What Success Looks Like
Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of telling a client that she didn’t need to see me again for awhile. We had been working together for about three months to manage her anxiety and mild depression. She came to me last week, again feeling happier, livelier, with more energy and feeling balanced, both mentally and physically. We had a consultation full of laughter and hope and agreed to get back together in three months time.
As I look back on our journey together, I see the strengths she brought, and developed, to the process that ultimately allowed her to manage her anxiety and decrease her mild depressive symptoms and thoughts. This is what she did:
She had the self awareness to realise that she was in a place that she no longer could manage on her own.She knew her anxiety was getting stronger, impacting her confidence and affecting her quality of life, including her sleep and relationships. She realised the trend of her anxiety and moods was no longer positive and needed to change.
She was brave enough to ask for help. She knew she was struggling and she also realised that she did not have the skills, and I would argue the strength, to get her mind and body back in balance.
She also realised that she needed both physical and mental support and advice. So she worked with a counsellor in tandem with the work we did on her diet and lifestyle with the support of medicinal herbs and nutrients.
She stuck with it – as sometimes happens, she got worse before she got better. Her depression flared, although I think it was there she just didn’t realise it until the anxiety calmed a bit. She did better on herbs in tablet than liquid form. She found the Bach flower remedies did not suit her. She gave me feedback and we altered the treatment plan and found one that worked well for her.
She did what she said she would do – she changed her diet, she exercised, she meditated, she challenged her thinking patterns. Not without hurdles and not without relapses into old habits. Yet she consistently made positive changes.
She was kind to herself. This is one area we worked on a great deal. At one point, she set a goal to exercise four times a week and then berated herself for only doing two. She soon realised it was better for her mentally to celebrate the two workouts and set the goal of three exercise sessions next week. In the end, she adopted a kinder attitude towards her journey, appreciating her improvements whilst acknowledging yet not overanalysing her set backs.
She let go. She soon realised that her need to control everything and everyone around her was causing her a great deal of anxiety and angst, as it was impossible to do so. She soon became adept at realising what she could control and to let go of what she couldn’t. Each time she did so was further incentive to do so again in light of the weight that was lifted from her.
She had hope – because she felt she could get better, she did! She worked at it, she sometimes got frustrated and she was excited when she succeeded. So it wasn’t always easy but she was knew she was getting better and would continue to do so provided she worked at.
So for as much knowledge, support, herbs and nutrition I can bring, the awareness, attitude and optimism my clients bring is the real key to success! I won’t say that the journey is easy, sometimes it is confronting and challenging. I also believe that these key attributes can develop on the journey (hard to be positive when you are exhausted). But I know it can be done, my client is proof of that!
So if you think you have what it takes, or want to develop what it takes, to improve your health, drop me a line. My clinic is located near Newcastle, NSW at Warners Bay.
