The Real Reason I Became a Health Coach (My Uncut Story)

I was talking to a friend the other day who asked me why I started health coaching and what I hoped to help clients with. I took a beat. Usually, I answer this with my medical background: how the system is broken, how I got into nursing to help people prevent disease, and teach them how to live a healthier life. All of that is true. But it's not the whole story.

The truth is, I was my first client.

Somewhere along the way, I believed at a young age that being perfect made me worthy. That if I just did everything right, looked right, acted right—I could finally feel safe and loved. This belief led me into a cycle of people-pleasing, disordered eating, anxiety, and burnout.

Here’s briefly what that looked like:

• Adolescence: I was obsessed with control—tracking every calorie, over-exercising, and silently suffering while being praised for my "discipline."

• College: On the outside, I was thriving—good grades, social life, ambition. On the inside, I was hiding panic attacks in bathroom stalls and trying to outrun my own emotions.

• My early career: Working night shifts, surviving on caffeine, disconnected from my body, and convinced that if I just pushed harder, I’d finally feel like I was enough.

Control became my safety blanket. But it was slowly harming me.

What finally changed? I stopped performing health and started feeling it.

This transformation didn’t happen overnight. It was a gradual, slow shift that occurred over many years.

Here’s what helped me heal:

• Reiki: My first experience of true peace in my body

• Essential oils: Natural support for sleep, immunity, and emotional grounding

• NLP therapy: Finally understanding the root of my beliefs and behaviors. Understanding that I can only control myself.

• Functional Medicine: Understanding the interconnectedness of our body systems and mind.

• Mindset + journaling: Letting go of the fear that I am not enough.

I began listening to my body. I redefined health not as control, but as connection.

And once I felt the power of that shift—I knew I had to help others find it too.

This work is hard, but it’s doable. And it starts by knowing you don’t have to earn your worth.

If you’re stuck in a cycle of:

• Constantly needing to prove yourself

• Feeling anxious or overwhelmed when things feel out of control

• Chasing health as a checklist instead of a feeling

• Feeling tired but overstimulated, and you can’t turn off

• Negatively talking about yourself

• Attempting to control every aspect of your life

• Using food as a reward or as an enemy

• In a constant state of guilt or shame

• Having a never-ending to-do list

• Feeling like “it’s all on you”

I see you. I’ve been you. And you don’t have to do this alone.

I'm offering free 15-minute consultations for those who are ready to redefine what health means—on their own terms.

Services I offer:

• Reiki, 30 & 60 minutes

• Health Coaching Sessions using NLP and Nursing

• Essential oil rollers

Mark your calendar — some upcoming events:

• INSTAGRAM LIVES:

  • July 22nd @ 10 AM EST - The Anger Manifestation, co-host Sandra Lee