Why I do this
I’ve spent a lot of my life feeling invisible….being non-binary, bisexual, pagan, queer, and chronically ill can definitely do that. At age 15, my knee swelled up like a balloon. That was the start of my life with chronic illness.
For the past 27 years, I’ve collected diagnoses like some people collect Pokemon: fibromyalgia, spondylolisthesis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, bile acid malabsorption, antibiotic-induced autonomic neuropathy, Reynaud’s syndrome, non-diabetic peripheral neuropathy, migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, and hidradenitis suppurativa.
I also collected degrees, the last one being a doctorate in clinical psychology. I’ve worked as a psychologist in hospitals and nursing homes. I’m trained as a death & mourning doula as well as a hospice volunteer. I’m a registered yoga teacher. I’ve been a therapist to dozens of people living with injuries and diseases.
And I did all that while secretly and miserably dealing with pain, fatigue, and other symptoms.
I know the desire to be recognized as sick and struggling. I know that in the next second we can want no one to know and to be treated like we’re healthy.
And I also know that even the best physician sends us out the door with little more than prescriptions, a follow-up appointment, and maybe some home remedy advice or orders for more tests. They simply don’t have the time or the training to give us the tools we need to live as well as we can while being as sick as we are.
That’s why I started offering coaching and online programs. And that’s why I wrote the book I Can’t Fix You—Because You’re Not Broken: The Eight Keys to Freeing Yourself From Painful Thoughts and Feelings. I’ve been lucky that my training as a psychologist also helped me find the tools I needed to live more, live better. And I want you to have these tools too.
And why do I help weird people do cool stuff? One of the things that has kept me going through all of is is creating, whether creating businesses or art. I firmly believe in the power of creative work to soothe, inspire, energize, express, bring attention where it is needed, and to motivate action. Your voices are needed. Our voices are needed.
You have ideas and dreams that are unique to you, and I’m here to help you overcome the imposter syndrome, procrastination, lack of motivation, and overwhelm that’s been keeping you from making them happen. I’ve done it for creatives and entrepreneurs ranging from sci-fi authors, comedians, and dancers to event organizers, graphic designers, programmers, and coaches. And I want to do it for you too.
And why weird people? For years, I’ve struggled to find coaches and business consulting that could understand my identities, or who could understand my world….I didn’t want anyone else to sit through courses and calls like I have sucking it up every time the leader referred to everyone as “gals” or “ladies” or made assumptions about monogamy and heteronormativity. There need to be places that welcome everyone, from sex workers to gamers to people living with invisible illnesses, to access this kind of help and information.
It took me over 15 years to figure this stuff out for myself, but you can get the same information in much less time from me, along with accountability, coaching, and support.
I’d be honored to be your guide.
Send me a note and let’s discuss how.
