Roi Shternin | The Honest Truth About Chronic Illness & Resilience Narratives

The Story Nobody Tells

Age 18: Israeli army. PTSD from combat and Red Cross work. By 25, my body had completely shut down. Nine years bedridden. Nearly zero diagnosis. Doctors said I'd never walk again.

But I did walk. I built a career from my bed. I spoke on 5 continents. I wrote books. I founded organizations. I inspired thousands.

"And then I crashed. Again. And built it back up. And crashed again. And I kept doing this for 10 years while telling the world I was thriving."

The truth is: I was performing resilience. Cycling through relapse and recovery. Hiding the depths of the struggle behind keynotes and book deals. Using achievement as avoidance of the actual work: healing.

Years of relapse cycles

Months per year still bedridden

Chronic diagnoses (not just POTS)

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Times I said "this will be different"

Why This Matters Now

Everyone's drowning in inspiration porn. Everyone's tired of "mindset over matter." Everyone's sick of resilience narratives that promise you can think your way to health. Let's talk about what actually works.

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The Relapse Cycle

Nobody talks about it. You crash. You build back. You crash again. The cycle continues. And you feel like a failure each time. But maybe the system itself is broken.

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Performative Wellness

I've been performing wellness for a decade. Speaking on stages while barely able to walk. Writing books during relapses. Building organizations while falling apart. The show was real. But so was the drowning.

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The Honest Truth

Chronic illness doesn't resolve through willpower. Trauma doesn't disappear because you're inspired. And you can't mindset your way to living when your body won't cooperate. We need to stop lying about this.

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Real Healing Takes Work

Not the glamorous kind. Not the keynote kind. The unglamorous work: facing trauma, rewiring nervous systems, changing the stories you tell yourself, and committing to it even when progress is invisible.

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You're Not Failing

If you're relapsing. If you're drowning. If the inspirational story doesn't work for you. You're not failing. The narrative is broken. And maybe—just maybe—we need a new one.

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Starting Over (For Real)

I'm rewriting my story. Not for the stage. Not for the book. For myself. With radical honesty, vulnerability, and a commitment to actual—not performative—healing. You can too.

What I Actually Offer

Not inspiration. Not platitudes. Truth, vulnerability, and a roadmap for people tired of performing.

Keynotes & Speaking

The Relapse Narrative

A radical rethinking of resilience, disability, and the gap between the inspiring story we tell and the messy reality we're living. For HR leaders, healthcare professionals, and anyone brave enough to hear the truth.

Book a Talk

Workshops & Training

Systemic Empathy Upgrades

For organizations ready to stop performing inclusion and actually build it. How to leverage invisible illness and neurodivergence as competitive advantages. How to create systems that work with human limitations, not against them.

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1:1 Counseling

Medical Trauma & Recovery

LSB Counselor (2026). For people in the relapse cycle. For high-performers hiding chronic illness. For anyone ready to stop performing and start actually healing. Bridging lived experience and clinical psychology.

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