Today, I am living a healthy, happy and peaceful life, aligned with my values and goals, and living my purpose. I cultivate healthy relationships and I practice guiltless self-care. I have learned how to break free from what's keeping me stuck, and integrate positive life-style habits, so that I feel mentally strong and in control, the best version of me! It wasn't always this way though...
In my early adult life, I tried an anti-depressant (now the third most highly prescribed drug classes in the United States, according to the CDC), but that was short lived, as I could not handle the side effects of it on my energy and sex life. It also created brain fog and memory issues, affected my vision, and let me feeling just flat and numbed out. This was not me! And I knew deep down, it was not at all aligned with my values or what I really thought was right for me.
You see, in my late teens, I learned that my mother died because a prescriptive drug depleted her body of potassium, and she had a heart attack at age 32. That prescriptive drug had been pulled from the market at the time she was taking it, for the very reason she had a heart attack, but the doctor and pharmacist continued to prescribe and give it to women- it was a diuretic – for weight loss. There was no education provided to these women to replenish potassium, quite the opposite, a “diet” completely lacking in nutrients was recommended. Wow! A senseless, preventable death that devastated a family!
So of course I had to ask myself, how do we get to a place where we believe that prescriptive drugs are the answer to our struggles and problems? And if that is not the answer, what is?
Fast forward to my experience as an overwhelmed, stressed out, anxious single mother of a young son who was struggling with symptoms of what was leading to a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder (ADHA). (This is now a major childhood mental health epidemic folks!)
At that time, I was learning that many young children were being put on medication that would alter their minds so that they could “behave” and “pay attention” in social settings, and focus on school work. The side effects, both short and long term, did not appear to be a consideration, nor were the long term affects widely studied. My intuition said No Way! There had to be another solution.
I made up my mind that I was not going to put my son on mind altering medication. After tons of research (and there is much scientific evidence!), I implemented an evidenced-based nutrition plan and got strict with structure.
My research and referrals also led me to employing holistic health practitioners, such as a Homeopath and Chiropractor, to aid in putting his mind-body in-balance and getting to the root cause of ailments. He was a healthy, happy and thriving boy, and went from a C-D student to A-B student, and so much more stable. Not bad! I became obsessed with integrating holistic nutrition and care into my family's lifestyle. To this day, my son's words to me “Mom, thank God you didn't put me on medication. I wouldn't be who I am today.”
Implementing this life-style did give me a sense of control over my life, and I noticed some positive changes in my mental health as well. However, as I continued to experience loss in my adult years – a failed marriage that led to divorce, loss of home (again), joblessness in a horrible job market, and eventually bankruptcy, my emotions got the best of me, and I relived that which I had not healed from.
At that time, my only child moved across the country, and I felt I was at a complete loss once again. Wow, talk about feelings of powerlessness, hopelessness, loneliness, anxious about the future, and depressed – all the old feelings were coming up again, reliving that theme.
After a stint of immersing myself in alcohol to numb the pain, I realized something had to drastically change. I was so not in alignment with myself. I made a mid-life career change and began to follow my calling.
Fast forward to today. Following becoming an RN, it was through a Transformational Program that I learned that my greatest challenges could indeed be my greatest gifts. I had no idea that these parts of my journey, my biggest challenges, would actually lead me to this purpose of wanting to empower those that feel powerless in their physical and mental health.
If you are struggling with emotional stress, anxiety, feeling depressed, and feel stuck and overwhelmed, I can help shift the inner crisis.