Photo credit: Neil Wakefield
Simona Smaidžiūnaitė’s journey from personal pain to empowerment has inspired thousands of women to reclaim their health, rights, and self-love.
What If Your Darkness Is the Doorway to Light?
Simona Smaidžiūnaitė’s story begins not with triumph, but with an overwhelming darkness — a darkness that almost consumed her, yet ultimately birthed a brighter purpose. In 2011, Simona moved to Australia from Lithuania, bringing with her a wealth of mystical knowledge and powerful intuition. But it was through personal struggles — physical, emotional, and spiritual — that she came to understand the true essence of self-love, resilience, and healing.
Simona is a fearless mother of four — a writer, speaker, soul guide and educator. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences. Over the years, she has become a beacon of hope for more than 4,000 women, guiding them through the harrowing effects of breast implant illness and helping them rediscover self-love and empowerment. Yet it wasn’t always this way. Simona’s journey has been marked by trials that would have crushed many — and still, she rose from the ashes, finding a purpose beyond her pain.
A Life of Contradictions: Struggling with Inner and Outer Expectations
From childhood, Simona’s life was anything but ordinary. Intuitive and mystically inclined, she often found herself swimming against the current, or in mystical terms — able to embrace both polarities. Throughout her life, she endured hardships that forced her to confront both internal and external conflicts. As a teenager she battled eating disorders, later faced the debilitating effects of breast implant illness, and weathered deep emotional wounds from past relationships. Yet these struggles did not define her; they transformed her.
Simona’s story took a drastic turn when she found herself confined to a psychiatric ward in Melbourne, Australia — for reasons that had nothing to do with mental illness. Instead, it stemmed from her personal choice to leave a coercive religious structure and marriage. The experience shook her to her core, but it also awakened something deep within her.
“I wasn’t locked away because I was mentally ill. I was locked away because I dared to leave,” Simona reflects. “It was the courage to choose my truth that was seen as a threat.”
The Breaking Point: From Psychiatric Detention to Empowerment
The story of Simona’s time in the psychiatric ward is one of the most harrowing chapters in her journey. After trying to leave her Israeli husband, Simona was unjustly detained. Orthodox Jewish men barged into her bedroom while she was in the midst of a deep meditative trance, shaming her for her decisions. Despite being calm and cooperative, Simona was framed as a threat to her children and society and transported to a psychiatric facility.
In an attempt to silence her, the psychiatric ward administered antipsychotic injection under a false diagnosis of psychosis — one based solely on the reports of the Hatzalah (religious paramedics). Yet Simona did not accept her fate quietly. She called for help, but when the police learned she was in the psychiatric ward, they hung up on her. For seven days, Simona’s rights were stripped away: her personal phone was confiscated, and she was treated inhumanely.
It wasn’t until Simona contacted a Monash University professor — principal of Lithuanian Language School in Melbourne (PhD, MCompSc, BCompSc) — that her situation began to shift. After speaking to the professor, the treating psychiatrist revised the diagnosis from “psychotic illness” to “situational stress related to coercive control”. Shortly afterward, Simona was released from the ward, though the experience left her deeply scarred.
But even in this time of despair, Simona found a way to help others. While confined, she comforted the other women in the ward, teaching them breathing techniques and encouraging them with messages of empowerment from sacred ancient texts. Her inner strength, even in the face of adversity, became a beacon for others.
Rising Above: What Makes Simona Smaidžiūnaitė Different
Simona’s work today is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. What sets her apart from others in the wellness space is her lived experience. She is not someone offering advice from a theoretical standpoint; she speaks from the heart, drawing from the deep well of her personal struggles and triumphs.
Her work primarily focuses on healing women suffering from breast implant illness, a condition that has long been misunderstood and often dismissed. Through her brand, Simona I AM, she advocates for the importance of loving yourself in the skin you’re in. Her message is simple: true self-love comes from within, not from external validation or societal standards.
Simona’s unique journey has made her a powerful voice in the fight for women’s rights, particularly in the realm of mental health and freedom. She is a fierce advocate for women who find themselves unjustly labeled or imprisoned, whether physically or mentally. Simona’s bravery in sharing her story has resonated with countless women who have faced similar struggles and oppression.
Turning Pain Into Power: Why People Should Listen
Simona’s life has been a series of turning points, but none more profound than the moment she transformed her pain into a tool for empowerment. Deeply spiritual since childhood, it was through the harrowing experience in the psychiatric ward that her commitment to spiritual reflection and self-healing was not diminished but sharpened — and made unshakable.
“I learned that labels can imprison a soul,” she says. “The psychiatric system is flawed, and often, the real illness is not mental but spiritual, emotional, or relational.”
Her journey reminds us of the 1973 Rosenhan Experiment, in which eight individuals feigned psychiatric symptoms to be admitted to various mental hospitals. Despite behaving normally, all were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, highlighting the risks of misdiagnosis and the dehumanizing nature of psychiatric institutions. Simona’s experience echoes this, revealing the fragility of psychiatric labels and the profound impact they can have on a person’s life.
Through it all, Simona emerged not only stronger but more determined to help others find their light in the darkest of times.
Reclaim Your Power: Heal, Empower, and Transform
Simona’s story is a call to action for women everywhere to reclaim their power, trust their intuition, and seek healing from within. It’s a story of transformation, resilience, and the courage to stand up for what’s right, even when the world tells you otherwise.
Through her brand Simona I AM, she speaks to women of all ages and backgrounds,
calling them to embrace their authenticity. She knows that the healing of women is
not only personal — it is also the healing of the world.
If you are ready to embrace your true self, free from external judgment or fear, visit Simona’s platforms to learn more about her work and join a growing community of empowered women.
Check Simona’s work www.simonaIAM.com and Lithuanian website www.krutuimplantuliga.lt for resources on healing and self-love.
Simona’s story is a reminder that no matter how dark the journey, the light you seek is always within you.
