Carla competing at the State Jiujitsu Championship
Photo credit :Fiona Walsh
Gold medal: Carla and her coach Kieryn Wright, Carla went home with two gold and two silver medals after her first competition. Photo credit :Fiona Walsh
Twelve months ago 28 year-old Carla Johnson couldn’t get out of bed.
In January 2015, the Hobart woman left her work and life in Africa, including her beloved fiancé and returned to a successful 9 to 5 job in an office in her home town of Hobart, Tasmania.
The only problem was, it no longer felt like home. Many of her friends had moved overseas, her family couldn’t relate to her life in Africa and her work life was not fulfilling.
Feeling different to everyone else because of her experiences in Ghana, Ms Johnson’s mental health began to spiral and within six months she was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety.
“It happened so fast, all of a sudden I had no sense of belonging, I couldn’t cope with anything or anyone and I was sad and stressed out all the time for months on end,” she said.
“I felt so much pressure. I placed huge expectations on myself and felt pressure to be a certain type of person and I didn’t even know who that person was”.
Over the next six months the normally, bubbly and vivacious young woman became a shell of herself.
“I wanted to cope and felt like I was failing because I couldn’t, and I kept saying to myself, ‘Carla there are people out there going through more than you are, get yourself together,” she said.
“I felt people expected me to be the bubbly Carla they all knew and I didn’t want to disappoint or burden anyone. I also didn’t know how to explain what I felt…so I didn’t I just shut everyone out instead.
“This just made everything worse and I felt dead inside, so I stopped socialising, took countless days of work because I was panicking about everything, and I would cry over anything.
“On top of this, I missed my fiancé desperately and life just felt so lonely.”
Ms Johnson said her own image of herself completely changed. “I hated who I was; I hated my mind, my body and everything about my life and felt that no one knew me anymore.
“But it was when I started to have bulimic thoughts that I said to myself ‘Carla this isn’t you, you are the opposite of everything that is going on inside your mind right now, you are strong, you just need to get help’…so I did.
“I started seeing a psychologist and it was an incredibly hard step, but the hardest thing was finding the strength to throw myself back into life and find my sense of belonging again.” That’s when she found Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ).
“My manager at work knew I was struggling with life and was training BJJ regularly and invited me along to the Hobart Martial Arts Academy (HMAA). “From my first time on the mat, I never looked back.” Ms Johnson threw herself into the sport training 4-6 times a week with coaches Gerry Young, Adam Newton, Ryan Mazengarb and Kieryn Wright. “They were so supportive and from my first minute on the mat they believed in me and it was then I knew this was where I belonged, I had found my happy place,” she said.
“I have lost nearly 10 kilograms over the last six months through BJJ; I’m sleeping well, eating well and I feel mentally and physically fitter than I have ever done before.
“It has kept me busy while my husband and I wait for immigration to approve his visa, but it has also given me a positive experience to share with him and because I’m happier, he’s happier and it’s made waiting a whole lot easier.”
After just six months of training, Ms Johnson competed in her first competition last weekend at the Australia Federation of Brazilian Jiujitsu, Tasmanian State Championship and won two gold and two silver medals.
“I have an extraordinary coaching team who push me incredibly hard with so much support and love,” she said.
“They helped me get healthy again in so many ways and for that I can never thank them enough.
“HMAA aren’t just a club, they aren’t just coaches or training partners, they are my friends and family and I can’t wait to keep achieving great things with them by my side”.
Ms Johnson is now training for the Australian National Jiujitsu Championship in Melbourne in August and her now husband was granted his visa and arrives in two weeks’ time.
