply needs to be true. Sunshine’s journey illuminated something profound: when we align recovery with the wisdom of our soul, transformation unfolds in the most unexpected ways.

We often hear the phrase “healing is not linear.” But what does that really look like? It means moving in spirals rather than straight lines. It means returning to old lessons with new awareness. It means moments of expansion followed by moments of contraction, both equally essential. It means the journey deepens us, softens us, and reveals layers of ourselves we once tucked away.

And sometimes, healing asks us to remember the ancient threads of wisdom that our ancestors lived by.

Witches as the Healers of Old

During our conversation, Sunshine spoke beautifully about reclaiming the word “witch.” Historically, witches were the wise women and men of their communities, the ones people sought for guidance, comfort, and care. They were:

Midwives who helped bring new life safely into the world
Herbalists who understood the healing power of plants long before modern medicine
Spiritual advisors who offered rituals, blessings, and counsel
Keepers of earth wisdom, attuned to the cycles of the moon, seasons, and nature
Community healers, tending to the body, mind, and spirit

These individuals held knowledge that was intuitive, inherited, and deeply respected. Their work was rooted in connection with the land, with spirit, and with the human heart. It wasn’t until later, through fear, control, and misunderstanding, that the term “witch” was distorted into something to be feared. Yet the true essence, the healer, the guide, the wisdom keeper never disappeared.

Sunshine’s path is a reclaiming of that lineage. In her sobriety, she draws strength from ritual, energy, and intention. Her healing is connected to the ancient ways of honouring the unseen, trusting the intuitive, and celebrating the sacred within everyday life. This, too, is recovery, returning to who we truly are beneath the noise.

The Magic Found Along the Way

The magic of recovery rarely bursts through in dramatic moments. It arrives softly and steadily:

The first time you breathe without heaviness
The moment clarity breaks through the fog
The unexpected laughter you thought you’d lost
The pull toward something meaningful and soul-aligned
The strength to set a boundary or speak a truth
The desire to care for your body, your heart, your spirit

These moments may seem small, but they are signs of profound inner shifting, signs that your spirit is awakening, remembering, and reclaiming.

Recovery invites you to step back into your own wisdom. It reminds you that nothing is wasted, every setback is information, every pause is guidance, every spiral is an opportunity to deepen your understanding of yourself. Healing is not about becoming someone new; it is about returning to the essence of who you have always been.

Reflection

If you find yourself somewhere on this winding path, at the beginning, in the messy middle, or circling back again, know that you are not behind. You are not broken. You are not failing. You are unfolding.

Your healing is sacred.
Your courage is real.
Your journey is worthy.

The spiral path may feel unpredictable, but it is ancient, wise, and uniquely yours. And along the way, there is so much magic quietly gathering around you, waiting to be noticed.

A Gentle Invitation

If this resonates with your heart, I invite you to listen to the full conversation with Sunshine Witchski on The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast. Her story offers insight, honesty, and a reminder that recovery, like magic is a deeply personal, beautifully powerful path of returning to ourselves.

May it inspire you to honour your own healing, in your own way, at your own pace. If you would like support and guidance along the way, join my new online program starting on the 8th January - Awakening Your Inner Truth

Sharon Fitzmaurice

With over 18 years of experience as a Holistic Wellness Coach, Reiki Master Teacher, and Clinical Hypnotherapist, Sharon Fitzmaurice has dedicated her life to guiding others toward healing and self-discovery. Through Reiki Energy Therapy, Personal Development coaching, her online community Soulful Journeys, wellness retreats, mindfulness programs, and workshops, she empowers clients to embrace their true potential and cultivate inner peace.

Author and Advocate

Sharon's books reflect her passion for resilience and transformation. "Someone Please Help Me, So I Did" shares her deeply personal journey of overcoming childhood trauma, anxiety and depression, offering inspiration to those seeking healing. In "Awaken Your Wellbeing" she collaborates with 13 other therapists to provide a powerful collection of wellness tools, with all proceeds supporting Galway Simon Community.

The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast

Launched in 2020, The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast is a platform for honest and inspiring conversations on mental health, resilience, and personal growth. Sharon and her guests share stories of overcoming adversity, offering encouragement to listeners worldwide.

Mentor & Speaker

Sharon’s expertise goes beyond one-on-one mentorship. She has been an exceptional speaker on topics including mental health, overcoming adversity, resilience, and transformation, inspiring audiences at wellness events, corporate settings, and community workshops. Her compassionate and engaging approach makes her a sought-after voice in the field of holistic well-being.

Through her books, podcast, mentorship, workshops, and speaking engagements, Sharon Fitzmaurice continues to inspire and guide people toward healing, resilience, and a renewed sense of purpose.

This week on the podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Elizabeth Gaines, a woman whose journey into functional health didn’t begin in the world of science, but in the world of survival.

For more than a decade, Elizabeth worked in non-profit trauma recovery, supporting victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. She poured her heart and energy into helping others heal from the unimaginable. But like so many who dedicate themselves to service, she did so at great personal cost. The emotional weight, urgency, and unrelenting pace led her into burnout and chronic illness, an experience far too many people quietly carry.

When conventional medicine dismissed her symptoms, she was left feeling unseen, unheard, and unwell. And this is where her turning point began.

Through Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN), Elizabeth discovered a different way of understanding the body, not through labels or guesswork, but through deeper investigation. Functional lab testing opened a doorway into the true state of her health, revealing imbalances in hormones, immune function, digestion, detoxification, energy production, and diet. With this knowledge, she was finally able to create a personalised path to healing.

What began as a desperate search for answers evolved into purpose.

Today, Elizabeth is the Director of Education at FDN, leading curriculum design, live training and mentorship for one of the most respected health certification programmes in the world. She is living proof that when we understand what’s actually going on in the body, we can take back our power, our clarity, and our energy.

The Hidden Physiology of Burnout

In our conversation, we explored something many of us feel but rarely name:

Burnout isn’t just emotional. It’s physiological.

So often we believe we just need more rest, more motivation, or more willpower to “bounce back,” but the truth is that burnout changes the body. It shifts hormones, drains energy reserves, weakens digestion, disrupts immune function and creates inflammation long before symptoms show up on a standard medical report.

Which means many people are walking around unwell, and being told: “Nothing is wrong.”

Yet their body knows something is very wrong. And so do they.

The Lie We’ve Been Conditioned To Believe

We also reflected on the cultural programming so many of us have absorbed:

Work harder.
Move faster.
Push through pain.
Don’t slow down.
Rest equals laziness.

At what point did we begin believing that exhaustion was normal and self-neglect was strength?

Like nature, we are designed to move through seasons: activity and rest, growth and stillness, expansion and retreat. But we’ve built a world that only rewards one season -productivity.

And when we finally collapse under the weight of it, we are left feeling broken or ashamed, when in truth, we are simply out of rhythm with the way we are meant to live.

The Four Rooms of Holistic Wellness

There is a beautiful metaphor that guides my own work:

We each live in a house with four rooms - emotional, mental, physical and spiritual.
Wellness comes from visiting each room every day.

But so often, we camp out in only one or two, usually the mental and physical - while the emotional and spiritual rooms gather dust and silence.

So I ask you:

When was the last time you checked in with all four rooms?
What needs clearing, tending, or listening?
What part of you has been ignored because life is “too busy”?

When we ignore the imbalance long enough, the body will speak louder, through fatigue, inflammation, pain, brain fog, anxiety, or a sense of disconnect from ourselves. And when we are told “there’s nothing wrong,” we begin to feel invisible.

You Are Not Invisible – And You Are Not Meant to Do This Alone

If you are reading this and feel depleted, stretched thin or lost in symptoms you can’t explain, know this:

There is nothing lazy about needing rest.
There is nothing weak about breaking down.
There is nothing wrong with you for not being able to keep going the way you used to.

What is wrong is the belief that you must continue alone.

Elizabeth’s story is a reminder that when we finally understand what the body is trying to communicate, we create space for real healing. And when healing begins, purpose returns. Energy returns. Hope returns.

There is always support available.
There are always answers available.
And you deserve both.

Ready to Go Deeper? Listen to the Full Conversation

If this message speaks to something inside you, if you’re tired of feeling unwell, unheard, or uncertain about where to turn next — I invite you to listen to the full podcast episode with Elizabeth Gaines.

In our conversation, she shares:

the real physiological roots of burnout
why so many people are misdiagnosed or dismissed
how functional lab testing can reveal what traditional testing often overlooks
empowering next steps for anyone ready to reclaim their well-being

And as a gift to you, Elizabeth is offering a free resource to support your next steps on the healing journey.

🎧 Click here to listen to the episode and receive your free gift.

Join our Soulful Journeys Online Community for our upcoming 2026 Program -

Walking as Soul in Body with Mentor Sharon Fitzmaurice

Sharon Fitzmaurice is a Holistic Wellness Coach, Reiki Master Teacher & Practitioner, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Speaker, and Host of The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast. She is the author of Someone Please Help Me, So I Did and Awaken Your Wellbeing, and the founder of Soulful Journeys Online Community.

A passionate advocate for mental health awareness and survivors of childhood abuse, Sharon’s mission is to inspire others to heal, grow, and reconnect with their authentic selves. Through her work, writing, and conversations, she reminds us that within every story lies the power to transform and rise.