My Story

I grew up in outer London and from an early age it was clear to me that I loved the outdoors. I always had my hands in the dirt making mud pies or playing with worms and whenever the family went to the beach I just kept on walking.

When I was 5 we moved towns and I lived opposite a disused airport: I was in heaven! I spent most weekends in the woods making camps, climbing trees and playing hide and seek, probably not the usual little girl image. I stayed this way until senior school which is when my anxieties began, I was bullied for being shy, I wasn't very academic and found studying difficult back then. Thankfully I made a few good friends that kept the bullies at bay.

I had a year at college studying business, then went into insurance as my Dad thought that would be a good option for me. But from the age of 26 I knew I didn't want to be in the financial services industry I wanted to help others. I embarked on some Reflexology and Indian Head massage courses - but it became clear these were more of a hobby than a career.

By the time I'd reached my late 30's I was fully engrossed in the corporate world, working overtime, taking on more and more. I was living for work, not living for me. Having still not found my calling in life I rented an allotment plot, and loved it! Learning how to grow veg, meeting like minded people, it became a sanctuary; unfortunately relationship issues and the stress of work had taken its toll and I was suffering from burnout and anxiety which manifested into an eating disorder. Eating take aways, late nights and not having any self-care, I lost who I was. I undertook cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help retrain my brain and thoughts around eating and began to write poetry.

My creativity that had been suppressed in my working life was suddenly able to thrive. Shortly after my CBT finished I started a counselling course with the CPCAB - I had found my treatments so beneficial I wanted to learn more about it and possibly make this my new career.

I was now in my early 40's and I began to re-evaluate my life, my long term relationship broke down and my mother was diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia. I had some big decisions to make, so I moved back in with my parents to help my Dad care for Mum.

This became a very harrowing and depressing time in my life. My mum had know idea who I was and watching her daily lost in a maze of her mind I felt helpless. I turned to writing poetry to get my feelings out and continued with my counselling studies and in 2016 passed my level 3 certificate in counselling studies. We eventually had to put mum into a care home, which was the best decision we made, she was looked after wonderfully.

I was already on a journey of self-discovery, and as my life began to shift into a more purposeful way I found a new partner, moved counties, wrote and published my first poetry book, bought my first flat and had my own garden.

Then Covid hit, and like many others I assessed my working and home life and decided it was time to follow my dreams. I embarked on some life coaching and collage training and have never looked back!

Coaching has opened my eyes to a new found freedom in my 50's. I've learnt new strategies to cope with anxieties that have plagued me most of my life, like journaling, writing a gratitude diary and creating vision boards. Making time for myself and finally finding my calling for helping others.

I stumbled across a quote I wrote in my diary, in March 2011 after reading 'Eat, Pray, Love'.

It said 'Not until you find happiness can you give joy to others. So it's now time to take a journey to find out what makes you happy to last you for the rest of your life....'

I didn't have a coach back then, but I really wish I had!