From Peak Fitness to Functional Neurological Disorder: My story of Workplace Coercion, Retraumatization, and Forced Resignation
By the middle of 2021, I was in the best shape of my life. After changing my diet and joining a boxing gym, I had lost 17 kg and I was feeling on top of the world.
But over the next few years, everything changed. I was coerced into having an experimental “vaccine” by my employer. After my requests for a risk assessment and material safety data sheet were repeatedly ignored, I was threatened with termination for non-compliance. I was also denied entry to work multiple times, due to mask mandates, even though I had a valid exemption. During my 11 week ban from Alcoa in 2022, I had to undergo medical and psychiatric evaluations, which forced me to relive the trauma of my childhood sexual abuse - the reason for the exemption, and a secret that I had kept to myself for over 40 years! When I was eventually allowed back, I was separated from the rest of the work group, ridiculed, and treated like a leper.
Today, I am a shadow of my former self, and I struggle with the basic aspects of life on a daily basis. I was finally diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder and Complex PTSD in July 2024. After falling down stairs at work due to my leg collapsing (just one of many FND symptoms), I was placed on extended sick leave for over 12 months. Eventually, I was forced to resign in January 2026. My worker’s compensation claim was denied, after it was decided that these were pre-existing medical issues - despite the fact that I was in peak physical condition less than five years earlier.
Throughout this whole ordeal, I reached out to the Human Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Australian Workers Union. I also contacted staff on every level of Alcoa management, all the way up to their Vice President. But ultimately, nothing has ever been done about the way I was treated”.
In a purely commercial sense, the smart move would be to lock everything behind a paywall. Why do all this work and give it away for free?Because we’re not a normal podcast. We’re closer to an online community — and a lot of people in this community are doing it really hard. Some of us are living in tents.We simply can’t, in good conscience, cut those people off because they can’t afford a subscription.So instead of going fully paid, we want to say this:To everyone who already supports the work — thank you. You are the only reason we’re still able to keep going.And if you regularly take something from what we put out, and you can comfortably afford to chip in, we’d be genuinely grateful if you did.Your support doesn’t just keep the lights on. It keeps this space open for the people who need it most.Thank you for being here.Kelli and MichaelCafe Locked Outhttps://cafelockedout.com/donate/
