The real truth about my life probably isn’t any different to yours, with the exception that mine is my story and yours is yours.  It’s still a story.  At some point in your life it shaped who you are and how you approach your everyday.  But maybe it’s more than that.  Maybe it has been the catalyst to what you do professionally, the real truth about who you are and how you show up in the world.

The real truth about your life has made you who you are today.  But who is that and is that even real?

I’ve always felt that my story came from a place of facing hardship and fears.  Please, don’t get me wrong, people have had it a gazillion times worse than me, I grew up extremely privileged.  But problems and feelings are relative, one of us can feel worry at the same depth that others do, even though the experiences aren’t even remotely similar.  It’s how we approach these challenges that actually matters.

I also thought, literally until this weekend gone by, my own current story (as to why I do the work I do) was primarily shaped in my adult years especially surrounding my son, Geordie’s diagnosis (read more of that here).  But, I was wrong.  Over the past several days I’ve come to learn, it was much, much earlier than that.  My adult years just drove it home, and truly the way in which I serve my patients and audience really did relate back to my childhood.

So here’s my story.

Many years ago, I horrifyingly remember the most intense stabbing pain through my chest which seemed to repeat every hour or so. I was eight at the time and who knows, maybe it was more frequent.  At the time, I didn’t want to know and I chose to ignore it.

I had a history of pretty hefty and recurrent chest infections, most of which were managed by medication and nothing ever getting to the real reason why.  Every winter I was sick.  Every winter I was medicated.  But this winter was the worst.

Just days before, Mum had taken me to the Doctor, his words forever imprinted in my mind, ‘if she so even remotely complains of chest pain or looks like she is in pain, you need to call me immediately.’

The next night, as fate would have it, the pain was so intense, but I wasn’t having a bar of it.  I refused to tell anyone.  You see, my greatest worry to date in my 8 years around the sun was separation from my family.  I avoided sleep overs, school camps, even sleeping at my grandparents for fear of being far away from their care  It gave me great anxiety and the easiest way to deal with it was simple… stay within the comfort of my family.

I remember crouching behind the family couch as the pain got worse, thinking Mum had no idea and I was doing a fair job of hiding it. Truthfully I did NOT want to go to hospital and I knew this was the only option should the pain worsen. As I went to get up, there she was, hovering over me (as all Mums know  E V E R Y T H I N G).  Those words I will also never forget, ‘Nat, the pain is worse isn’t it?’  I nodded and started sobbing because I knew what was coming.  Hospital meant being taken away from my family and the comfort of my safe home.

In hindsight, it wasn’t really such a bad thing, but as an 8 year old it became an imprint into my reality.  I didn’t want to be alone, but in those days I spent in hospital being treated for pneumonia (yup I hid it for weeks!) I had no choice but to grow and learn.  And of course, I did it.  I survived and more than likely became a stronger young woman because of it. It’s because, in each and every waking moment, each experience, each encounter we are shaping our lives based on our beliefs and experiences.

For me, fear shaped my reality and continued to do so until I was able to harness the awareness that this didn’t need to be my way forward.   Now in hindsight, my experience around Geordie’s diagnosis was that exact same feeling I had, waving goodbye to Mum and Dad (and my sister, look how smug she is in this pic below haha!) as they left me in hospital as that 8 year old girl.  It wasn’t the goodbye, it was the fear of the situation.  Fear is such a black cloud and for many of us, our default.

For years I have thought the experience around Geordies diagnosis was a large part of my story, my calling, and the reason I felt compelled to call women from their fear and help them change their relationship with how they approach their hormones.

This was the whole idea of The Hormone Revolutionist.

It feels good to learn this about myself and reinforces that for me, and that my heart is in the right place as I continue to help support women to live their best lives, free from fearing their hormones and embracing their wonderful body’s, even if they seem to be working against you.

Your body is always talking – I wonder if you are listening.

Alongside my dearest friend Dr Shawn Tassone, I have created what I feel is the most amazing resource to help you reach another level of empowerment.  To help you take away that fear and have you embracing your body that much more.  We’ve interviewed 15 amazing guests, we’ve asked the questions, done the hard work and compiled this platform for you, to really get the answers and start to action change today.

And I’m going to keep on creating, because I know it’s part of who I am and what you need.  The real trick – focus on health, not illness.  That’s where the magic really happens.

I’d love for you to check out The REAL Truth About Hormones.  You can access the FREE version here or explore the options to upgrade and dive into the utopia we have created alongside the 15 interviews, with amazing bonus interviews plus worksheets, checklists, access to memberships, meal plans and more.  Plus you get to come and interact with US.  We are here to help.  All you have to do is join us.

Learn more about Dr Shawn HERE.