Show Notes
Shannon Cohn is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, attorney, and endometriosis advocate. She is the creator of the groundbreaking documentaries "Endo What?" and "Below the Belt," which have helped transform public awareness, influence medical education, and drive policy reform in women's health.
In today's episode, Shannon joins me to share her remarkable journey to becoming one of the leading voices exposing the hidden systems that fail women with endometriosis.
Shannon opens up about her own 13-year journey to diagnosis and how she realized that her experience wasn't unique, but part of a much larger systemic problem affecting millions of women.
We dive into the reality of medical gaslighting, and the devastating impact of delayed diagnosis. We also explore how storytelling has influenced policymakers, medical schools, and healthcare providers, while advocating for increased research funding, better physician education, and improved insurance coverage for endometriosis care.
Shannon reveals why painful periods should never be considered normal, the challenges surrounding reimbursement for excision surgery, and the future of endometriosis diagnostics.
Join us today as we discuss medical gaslighting, diagnostic delays, healthcare advocacy, documentary filmmaking as a tool for change, improving medical education, advancing women's health policy, empowering patients to advocate for themselves, and much more.
Shannon Cohn's Links: https://www.instagram.com/shancohn/ https://www.instagram.com/endowhat/ https://endowhat.com/
Dr Somi Javaid's Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/somi-javaid https://www.drsomi.com/ Personalized menopause and sexual health care, longer visits, trusted experts, all from home: https://www.HerMD.com
More from disruptHER
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf is a lawyer, author, and women's health policy advocate who has spent nearly 15 years advancing menstrual equity and women's health policy. She also helped push for the elimination of the tampon tax and for policies requiring period products in schools.
Dr. Judith Joseph is a board-certified psychiatrist, researcher, and author of the national bestseller "High Functioning." She runs Manhattan Behavioral Medicine, chairs the Women in Medicine Initiative at Columbia, and has worked on about 130 clinical trials, including the first peer-reviewed study on high-functioning depression. She is also one of the most followed psychiatrists in the world, known for making mental health science approachable without watering it down. In today's episode, Judith joins me to talk about the women medicine has overlooked: the ones who show up to everything, take care of everyone, and look completely fine while feeling nothing inside. She opens up about her own experience with high-functioning depression during 2020, and how naming it publicly sparked a global conversation. We dive into anhedonia, the loss of joy, pleasure, and interest that so many high achievers push through without realizing what it is. Judith also explains why our brains are wired to focus on the negative, and why simply acknowledging what you're going through can be therapeutic on its own. Judith breaks down her 5 V's framework (validation, venting, values, vitals, and vision) and shares which one to start with first. She also explains how to map your own "joy fingerprint" using the biopsychosocial model, and why joy is the missing link in today's longevity and optimization culture. Our conversation also covers the mental health side of perimenopause and menopause, brain fog, sleep, the research gaps we still need funded, and why mind and body care can't stay siloed. Judith also shares three simple steps to take before your next doctor's appointment so you don't walk out dismissed. Join us today as we discuss high-functioning depression, anhedonia, joy as a longevity tool, the mind-body connection, menopause and mental health, self-advocacy in healthcare, doctors on social media, and why looking fine and being fine are not the same thing.
Dr. Jennifer Reid is a psychiatrist, women’s behavioral health expert, speaker, and author of “Guilt-Free: Reclaiming Your Life From Unreasonable Expectations”. She has worked with high-achieving women struggling with burnout and perfectionism, helping them break free from unrealistic expectations and create healthier, more fulfilling lives.
Dr. Holly Richmond is a prominent somatic psychotherapist, certified sex therapist, speaker, author, and Associate Director of Modern Sex Therapy Institutes, where she helps train the next generation of sex therapists. She specializes in trauma recovery, relationships, sexuality, nervous system regulation, and has spent nearly two decades helping people reconnect with their bodies and pleasure.
Dr. Jennifer Wagner, MD, is a board-certified pediatric anesthesiologist who has become a women's health and performance expert at Canyon Ranch. After working with elite performers, including Olympians, Special Operations teams, and high-performing executives, she now focuses on helping midlife women optimize their health, performance, and longevity.