My real health “story,” or at least when I began to take notice and action, began straight out of college.

Although I had been dealing with hormonal, digestive and mental imbalance since before high school, it wasn’t until I left home that I began to pursue solutions. This pursuit continued, albeit inconsistently, throughout my college years while obtaining a degree in Political Science and Economics.

It became clear to me, after returning from spending one miserable and unhealthy year living in Dublin, Ireland that becoming a U.S. diplomat or a concert pianist was not in my future. Don’t get me wrong, I had and still have, extensive interest in politics and piano; however, being chronically ill limited what I thought was possible at the time. By the time I graduated college in 2007, I was battling severe depression, chronic digestive symptoms and had developed unhealthy maladaptive behaviors that would plague my health for years after. As many people with similar struggles know, these types of health conditions destroy everything in their path, including relationships.

After several traumatic life events, I decided to pursue post-graduate education in nutrition therapy at the Nutrition Therapy Institute in Denver, Colorado. I began to pull some pieces of my health puzzle together and, very slowly, began to improve. But I still felt like I was hobbling along. While many of my symptoms improved, the long-term debilitating hormonal and neurological patterns persisted. I had gained an immense wealth of knowledge and was beginning to help and educate others, but had a deep sense that I was missing a big piece of the puzzle.

It was not until I finally reached out to the right people and uncovered chronic infections and hidden toxins like mold that I began to make strides and significant progress.

While I don’t recommend struggling for 20 years, stubbornly on your own, I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned along the way. My joy is taking those years of personal and academic education and experience, and hopefully helping someone else discover those higher plateaus of healing.