My skin started to break out more frequently when I was in my first year of high school. It was not severe by any means, but like any young teenager, you strongly believe that physical appearance is the most important thing, so your skin can quickly become an insecurity. I was no different. When I noticed that regular skincare wasn’t working, I began seeking help from doctors who prescribed topicals that worked momentarily. However, sooner or later, the acne would return.

Looking back, I now realize I had severe hormonal imbalances for many years prior to my skin breaking out more. I experienced painful periods, irregular menstrual cycles, and PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder). These symptoms were temporarily masked by the birth control I started at the age of 15, but it never addressed the underlying cause affecting my skin and overall health.

After a couple of years with no answers, I had a strong feeling that something deeper was going on, making my body feel like it was working against me.

After questioning being on the pill for a few years, I finally decided to stop taking it in 2021. Initially, I didn’t notice much aside from irregular periods and anovulation (missing periods), but about six months later, I started developing more severe acne. At first, it was concentrated around my chin, but it quickly spread to my forehead, cheeks, and chin. Although I didn’t develop deep cystic acne, the breakouts left scars, and the frequency of new pimples kept my face covered in both scars and active acne.

However, my health issues were not limited to acne. I also experienced debilitating bloating, insomnia, poor mental health and anxiety, and irregular periods, occurring roughly every three months.

Despite consulting doctors for help, no one could offer me a solution beyond antibiotics or going back on the pill. I knew there had to be answers to my health struggles, and I was determined to find them.

This led me down the rabbit hole of holistic health and the concept of healing your body naturally. I’ve learned a lot and have plenty of tips to share that have significantly helped me, many of which I’ve written about in previous posts, like Foundations of Health. Thanks to a holistic healing approach, I’ve been able to listen to my body and reverse many of the symptoms I was experiencing. But what I noticed during this time was that much of the information was confusing and overwhelming. With social media as my main source at the time (which I do not recommend), I was often left with more questions than answers. One person would say “eat meat,” while another would say “do not.” This confusion extended to nearly every health-related topic. However, after many hours of research and reading endless books, I learned that, most of the time, you don’t need a million supplements or to spend thousands of dollars to feel better.

This is what I’m passionate about sharing. I want everyone to be able to learn how to listen to their bodies and feel good.

I’ve learned so much about my body over the last few years. Among many other things, I’ve learned that my body is smart, strong, and resilient. It was simply responding to unhealthy habits that I had been exposing it to over a long period of time. Some of the things that created these hormonal imbalances were nervous system dysregulation, antibiotics, birth control, low stomach imbalance, nutritional deficiencies, gut dysbiosis, low thyroid, PCOS, alcohol, lack of protein, processed foods, and the list goes on…

But that wasn’t all. In order to heal, I had to take an honest look at my habits and mindset.

Many of the health issues I had, and continue to work on, cannot be pinned to a single moment in time. It was an accumulation of my past experiences that led me to adopt habits that weren’t good for my health. I did what I thought was best with the knowledge I had at the time, but now that I know better, I also want to do better.

Some mindsets that kept me sick were victimization and scarcity, rather than abundance and accountability. I lacked discipline because I didn’t truly believe in myself, creating a silent form of self-sabotage.

This self-sabotage manifested in my life as drinking alcohol and partying to seek approval from others. It made me make decisions based on fear rather than faith. I made myself smaller to be more palatable to others. I avoided discomfort at all costs, including processing big emotions. A lack of self-awareness led me to seek validation by wearing a mask that was more outwardly appealing. Comparison stole my joy and made me believe that life had to look a certain way to be valuable. It created self-doubt and, most of all, a war within myself. This inner conflict manifested as my body’s state of imbalance and dysregulation.

To overcome this, I had to get real about my actions, beliefs, and habits.

How was I reacting to my circumstances? Was I processing my emotions? Was I staying in situations past their expiration date out of fear? Who am I becoming?

I used to view “becoming” as a passive experience, simply the sum of your life’s events. That life happens, you react, and that’s who you become. While this is not necessarily false, it’s also not entirely true. You get to choose how you react and how you allow experiences to affect you. All emotions are valid, but not all behaviors are.

I didn’t have this mindset when I first started improving my health; it has developed gradually over the past two years. Holistic health introduced me to this mindset. Because, at the end of the day, you also have to work on your mindset. It all starts with incorporating more helpful habits, and I hope to share all of this with you here on this blog.

So there we have it, a brief introduction to how some of my health challenges started and a little about my healing philosophy.