The Journey to Myself

My “wellness” journey has been a long one, which makes sense since it’s a journey and not a destination, right? It’s incredible to look at the difference in these pictures – knowing how she has been shaped by all the choices and experiences that have come her way.

In 2004 I found myself experiencing fairly significant digestion issues and migraines. I didn’t know what was causing these issues and honestly, I really thought it was just who I was – simply the way things were going to be. All the commercials on television were offering up medication for indigestion and all the other related gut issues I was experiencing. My doctors were offering medication for the migraines. So, I was taking different things for each problem – sometimes regularly, sometimes sporadically. Nothing really seemed to help consistently.

I tried to find as much information as possible about migraines – this one was the one that was most debilitating. It happened at work. It happened while I was driving on my commute. It happened at random. It was dangerous and frustrating, and there didn’t seem to be a clear reason why – I couldn’t find the common denominator.

After doing the research, I discovered that stress, processed foods, caffeine, red wine and dehydration were likely culprits given that I was consuming all of them. So, I removed processed foods, caffeine (specifically soda & coffee), and red wine from my diet. I began drinking a lot of water instead and as for the stress, I began listening to “self-development” books on CD starting with those by the amazing Dr. Wayne Dyer. I so love him and am grateful to my brother for introducing him to me.

When I told my doctor I didn’t want to take the last medication she’d prescribed (the side effects were more than I wanted to subject my body to), she recommended vitamin supplements of B2 and Magnesium. I didn’t understand why she hadn’t suggested that initially, but now I realize that prescriptions are the first line of defense from many medical perspectives. I’m grateful I listened to my body and kept searching for a more holistic approach. I am not anti-meds. They work for so many people. They simply didn’t create a solution for me.

All of this helped with the migraines and somewhat with my digestion, although it remained an on-going experience. I continued to feel effects of the stress, as I wasn’t really dealing with the emotional concerns from the pressures I felt at work and in my relationship. The stress was moving deeper into my body. My shoulders and neck where painful all the time, my low back began to ache and I experienced twinges of sciatica. I was medicating with alcohol on the weekends, not red wine, but other types. It was what seemed to take the edge off. I considered myself a social drinker, but it felt “needed” and it wasn’t really helping. With that, I was smoking too. It was an incredibly potent combination – trying to ward off the stress and then creating more of it by feeling really awful physically the days after, never mind, I wasn’t addressing the emotional issues that were ramping up my stress level.

In 2008, my body physically felt so tired, sore and beaten down. I was closing in on turning 40 and thought I’d better do something. I started to move my body (it had been forever). Exercise CD’s were my choice since I could do them at home early in the morning before I went to work. I found a neuro-muscular massage therapist who I saw religiously every 3-4 weeks and during this time, I found out she was a life coach too! She was a life-saver in so many ways. She would work on my physical body and we would talk through various mental and emotional situations. These sessions helped me deal with the pressures I felt coming from many directions and also taught me how to empower my life through setting boundaries, feeling into my own self-worth, and empowering myself to take action toward what I truly wanted out of life.

Then, as happens in this unpredictable and remarkable human life we live, another curve ball. My marriage was falling apart even though we loved each other deeply. We were struggling to make it all work and tragically, I lost him to suicide. I cannot begin to adequately describe what this was like. Suffice it to say, it was unlike anything I could have ever imagined nor would wish for anyone else to experience. Heartbroken is not the right word, but it will have to do. I was heartbroken for him, for his family, for his friends, for our friends, for my family, for my friends, and for me. It rocked me to my core. It changed everything. That first year was about defying all the odds. Initially, I had full support from his family and friends, along with mine and then, it all shifted. I became the reason for it, the person to blame. I lost so much that year, but remarkably, I gained so much as well. I began to see what was truly important and meaningful.

I took what I had learned earlier in my wellness journey and magnified it. I stopped smoking, I began drinking much less – I still drink, but I’ve learned how to manage my emotional life differently through coaching and yoga. I no longer “need” the alcohol to cope. I began my yoga practice, meditation became a regular occurrence, I found my spiritual side, I left my 18 year career, I started a new one (teaching yoga & life coaching) the next year, I found a whole-food based lifestyle that healed my body from the inside out, I learned more about how to be in and create more meaningful relationships, I uncovered more of myself, and I learned how to create a new life.

Now, in my 50’s (which by the way, is completely bizarre and awesome all at the same time), this work continues daily.

There’s more to uncover. 

There’s more to reveal and become.

It is a journey.

It is why I now do what I do in the world.

It is why I am a Life Coach,

It is why True You was created!

It is my joy and my passion to help people move and grow through their own journeys to uncover who they truly are.

I love you all and am so grateful to be a part of your lives and to have you be a part of mine.

Thank you for being you, for showing up in this world and sharing your life with all of us.

With so much love,

Kathryn