LIFE HAPPENS
A peek into my story
It was the overcoming of various life challenges that further taught me some of the most valuable lessons in life, many of which I can now share with my clients. I have been through two very difficult transitions in my life and both proved to be welcome opportunities to do some serious inner work, to learn and to grow.
The combination of the break up with my “we-will-retire-together” partner, my expatriation from Vienna to Brussels shortly afterward, coupled with the challenges of adjusting to a brand-new life in an unfamiliar culture, heralded my first identity crisis.
It was then that I started to work with a therapist to uncover and resolve baggage accumulated over the past decades. Despite my initial strong resistance to therapy, I soon realized that this is one of the most rewarding steps one can take towards its own happiness and inner peace.
Fast-forward to a few years later, I had just returned from a four-month sabbatical when I had a most unpleasant encounter on the streets of Brussels.
An unexpected crisis
Still “high” and euphoric from the incredible experiences and impressions of my trip and feeling that all the puzzles in my life had finally come together, I was attacked at gunpoint.
My immediate response was to freeze, which I later learned sends the body into shock, trapping the energy there and releasing it only months or even years later through anxiety and depressive states.
Although I did get away safely, the event consequently caused my life to suddenly and frighteningly spin out of control. One area of my life after another started to collapse like a row of dominoes. Frequent panic attacks and the inability to take on tasks I could usually perform with ease (for example a challenging phone call in the office), gave me debilitating anxiety.
I was forced to take more than a year off work for medical leave and was prescribed anti-anxiety medication. This completely bulldozed my ego and made me question my identity, my abilities, my skills, and my future. It literally crushed me.
Discovering the power of coaching
Despite actively engaging in various forms of therapy and attempting to return to work several times, the severe anxiety never subsided. It was a powerful coaching session that helped me to finally swallow my pride and accept that my life as I knew it – with my career at the center – was no longer sustainable; it was time to let go.
All in all, it took me two years of persistent searching for the right combination of trauma release techniques as well as the right experts in the field of trauma to help me understand what I was going through.
Hours of in-depth work with various therapists, psychologists, coaches, and experts in alternative medicine supported my recovery from PTSD and severe Burn-Out.
Another year was needed to resolve other layers of trauma, brought on by the fact I’d had to let go of the job that defined me and to come to terms with everything I had lost.
But I made it!
I have come out on the other side of what started as a negative experience. Looking back today, I can say that I am grateful for everything I have been through. Yep, it was extremely rough on me. Yep, the price I paid with my health was too high, but I also know that without this experience I would have never gotten to…
…Where and Who I am today
As I carry my career accomplishments and rich experiences with me,
I now live a nomadic lifestyle, making a temporary home wherever my duffel bag is and thereby fulfilling my dream of continuously exploring the world.
✔ My favorite way to travel is by bike.
✔ To navigate the world in a Volkswagen Buli & on a motorbike is on my Bucket list.
✔ I love to hike the woods and mountains.
✔ I adore indulging in dark chocolate, super weak Cafe Lattes that not many baristas can make.
Oh, and Chai Lattes.
✔ My weaknesses? Bikes, bikes and bikes again. Oh, and sneakers.
✔ I can never have enough bags and backpacks for traveling.
✔ As I adore dogs, but my lifestyle does not allow me to own one,
I occasionally dog-sit various furry friends.
