My Healing Journey

 

 

As I entered my thirties, I started to feel like something was missing. I had struggled with what I now know is mild anxiety and depression from a young age, but this was at a time when no one was really talking about mental health and I had no idea how to cope with those difficult feelings. Like so many of us do, I searched externally for some kind of relief and this came in the form of unhealthy habits, patterns, and coping mechanisms.

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I used alcohol as a form of self-medication, travel as a form of escapism, and work as a distraction to try and mask my uncomfortable emotions. I was searching for all the answers in all of the wrong places and getting stuck in the same repetitive patterns and cycles. It was like I was moving through life on autopilot and the temporary band-aids I had become so used to, started to peel away, no longer masking the unhealed trauma I had been holding onto.

 

I had tried to improve my lifestyle through exercise and a healthy diet but I was still avoiding deeper issues and what was triggering these uncomfortable feelings. It took a traumatic life event a few years back to really make me wake up. Sadly, I lost my best friend and soulmate to alcohol addiction. It was devastating to lose someone who meant so much to me so suddenly and it rocked me to my core. After her death, I used the same old coping mechanisms I had used previously during difficult times but this time, nothing worked. I realised no amount of alcohol or any other distractions would heal these painful emotions, and then I realised that I had been doing this my whole life and that it wasn’t getting me anywhere. I realised that in order to heal you have to feel it all and that means removing the band-aids and all of the other distractions. This epiphany, as well as the stark realisation that life is short and can change in the blink of an eye, made me decide to walk a new path. I decided I had to find a new way to handle my emotions, to heal naturally, and come back to myself.

 

I have been teetotal since September 2018 and credit my newfound sobriety as well as transcendental meditation to much of my transformation. I also returned to Reiki, something that has been in my life on and off for the past ten years.  After seeing the positive effects it had on my own personal healing journey,  I felt called to learn this technique so that I could in turn help others and share the benefits this alternative therapy brings to so many.

 

As many of us know difficult times tend to provide a turning point in life and having experienced difficult emotions and traumatic life events myself, and through clients, I have great confidence in our capacity as humans to change and grow. I truly believe that if we are unhappy in our lives, it is up to us to make those changes and that means putting in the work and investing in yourself. 

 

Through Reiki, the practice of mindfulness and reconnecting our mind, body, and spirit, I truly believe we can discover patterns and make connections with certain behaviours. Through acceptance, we can begin healing and focus on how we can bring about change to live a fulfilled life. This type of therapy allows you time to explore your inner self in a safe and non-judgmental environment. My approach is warm and friendly and like you, I am still learning and by no means do I have it all figured out, but I do have a lot of life experience along with the compassion and empathy that is needed for deep exploration. 

 

It can be quite lonely when you are traveling on a new path, especially when you are shedding old patterns and behaviours and going through deep transformation. My intention is not only to support you on your personal journey but to show you that you have all the tools required within to heal yourself and that by living mindfully and by embodying a healthy mind-body-spirit,  you can reconnect to your true authentic self and live a happy and fulfilled life.