Choosing to be a Naturopath.. My Journey.

I didn’t always stay with this dream in mind, however. The idea of being a dietician faded, and in came ideas of interior design.

Around the age of 15, my mother Denise was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She was not able to work her long hours at her teaching job anymore. Instead, she would lie on the lounge very worn out. She went to a few doctors and no one was able to give her any answers, except anti-depressants and antibiotics. These did not help her. She saw numerous natural therapists, an allergy specialist, a hormone doctor and a chiropractor. She had lots of tests and changed her diet. She took lots of supplements. She did counselling. She was determined to beat her illness. I still admire her determination. And she is well now. It took her a few good years but she is well.  And now she counsels people with chronic illness. I think that is amazing.

This had an effect on me of course. I saw my mother struggle and not get the answers she needed. I could see there were issues with the current medical model which did not have any answers for her. (please note I am NOT anti-doctor- I have beautiful doctor friends and believe many doctors do wonderful things, particularly emergency doctors and integrative doctors. I believe we can work together).

I saw the hope natural treatments offered her and I wanted to learn about how I could help others in similar situations. So with my love of lettuce and all things nutrition I started to become passionate about holistic health, which is where we aim to find out why a health condition is occurring.

The owner of the local health food store (Marilyn Smith from Tamworth Honeypot Health foods- some of you may know her) was very helpful and kind to my mum. She was very encouraging and helped her with supplements and with foods. Marilyn offered me a job at her store after school and on Saturday mornings, which I accepted. It was there that I learnt about the wonderful world of herbs, vitamins and minerals and all the lovely alterative foods. It was there I made the choice to study naturopathy when I left school.

I was accepted to Southern Cross University after my HSC, and then deferred and worked a year at the Honeypot . Under Marilyn, I learnt so much. As life often has different plans for us, I became engaged that year and changed my course to a private college in Brisbane. I was married the following year and finished my studies in QLD in 2006. (Since then I have gone on to upgrade my qualifications to my Health Science degree).

So basically, it was my mother’s ill health that led me to a career in naturopathy. As I always say to my clients, we are all works in progress.  I certainly have not always had super health myself , mainly as a younger person with eczema, mild asthma, allergies, gut issues, depression (especially post second baby), anxiety, adrenal fatigue (also post baby), however I have overcome these things now, but I do have to look after myself. Finding out I have Pyrrole disorder made a HUGE difference for me, so I am particularly passionate about this area.