Why mindset alone — or health alone — was never the answer for me

I want to share a bit more of my story today — because it explains why I work the way I do now.

Before I ever became a coach, I was deeply focused on the body.

I went to chiropractic school after meeting a chiropractor who practiced nutrition and holistic care and thinking, that looks like real healing. While I was there, I realized I was far more interested in nutrition and functional medicine than chiropractic itself.

Part of that was personal.

For years, I dealt with acne, digestive issues, and a complicated, on-and-off relationship with food. I genuinely believed that if I could just find the right holistic approach, everything would resolve.

Instead, I was given long lists of foods to avoid — which only made me feel more restricted and obsessive around food.

After graduating, I worked under successful doctors practicing functional medicine. I learned their systems, applied them with patients, and followed everything myself.

And yet… nothing fundamentally changed.

My symptoms lingered.
The eating patterns kept cycling.
I was doing “all the right things” — and still felt stuck.

That frustration is what pushed me toward personal growth and mindset work.

I began to see how powerful awareness could be — how our thoughts, habits, and unconscious patterns shape our experience. That work helped in real ways. My relationship with my body softened. I understood why certain patterns had started.

I loved it so much that I built a coaching business helping women heal their relationship with food and their bodies — which eventually evolved into helping women build wellness and coaching businesses.

For years, my focus was on building my business and helping others do the same.

And my own health?

I put it on the back burner.

I kept things “under control” by being very particular with my diet.
And for a while… that worked.

Until it didn’t.

Under stress.
As responsibilities grew.
And especially as I entered midlife.

What I had been managing was suddenly asking to be addressed.

That’s when something became very clear to me:

Mindset alone isn’t the answer.
Health protocols alone aren’t the answer.

Our physical and emotional symptoms aren’t problems to suppress — they’re messages.

They’re invitations to get curious.
To ask what’s no longer aligned.
To listen to what the body and psyche are communicating — instead of overriding them so we can keep functioning.

This realization changed everything about how I understand healing, purpose, and work — especially in midlife, when what’s been held together by effort alone starts to unravel.

In the next email, I’ll share what actually helped me move long-standing patterns — not just understand them — and why this became the foundation of my work today.