My Story
Hi friends and new visitors!~
Oh, happy you've found me!
If you're here because you're stuck, trust me, I've been there too! For most of my life, I was in a perpetual freeze state and didn't even realize it until I was clinically diagnosed with depression. Ironically, this revelation came right after I retired early—a time I thought would be the happiest of my life. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.
Turns out, I had been living with depression long before I hit the proverbial wall. I had become quite the expert at hiding it, even from myself.
The truth was, I didn’t recognize my suffering because I masked my inner agitation with people-pleasing and achievement. But once those sources of dopamine—my profession, the busyness of my kids' lives, and outer successes—dried up, I was left with a profound sense of "Holy hell, who am I?"
Despite my training in various therapies and a coaching certification, I didn't see my own descent. You know the saying, "We can't see the label when we're in the jar."
A trip to my family doctor confirmed the diagnosis, but finding professional psychological help during COVID was next to impossible. Armed with medication, I took my mental health into my own hands. While my trek took years, it doesn’t have to take that long. I ventured down too many rabbit holes, and while I don’t regret the abundance of information I absorbed, I realize it could have been more streamlined.
To make it easier for others, I started a practice I affectionately call Inner Self-Growth. My mission is to help others with the key insights and practices I learned from feeling broken to feeling incredible today.
This isn't the kind of help where I tell you what to do. Instead, I guide your self-discovery process so it doesn’t take as long as it did for me.
Welcome to Inner Self-Growth.
A Little More on What My Journey to Feeling Better Entailed:
On the outside, my life looked like a picture-perfect dream, but underneath, I was harboring buried trauma like a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter. My healing journey required me to face, accept, and process past events and toxic relationship patterns. I had to dive deep into the wild world of C-PTSD, uproot my old beliefs, and reprogram my brain—think of it as updating my mental software to the latest version.
Thanks to COVID, local professional therapists were as hard to find as toilet paper in March 2020. But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise! I had no choice but to take my mental health into my own hands. I embraced holistic approaches, incorporating the latest breakthroughs in bio-neuro psychology.
I leaned heavily on journaling (and even art journaling, because it kept me outta my head) and various somatic therapies. The bottom line? Once I started my inner self-growth, the benefits were mind-blowing. I’m not talking feeling a ‘bit’ better but ‘shout it from the rooftops’ better.
The transformational growth came from moving the needle in areas like self-worth, self-trust, and self-advocacy. My relationship with the world shifted from fear-based to love-based, all because my relationship with myself transformed from self-hate to self-love.
My friends, I can help YOU do the same!
My Deep Dive
My deep dive into all the theories, therapies, techniques, tools, tips, and guidance from around the globe has turned me into a veritable treasure hunter of mental health wisdom. I've amassed quite a library and built an impressive network of resources.
Inner Self-Growth can feel like trying to drink from a firehose, but fear not! I've sifted through the noise and gathered the best and latest, creating a therapeutic cocktail that's both potent and palatable.
Trust me, if it worked for me, it can work for you too. So, let’s transform your life from the inside out!
My Credentials
Post Secondary Education, BA, (MSc.)
Certified Coach (EMCC)
Certified Narrative Therapist (Candidate Diploma)
Former Therapist Cognitive Therapy (CBT)
Former Certified Human Resources Professional (CPHR)
Former Certified Consultant (CMC)
