Why I’m here.

This is my first blog, so I thought I’d start from the beginning, by explaining why I do what I do.

Apart from my own experiences with chronic pain, and finding pain relief without the need for drugs or surgery, a lot of my motivation to help people has come from my experience of caring for my mum.

She already had Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease when she was diagnosed with stage 4 Peritoneal cancer 8 years ago. (COPD is an umbrella term to describe chronic lung conditions including Emphysema, Asthma, and Bronchitis. She had late stage Emphysema and chronic Asthma caused by a lifetime of smoking)

But with my help and A LOT of determination, she had 2 periods of remission lasting 5 years, (3.5 years of no cancer in total) before finally succumbing 3 years ago.

Having to deal with the medical system, the endless days in hospital having chemo, the countless emergency trips, having to wait hours and hours in various corridors and waiting rooms, dealing with well meaning but harried nurses, the awful food on offer in places where you are supposed to be getting well, the unhelpful throwaway remarks by doctors that planted seeds of fear and despair in my poor mum’s mind (called a nocebo- the opposite of placebo)- I could go on- I have seen first hand how the system doesn’t work, how years of underfunding and mismanagement have stripped the ‘health’ and the ‘care’ from healthcare.

I also saw first hand how devastating smoking is. My mum found it so hard to stop, even with COPD and cancer, that she kept going back to it even when she was ill.

I learned how so much can be different when we take matters into our own hands. By empowering my mum to look for other sources of health, and using complementary medicine for her anxiety relief and pain relief, I helped her feel in control of her health despite the gloomy prognosis.

Her empowerment led her to make different choices, which enabled her outlive the doctor’s expectations by 5 years!

At the time, I didn’t even know about how hypnotherapy for anxiety was so effective, or hypnotherapy for pain relief. I had no idea what breath work was, let alone how helpful Buteyko Breathing for anxiety was. I had no idea that Butekyo Breathing could improve and even eliminate the symptoms of breathlessness associated with COPD.

I didn’t know chronic pain could be reversed. I had never seen people give up smoking with Hypnotherapy before. There was so much I didn’t know, but just the willingness I had to show up and do my best to help her live longer, live happier and ultimately die better, was enough at that time to keep me going, and to give her as much pain and anxiety relief as possible.

Knowing what I now know, following years of experience of helping my mum and countless others who came to me after her initial success, and after my extensive training in Cognitive Hypnotherapy, Buteyko Breathing, Pain Neuroscience Education and Trauma Release Exercises, I am delighted to be able to offer a bespoke, holistic approach to dealing with chronic illness, chronic pain, anxiety relief, stress relief, smoking cessation, overcoming trauma and more.

Being able to help others find relief from difficult conditions, and all types of pain including physical pain, mental pain and emotional pain, gives my life more purpose and meaning than I had ever imagined possible.

So, much as dealing with my mum’s terminal illness was exhausting, terrifying, painful and difficult, it was also a period of transformation in my life that has ultimately led me to where I am today. It was awful- but also deeply revelatory, and empowering. And maybe my life experiences and subsequent training can in turn, help you to change your life for the better.