I was supposed to start first grade, but my English needed to improve since I had spoken primarily Danish for the past few years, so I started kindergarten instead. I remember riding the bus to my new school in shock, wondering, "What had happened? Why am I here? Will my dad call me? Where is my dog? What will my friends back home think happened to me?

That whole year was a blur. I was confused and became quiet and withdrawn. I learned how to cope by not letting myself feel much. I pushed my painful feelings down and just left them there. It's what I needed to do at the time. Only I never stopped and kept doing it well into my forties.

The year's worth of unresolved negative feelings piling on each other was very destructive. It got to the point where numbing myself and pretending I didn't have any problems really took its toll. I never asked for help. I kept everything in as more and more problems were created because of this 'so-called' superpower of mine.

I was drowning in unrelenting stress, fear of loss, feelings of unworthiness, low self-esteem, an inability to focus, feeling stuck and hopeless, and on and on......all of which were created by me not dealing with any painful emotions and just pushing them down.

Eventually, there was no more room to push anything else down. One day, I was pacing in my kitchen, frantic about something I had been avoiding but now had to deal with. I could feel my heart racing, I started hyperventilating, and my body felt numb.

The next thing I knew, I was face down on the kitchen floor. The impact of my head hitting the floor brought me back to awareness. I didn't know what happened at first.

I carefully got up; blood was running down my face. Fortunately, I fell gracefully (in my mind anyway, LOL) and managed to only fracture my nose. I was so grateful. It was a warning sign, and I listened. I had no choice.

To help myself, I looked for natural solutions to my issues. The first thing I found was EFT tapping. It helped me release some of the negative emotions I had been holding onto, and I started feeling more calm. I became a certified Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner to help others experience the same relief I did.

I knew there was more I could do to help myself, so I discovered hypnosis. I was surprised by the incredible changes I experienced with hypnosis. In many ways, hypnosis saved my life. I wanted to share this gift with people who needed help, so I became a certified Hypnosis Counselor.

I also became a certified Life Coach to enhance my skills in helping people access the answers they already have deep within themselves so they can create the life they want.

I was fortunate to have always been surrounded by loving aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents and to have the best mom and stepfather. I had a fantastic childhood. I was fortunate to marry a wonderful man and have two incredible daughters. Unfortunately, that one event severely affected most of my life because of the avoidance skill I learned as a child.

I am so saddened by all that I lost because of that damn on/off switch, such as time, relationships, opportunities, joy, peace, and much more.

Any traumatic event that happens before you are seven has a much more profound impact than it would have if it had happened later in life. The sooner you resolve your issues, the sooner you can be happy and feel at peace.

Everything happens for a reason. My past hurt led me to my purpose: helping people who are struggling with painful emotions to move past them and thrive.