From Breakdown to Breakthrough: How Speaking Saved My Life

Justine Martin
Oct 1
2 min read

Because sometimes the hardest moments give rise to the most powerful voices.

There was a time in my life when everything seemed to crumble. Multiple diagnoses.

Endless hospital visits. Loss layered upon loss. I was told I’d never work again. My body was failing, my mind was overwhelmed, and my future felt uncertain.

It was, in every sense, a breakdown.

But what I didn’t know then was that the very thing threatening to silence me would one day give me the courage to speak. And speaking, sharing my story, would save my life.

The Breakdown

Breakdowns are not glamorous. They are messy, painful, and raw. For me, it was lying awake at night wondering if I’d see my children grow up. It was being stripped of my career identity. It was navigating the invisible weight of disability in a world that didn’t understand.

In those moments, I felt powerless. Invisible. Defined only by what I had lost.

The Turning Point

What shifted everything was a simple truth: silence was keeping me stuck. I had so much inside me, grief, fear, resilience, and nowhere to put it.

The first time I shared my story, it wasn’t on a stage. It was in a small circle, with trembling hands and a voice that cracked. But in that moment, I felt a release. I realised that telling my story didn’t just help me, it connected me to others who needed to hear it.

That was the beginning of my breakthrough.

Speaking as Healing

Public speaking became more than a platform. It became therapy.

It gave me power back. Instead of being defined by illness, I chose how to define my story.
It created connection. People came up to me after talks saying, “That’s my story too.”
It sparked purpose. I realised my voice could light the way for others navigating darkness.

Every stage, every audience, every microphone became part of my healing. Speaking saved me because it turned my pain into purpose.

From Breakthrough to Impact

What began as survival has grown into a mission. Today, I speak on resilience, leadership, adversity, and empowerment, not just to share my journey, but to remind others of their own strength.

The breakdown didn’t disappear. I still live with chronic illness and hidden disabilities. But the breakthrough reframed everything: adversity became a launchpad, not an endpoint.