In my pursuit of becoming a conventionally trained medical doctor, I heavily neglected my health. I was always sacrificing sleep, scarfing down takeout on the go, skipping the gym and missing out on plans to get ahead in my studies and career. At the time, I told myself this was normal. This is what EVERYONE does enroute to success. What I didn't understand at the time was that just because this behaviour was common, that did NOT make it harmless. Becoming a medical doctor did not make me immune from illness. In fact, it put me on a very fast track to burnout!

My anxiety took a turn for the worse, my mood swings were out of control and I was diagnosed with severe OCD during medical school, with compulsions consuming hours of my day. The cystic acne I've battled since age 12 became a full body war, furthering my severe body image issues. I fell into a vicious cycle of stress eating, weight gain and yo-yo dieting. My immune system was struggling to keep up, as I was catching colds every 2-4 weeks. This isn’t even the end of the symptom list for me, but you get the picture. Suffice to say, things were not going well.

In an attempt to get a handle on my symptoms, I started taking medications to manage the OCD, headaches, congestion, allergies and GERD. I would start a new diet every Monday only to fall off and binge two days later. I tried a third round of Accutane and continued the revolving door of Dermatologists to get a handle on my skin. Nothing was working. I felt so defeated and my mental health was deteriorating at an alarming speed. I was burnt-out and sick of running on this never ending hamster wheel of everyday life.

In addition to my personal health struggles, I felt like I was losing my empathy as I progressed in my medical training. It’s hard to be empathetic when you’re sleep deprived and running on fumes. I didn’t like the version of me I was becoming. I also had a nagging feeling that I could be doing more for my patients, by way of education and root cause analysis. I didn’t want to simply prescribe medications. I wanted to teach my patients how to prevent illness in the first place!

Having the perspective of both a provider and a patient of the conventional system, I realized that NO ONE was coming to save me. I had to save myself. Witnessing the limitations of our medical system and the poor outcomes of preventable diseases led me to abandon this sick-care model for an inside-out holistic approach.

I left my residency training with a singular goal of healing myself and in my journey of recovering what I had lost, I discovered EVERYTHING. I realized the power of lifestyle management, nutrition, Ayurveda and somatic practices as medicine. I started building my resiliency toolkit that would carry me in the face of stress. And I had to unlearn much of what I simply accepted as fact. In this process of unlearning, I became the most vibrant version of myself. I reversed all of the conditions that plagued me for years and got off every one of my medications. And now I am so grateful to be able to guide my clients in their journey to wellness.

Now I am on a mission to empower women in their ability to heal from within and be in the driver’s seat of their health. The power to be well for good is truly in our hands. Health is the foundation upon which all else stands. So let’s build a foundation that lasts. If you are feeling burnt-out, exhausted, struggling with stress eating, anxiety or weight gain and you are looking to regain your energy, resilience and confidence, I know how you feel. Click the link to get my free starter kit and please feel to reach out and chat. You absolutely CAN get on the other side of this and I would be honoured to guide you through your journey.