Growing up, I experienced various traumas; some more severe than others, but they all had a negative effect on my health and well-being. From losing my mother at age 5 and growing up in foster homes to being homeless for three years to two failed marriages and being a single mother. These experiences caused me to have not only health issues within my gut, but also mental health issues. Over the years, I developed many scars and in having these scars, I had to make choices on how I let them affect me. Will I allow my scars to define who I am or will I use my scars to empower me to live a healthy, joyful and fulfilling life?
When it comes to mental health, my scars run very deep. I had a childhood full of therapy sessions to figure out "what was wrong with me" and court dates to determine where I was going to live next. It took a tremendous toll on my gut and mental health. I had absolutely no direction and no answers.
Having a life-long battle with my gut health became my norm and I just thought that it will always be this way and there is nothing I can do to change it, so I may as well deal with it. I had that attitude until the day I was diagnosed with the auto-immune disease, ulcerative colitis. Since my diagnosis, I was determined to find a way out of taking prescription medication for the rest of my life to keep my symptoms at bay. I chose that day to make a change in how I ate and lived my life. I started doing research on my diagnosis and went through a lot of trial and error to not only prevent future flare-ups (which are not pretty at all), but to heal my gut. I have been in remission for over 4 years now and I have learned to listen to my body and not just feed it, but nourish it as well.
Nourishing your body isn't only about the foods you eat and the beverages you consume, it is also about nourishing your mind and spirit. Did you know that 90 percent of our serotonin lives in our gut?! That was a shock to me too and it explains so much when it comes to the choices we make for our health and happiness. When you have an unhealthy gut, you most-likely have an unhealthy mind and spirit.
This is why living a healthy life is such a passion of mine. I have learned so much by just listening to my body and making small, but significant changes to my lifestyle that I actually decided to go to school to further my knowledge and expertise on health and well-being. Now all I want to do is help women with similar issues as mine and who have overcome so much in their life; we have survived the worst of the worst and we owe it to ourselves to live the best life we can live with vitality, strength, and spirit. Once you have it, no one can take it away from you!