Are you going to make me bark like a dog?

It's always interesting when people ask me what I do for a living.  As soon as they hear the words "Life Coach and Hypnotherapist" they get this strange look on their face.  It's as if they think I'm somehow going to try to control their mind or make them bark like a dog. 

Being a Life Coach and Hypnotherapist who practices NLP is not something most people rattle off when asked what they do, so it's perfectly understandable why people act strange when they find out. Many people are curious about how I got to where I am today and the truth is, I have no idea.  Seriously.  None.  

If you were to go back in time and tell 16 year old me that I will one day be doing what I do now, I wouldn't believe you.  And yet here I am.  And there you are.  

Let's rewind the clock a little....

My early adulthood was not pleasant. Back then, I suffered from severe depression, generalized anxiety (which is fancy speak for everything scared the bejesus out of me), self mutilation, anorexia and bulimia from the time I was 19 until I was 32. I actually showed signs of self harm and anxiety when I was 5 years old but only received an official diagnosis when things got really out of control in my last year of high school.

I was seen by multiple crisis teams, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors and specialists. I suffered from a whole host of physical symptoms in addition to the psychological symptoms and was living in chronic pain.  
After way too many doctor's to even count, I was finally given a final diagnosis and prognosis: I was just broken, unfixable, and would likely be on meds for the rest of my life. 

Telling a person that they are broken and unfixable and giving them no hope is a truly terrible thing

When the struggles of life affect us, hope is often the only thing that keeps us going. Taking that away is just awful.

At the time, I was taking handfuls of pills just to try to appear normal but all they did was numb me out. I went for CBT (Cognitive Behavioural/Talk therapy) regularly but never really found the answers I was looking for. 

Eventually, I just accepted my fate and figured I would just have to do the best I could with my lot in life. 

Then I learned about NLP, and the rest, as they say is history!

NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming and is a model of behaviour and communication that, when used therapeutically, can produce amazing and rapid results. I first found my own Life Coach when I was looking for a hypnotherapist to help me manage my insect phobia which had gotten so out of control that even leaving my house in the summertime was a challenge.  After 20 minutes of speaking with my coach she got things about me that dozens of doctors and therapists never picked up on.  She offered me the only life line I was ever given and I grabbed on with both hands and refused to let go. 

After 13 years of traditional therapy I decided to try NLP because my coach was the ONLY person who ever told me that I was NOT broken

In NLP we believe that everyone is whole and perfect and just has strategies that are no longer serving us anymore. The techniques used in NLP are based on principles from neuropsychology, behavioural psychology, quantum linguistics and hypnotherapy. 

Most people have heard of Tony Robbins, the inspirational speaker. He is actually an NLP Master trainer so the principles he speaks about are all based on NLP teachings. Oprah is also another well known NLP Master.

The difference between NLP and traditional talk therapy is that CBT asks "why" and NLP asks "how"

CBT is all about finding out "why" you are anxious and the truth is it really doesn't matter. My fave expression is "if it's not one thing it's your mother"! Knowing the "why" will give you all the reasons you are broken and will never give you the answers to HOW you can be whole and move on. 

I would get so frustrated by my therapists.

I would tell them "I agree with everything you're saying and it makes sense in my head, but how do I get my heart to really feel it"? No one could give me the answer.

NLP doesn't care about the "why" - we care about the "how"

What strategies is your unconscious mind using to generate a reality that is served by anxiety? Once we know the "how" we can change the strategy so you can make different choices. It's really that simple. And unlike CBT which can last for years and years, NLP can achieve results in only a few sessions. 

After 13 years of being told I was just broken and doomed to live my life under a veil of panic and anxiety I am now completely free of all my fears, phobias and OCD behaviours

I found the process so beneficial and inspirational that I decided to get my training and that is how I came to be a certified Life Coach, Hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner and am privileged to work with people who want to be free from anxiety for good.