As I look back on my life, I would say I was generally a happy and healthy person. After my third child was born, 19 years ago, I started noticing a change. I would describe it as, “feeling off.” I remember randomly feeling like the floor would drop out from under me and then I would get heart palpitations.
One day, after a trip to the urgent care, I was thrown into a medical scare. After many doctor visits and tests, with no conclusive diagnosis, I began to experience anxiety and panic attacks. Overtime, I was able to begin coping with these attacks, or so I thought. I went on with life the best I could. But, I never dealt with the cause of the anxiety.
So, it all re-surfaced after I had a bad spout with vertigo. After 2 weeks of spinning and dizziness, I ended up having a full mental breakdown. I was not able to control my thoughts or feelings and it was a very scary time.
The good news was that my family knew of a very good trauma professional, who had a different approach than most professional practitioners. He helped me find the cause of the anxiety and panic attacks, using guided meditation, visual imagery, anger and grief awareness and relaxation exercises. He helped me to change my life.
After fully recovering, I realized that this kind of work was amazing and different from anything I had ever heard about. I wanted others to experience the huge life change I had. So, I decided to study under my trauma professional for 9 months and learn how to help others. I wanted people to not only be able to function, but live their best life. Trauma mentoring has become my passion and I love helping people recover from past traumas like I have.