From Diagnosis to Empowerment with Dr. Azi Jankovic

Welcome to Super Connections. I am your host, Jennifer K. Hill, helping you with the Golden Triangle of Connection, where you will super connect to yourself, others, and your purpose. Join me each week as I will share from some of my favorite tips and tools for super connecting, and I'll bring in some of my favorite friends and thought leaders To help support you on your journey to super connecting to the life of your dreams. Welcome to episode 4 of Super Connections. We are so grateful to have you here week in, week out, as we explore how do we super connect to ourselves, others, and our purpose, or what I call the Golden Triangle of Connection. Today I have the privilege and honor of bringing to you not just an incredible thought leader and researcher and being, but a dear old friend of mine from 30-plus years ago. I think we met during college, right, Ozzy?

Yeah, 1999.

Yep, gotta go way back here. So today we have with us Dr. Ozzy Jankovic, who is an author, educator, and entrepreneur committed to empowering people to reclaim their mental health and live with purpose. Diagnosed as bipolar at the age of 17, she spent decades navigating the conventional system before forging a holistic, research-backed path to her healing. Her 2025 book, which is already available for pre-order, and we'll go ahead and put that in the show notes for you, called Defying the Diagnosis, introduces the ECHO Method, a transformative framework designed to help individuals become their own most effective healers. With a background in mental health and health research and a passion for spirituality, Dr. Ozzy blends the science and personal experience to help change these out outdated narratives and inspire true lasting wellbeing. Ozzy, thanks so much for being here with us.

Oh wow, it is an absolute pleasure to be joining you. Thanks so much for having me.

Yeah, I love this, and I think it's such an important conversation. I was actually just at a breakfast meeting in Lisbon today, and we were talking about this over breakfast, of this idea that so many of us go through mental hardships, and this is one of the biggest obstacles that prevents us from living our purpose or Maybe we make a lot of money or we think we've found something we're passionate about, or maybe we think we have a lot of friends, but there's still this empty hole inside of us. And that's where the mental health piece comes in, which is why it's so important. And I wanted to bring this in for one of our first episodes. Talk to us a little bit about your own journey, Ozzy. I know when you and I met, I think we were both depressed and going through stuff and trying to do what you do when you're 17 years old.

Oh my gosh, yeah.

You're trying to numb the pain.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. You of all people, like, you understand this mental component because you're someone who's totally transformed your life. I saw it. And with the help of God, over a long time, I've been able to do the same thing. But when we first met, Jen, I had just flunked out of a private university where I was attending on a leadership and academic scholarship. I flunked out because I had received a diagnosis that was really slapped on very hastily post-high school. One week after graduation from high school, I was diagnosed bipolar, told that I had a brain disorder and I would be sick for life, need medications for life. And those medications and the treatment and the lack of true care that I received were responsible for my turning from an A student to a student in college who slept 20, up to 20 hours a day, gained 20 pounds over the course of 10 weeks, and by November was flunking out of school.

I'm so sorry, Ozzy, that you went through that. And I'm so sorry for any of you listening in. God, it's gonna tear me up here a little bit. I'm so sorry for anybody who's ever been in that position where something happens and maybe you get a diagnosis And for whatever reason, the help that you're meant to get doesn't show up in the way you need it. At the same time you were going through that, I was bulimic. I was throwing up 20 times a day, miserable, suicidal. And I think that's why you and I reconnected and we found each other 20-plus years later, is just from this shared desire to help anybody else. If you're feeling lonely, if you're feeling scared, if you're feeling like maybe you have something that's insurmountable, There is an answer, and it starts connecting to yourself. So tell us a little bit about this.

Yes. Oh my gosh. Yes, there is an answer. There is an answer. I don't— when I tell this story, I don't tear up anymore. I am sheerly motivated to share what I've learned because I believe it saves lives. I've heard already that it saves lives. And you're someone who has turned your pain into purpose. And if you and I had a conversation in 1999 and said, Jen, Ozzy, can you imagine you're going to be across the world and Just tell us about our lives now. I don't know if I would have believed

it. I wouldn't have believed it.

I wouldn't have believed it. It's really— dreams do come true. And I know that might sound like a stretch for anyone listening who's really struggling with mental health. And I want you to know that I see you. Okay? I see you because I've been someone who is suicidal. I've lost years of my life to laying in bed in an absolute black hole of brain fog. hopelessness, and depression. I've lost out on many months with my family, months of my life in mental institutions. I have, you name it, we could get into all of it if you want to. But what I want to say loud and clear right now to everyone listening is that nobody has the power to play God with your destiny.

Oh.

When that doctor, when no one has the power to play God with your destiny. And if you're 17, or even if you're 77, and you're sitting across from someone who the letters doctor, the 2 letters MD after their name, and a white coat, and they tell you have a lifelong brain disorder and you are destined to a life of medications. I have news for you. That is extremely dangerous. Number one, because we have proof in the year 2024, actually dating back to the '60s, that patients even with severe depression, severe bipolar, and schizophrenia actually have better outcomes when they are not on medication long term. Okay, now I'm a doctor of education, and I believe that knowledge is what's going to set you free, not a pill. You may benefit from a pill short term, and I'll tell you, I still take medication, about 3% of what I was prescribed 2 years ago. However, rather than being for meds or against meds, Jen, I want everyone to take this to heart. I take a harm reduction approach. What does that mean? It means that if you're sitting across from someone, I don't care what letters they have by their name, where they went to university, and what they're telling you. If you believe what they're saying, if you believe you have a lifelong brain disorder, A, you're believing a lie, and B, you're handing your power over to someone who doesn't deserve it. What we believe Is the number one determinant of the outcomes in our lives. And I believe in you. And while getting a diagnosis might seem like a relief for some people, oh, I have a brain disorder. Oh, there's something brain chemistry is off in my— something's going on inside my brain. The chemistry's off. That might sound relieving to some people, especially in the short term. Why? Because, okay, there's a pill, there's an answer. I was there. I, I was the overachiever who wanted to take my pills exactly on time and get the A+ and do all of the treatment. But I, like the majority of cases, became worse instead of better from conventional treatments.

Yeah. It's such an important point that you raise. I love that you tied in the part about beliefs. And just to be clear, please do check with your doctors before going on or off any medications. This is not—

oh yeah.

So we do have to give that little—

And you know what? And thank you for that. Because I will talk about the fact that this is not about throwing your pills in the garbage. There's a Protocol for doing all of this safely, and it's extremely important that you do. Okay, back to you. Go ahead.

Yeah, I just want to— I always want to give that because I'm a huge fan of both. I love Western medicine. Many times Western medicine has come to save me when I've been in dangerous places. And on the flip side, at the same time as Ozzy and I are talking about now, and we'll dive into in the book in a moment, that you also have these non-traditional holistic approaches that can be equally, if not in some cases more effective. And in fact, I was just teaching A friend of mine, Dr. Maria Sagi, out of Hungary, we were just talking about this healing with information sort of a thing and how in that class where there are certain times where you want mainstream modern medicine and sometimes where you don't. Though my consideration that I would offer to all of us is to reiterate what Ozzy just said. It's our beliefs, 100%. It's our beliefs. And I'll share with you a quick story about this right now is Even when it seems so bleak, where whatever the diagnosis is, there's always still a glimmer of hope and there's always a possibility to quantum jump into a different universe. And that gets into the whole quantum physics stuff that we won't touch.

Absolutely. Spontaneous healing is a real thing. And the number one determinant of children who are in high school in the most troubled situations, the poorest schools— this is what I studied for my doctorate— the number one determinant of the most difficult cases succeeding is having someone in their life who believes in them and who has a meaningful relationship with them. Someone believing in you can bring you then to believe in yourself, and that's the real token.

Yeah, it's so powerful what you're talking about. I remember years ago I had a dear friend of mine who told me she had only a few months to live, and this is just to give you a really extreme example. Oh my gosh, she was talking about— because she had cancer, she had a stage 4 type of cancer. And I started studying Bruce Lipton's work. We'll see if we can get Bruce on the show one of these days. You can find other shows I've done with him on the YouTube channel at Jennifer K. Hill.

I saw some. They're amazing.

I love Bruce. So Bruce is a pioneer in epigenetics, which is the study of how our genes and different things turn on and off in our body. So I had studied some of this with Bruce, and I learned some incredible techniques for rewiring the brain. Definitely encourage any of you out there to check out a technique called Psych K. And fast forward, I had this friend of mine who was told she had 3 to 4 months to live. She had 2 types of cancer diagnosed at one of the top hospitals in the world, and one—

Wow.

In 3 months, and the other one she could survive and live with. And so we spent some time and we actually deep dove into what was really there. She wanted to heal in some way. I referred her to some wonderful holistic medicine practitioners I knew, but she didn't have the money for it. So I said, okay, let's just tap in as a friend. Let's see what we can do. And what I heard, Ozzy, was that there was something for her that she felt she didn't deserve love. So we took her through a technique there. You'll find in the show we're going to go through many techniques, and I want to have Ozzy in a moment share her Echo Method. Our goal is to give you these tools so that way you can help yourself when you find yourself in these positions. Yes, there's always going to be medicine there, and my intention with this show is to give you tools in your super tool belt so no matter what happens, you'll be able to be At your highest and best across all areas. So I teach this friend of mine a tool and we put her in it to rewire her brain, maybe 10 minutes. And what we realized was she had a limiting belief she didn't deserve love. So she cries, she goes through this, and we hang up the call. This is less than a 30-minute call. A month goes by and I don't hear from her, and I didn't know if she passed away, Aussie. And so I reached out, I said, are you okay? Like, you have to be very tentative in that situation. And she said, Jen, I didn't tell you. I said, oh my God! A, I get a response. She's alive. Thank God. I said, tell me what. She said, I went back to XYZ Hospital, and they said, oops, we misdiagnosed you. There's zero trace of the cancer we said would kill you. And she's alive now, two years later. So I share all of this to piggyback on what Ozzy is saying and to underline that there are tools out there. Modern medicine is incredible. It's incredible. It's done so much. My mom was a traditional oncology nurse for 45 years, so huge shout out to all of the incredible doctors, nurses, practitioners, holistic, traditional, or otherwise. And our goal with this show is to give you tools to super connect with yourself, others, and your purpose. So on that note, Ozzy, I'd love to have you share a bit about the ECHO Method that you talk about in your new book.

Absolutely. So the ECHO Method is a way in which we can become the CEO of our own lives and our own mental health. It begins with E, which is for education. And truly, we live in an incredible time and a miracle where I can open my ChatGPT. I call it my bestie, and I can ask it, what are the— what is within reach? What are my lowest hanging fruits for feeling better if I'm experiencing X, Y, and Z? And you will learn within a matter of minutes. And if you keep prompting it, you'll get even better and better, all sorts of things that you can do. Okay, so the education really is at your fingertips. It can be working with ChatGPT to come upon studies. You can ask what's the opposite. You can interview mentors, listening to all real-life stories, you name it. You know, the world is really at your fingertips, but get the information that you need about what's happening here. And even better, find people who've been through similar things and who have forged a path ahead. So that you can really use these stories as models. Okay, so E is the education piece. And let's say you're trying to feel more hopeful and more optimistic. You might learn that exercise has the same efficacy as taking certain medications. And so you may want to go ahead and incorporate exercise into your routine. Resistance can come in oftentimes. It's not always just about what you know. Sometimes you learn something and that's enough. And that will really give you the motivation to do the thing. Other times, the body, the mind, there's a little resistance. It's natural to resist change to a degree, but that's where the C comes in, the curiosity. And curiosity asks, what if it's not as hard as it sounds? What if I actually learn to enjoy this thing? What if I'm patient? What if I give it time? And that's when you just become curious. After the curiosity is Healing. And that's the H. And that's really the process of allowing whatever is happening in your body to happen once you implement that upgrade, that intervention. So exercise, for example. Okay. So you're going to allow the changes to take place, the healing, and you're then going to O, observe. That's the last piece of ECHO. How did this serve me? Is it something I want to hold on to? And keep in my toolkit and integrate in my life as an upgrade, or is it something I want to let go of and start something new? So what's so beautiful about the process is that you can do it at your own pace. You can try more than one intervention at a time. I personally like to test variables one at a time.

Oh.

To see how the variable is making an impact in my life. Tweak one thing at a time. Whether it's one new supplement or changing the time of day that I work out or integrating some positive socialization in my life, whatever it is, I want to really give that variable a standalone opportunity to see how the healing goes and make that observation as scientifically as I can. That being said, this is totally individualizable. It is all about what you need. And if you are motivated and you're ready and you need help, And you can bring in several different interventions to help yourself feel better, by all means, by all means, go for it. And you know what? The ones that aren't meant for you will shake off eventually.

So beautiful.

I love it. That's it.

I love it, Ozzy. And that's why it's called Defying the Diagnosis. And I think that as you've listened to this episode and continue on this journey with us listening to other episodes, I invite you to write down at the end of each episode, what's one little What's one nugget? I loved what Azie just said about reflecting what's working, what's not. I treat myself like a science experiment every day. Yes. I'll write down in my morning journal practice, how well did I sleep? Did I take anything to sleep? What was my day like yesterday? Did that impact my sleep or not? Because we start to notice that it is this holistic approach, whether you're going modern mainstream medicine or holistic and alternative Alternative methods. There is a possibility that the more that you're taking care of yourself, you're exercising, you're getting enough sleep—all of these things have been shown to improve our overall mental, emotional well-being. And I love how you said be your own scientist. Observe, observe what works, what doesn't work. Maybe if you notice that whatever you're on or taking that it has certain side effects, just make a note of it and begin to observe yourself. Over time to see what you may or may not need to tweak, and then talk to your doctor or your support system about it. So absolutely, I'd love to hear any last tidbit takeaway that you'd love for our listeners or viewers to take away with today.

Yeah, absolutely. There is always hope. Your body and your mind is constantly regenerating. You can have a brand new gut lining within a matter of weeks, and When we make the changes, when we make the upgrades to our vessel, to our being, the benefits that can reap are just tremendous. And at the end of the day, I really hope and pray that everyone listening will become your own advocate, become your own greatest support, and learn to see the good in yourself. Find the evidence that you're doing the best you can. And love yourself up, because at the end of the day, you are the only one who has control over if that's going to happen. And the more you love yourself, and the more you take care of yourself, and the more you fill your own cup, the more goodness that we can have in this world that we can share with one another.

Incredible, Ozzy. And where should people go to preorder the book? I know it's coming out, I believe, May 27th. But if people want to preorder it, where do they go?

Yeah, so it's azijankovic.com. That's A-Z-I-J-A-N-K-O-V-I-C dot com.

Beautiful. Thank you, Aziz, for being here, and thank you to each of you. No matter what you're going through, when you're listening to this, and where you're at spiritually, emotionally, mentally, know that there's someone somewhere out there who's struggling in the same way you are. You are not alone, and that the secret to being able to Confront even the biggest obstacles in our lives is always start with connection to yourself. Love and accept yourself, and that will give you the capacity, the strength, and the courage for whatever comes before you. I'm Jennifer K. Hill, and I thank you for joining us. Thank you.