I am a Holistic Health Coach, specialising in healing through natural means, Author, multi-award winning entrepreneur and was previously a Registered Nurse for twenty years. I feel my sense of purpose (dharma) is to enable people to understand the root cause of their symptoms of illness or disease and guide them to heal their bodies and ultimately their lives, without pharmaceutical medications.
I spent almost three long years going through tough and trying times when I saw my darkest days. Work became impossible as my days were spent crying, sleeping and sitting in silence.
My husband was out at work and my daughter out at school left me with our two Chihuahuas as daytime companions. Home alone, I ate and drank very little.
I had shut down and retreated into myself, finding it difficult to interact without tears. Attempting to cope, lost in confusion and despair about the what and why that I had become embroiled in, every day became a battle for survival.
My family were concerned and tried many ways to reach me to help over this period of time. I was not receptive, wrapped up in my own grief about the situation and unable to comprehend their help. My body ached daily from sobbing and was wasting away from lack of sustenance.
A visit to my Doctor confirmed that I was suffering from depression and drinking in excess. Whilst I was full of melancholy without medications, I didn’t want to compound my problems, so refused.
I started having suicidal thoughts but I couldn’t imagine how to end my life. I was at the bottom of an abyss without a way out.
A slow recovery
A very good friend started taking me to the gym once a week. We would do two, one-hour classes back to back. I believed the exercise would help but in reality, I was punishing myself.
Spring was on its way; the trees were in bud; the skies were turning blue and melodic birdsong was in the air. The wind blew through the trees, making them sway gently in the cold easterly breeze and occasionally, the sun made an appearance. Slowly, all these sights and sounds came into my consciousness as I walked my dogs.
Without realising it, I was learning the art of mindfulness and it dawned on me that I was starting to feel a little better. There were days without tears and the abyss I was in still seemed vacuous but not quite so dark. There was light and a way out.
My husband had been telling me to start my own business but it had been falling on deaf ears. As the seed he planted started to grow, realisation dawned that I might be able to do something with one of my assignments at University.
Turning point
My turning point was a seminar called “Feel the fear, and do it anyway”. I realised that the depression I had was derived from fear, which is a normal emotion that everyone feels at some point in their lives. Around the same time, I had read Henry Ford’s quote somewhere, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”. I needed to do something different!
I joined the University’s Graduate Entrepreneurship Programme (GEP) to learn about setting up a business and after a few months, they scheduled an open day and put me forwards, to showcase my new business.
The showcase day arrived, my turn came and I stood in front of many people, like a deer in the headlights, talking about my business. My body shook and my voice trembled but I did it. I won the prize “Company to Watch”, for making “something out of nothing” as the judges said.
After the showcase and award, one of the tutors from the GEP informed me of a national entrepreneur competition and told me to apply. I thought nothing ventured nothing gained, so completed the online form.
An email in my inbox informed me that I had been placed in the top 15 of Britain’s entrepreneurs. It came with an invitation to London for National Freelancer’s Day. In a state of shock and full of trepidation, I embarked on the journey to London.
Myself and 14 other entrepreneurs stood shoulder to shoulder on the stage as the winners were called. The judges called my name as the second prize winner in the competition. I had made it and was now a multi-award-winning entrepreneur.
As my health improved, without pharmaceutical medications from the Doctor, I felt the need to help others to heal themselves too. I left my contracted job as a nurse in a hospital and decided to undertake training as a health coach. This meant not only the loss of my income but a large cost for the training as a coach as well as other courses and books, to improve my knowledge around health, nutrition and wellness.
At the same time, I started writing my book, HEAL YOURSELF and course, Heal Yourself At Home, to help others, alongside my coaching. My book is now in four languages and available on Amazon. Since becoming a coach, I have had the pleasure to work with many people, sharing their journey back to wellness. It truly is job satisfaction.
It is a great honour to be a part of my client’s healing journey and watch them transform themselves through healing. Their courage and strength inspire me. Having healed myself, I can relate to their journeys. My journey back to health started a few years ago.
If I could live my life over, I wouldn’t change a thing as I feel that everything that I have gone through has contributed to the path I now find myself on. I am proud of the strength I gained from the dark times I went through and naturally healing myself, which has enabled me to help others.
I believe that to succeed in life we need to step out of our comfort zone, love what we do and help others through acts of kindness.