Hi! I’m Dana
This is a (shortened) version of how I went from 10+ years of near constant anxiety, depressive episodes, chronic skin issues and more, to having zero general anxiety, no depressive episodes and an over 90% improvement in my chronic skin issues + fatigue. Oh, and ALL without working with a doctor.
This is really the story of me regulating my nervous system, remembering who I am, and making real, tangible shifts in my lifestyle to deeply heal.
It all started when I was 13 years old
If you peered into grade six Dana's classroom, you would've seen me hiding behind a Harry Potter book with my braces and glasses. You would've also seen me getting picked on and bullied relentlessly from the other kids in my class.
For about five years straight, I was bullied emotionally and physically - it going so far that kids threw rocks at me, cutting my neck, and me being scared to go to school.
What I didn't realize at the time is that I was experiencing trauma almost daily.
This was the time when I started to have chronic skin issues. Not only acne, but skin infections that came up out of nowhere.
Every single Sunday, during the evening, I would begin to feel sick. It was an actual physical sensation. At first my parents thought I just didn't want to go to school because I was a kid.
But what was really happening is that my body was trying its hardest to protect me - to prevent me from going back into a traumatizing environment.
When I wasn't able to do that, my body was forced to respond in other ways. I became depressed, had suicidal thoughts, gained weight (a common symptom of being stuck in the freeze response), my skin continued to get worse...it was awful.
What this meant for the next 10 years of my life...
Over the next ten years of my life, things both got better and got worse. I went to a high school that was outside my normal district and was able to get away from the kids who bullied me.
Unfortunately, neither I nor my parents had the knowledge or tools to be able to understand the true impact of what has happened to me.
I struggled deeply with self-image, confidence, relationships and lacked motivation & discipline when it came to school.
I was able to cultivate an amazing group of friends after my first year in school, which allowed me to experience a sense of community for the first time in my life. My best friend is still my best friend over 10 years later :)
When I was 17 years old, I entered into my first romantic relationship with someone from this friend group. Although I have no regrets, this five year relationship was extremely toxic...both of us bringing unhealed traumas into the mix.
I chose someone who would reinforce the conditioning I had that no one would ever want me.
He chose someone who had poor emotional regulation and would bring drama into the relationship.
During this time, my parents were getting a divorce and things turned ugly, to say the least.
Out of respect for my parents, I won't go into too much detail here. But will say that 6+ years of court battling, multiple mental health issues within my immediate family and having a younger sister was another largely traumatic and stressful event for me.
And I still did not know how to safely process and handle what was going on.
The chronic anxiety, depressive episodes, skin issues and fatigue make so much sense as I look back at this.
Sadly, I would only punish myself during that time for not being able to 'deal with it all'.
My turning point came in 2019...
After I graduated from university, I had a few career changes that all led me towards the path of entrepreneurship. Unbeknownst to me, I was continuing to live out my childhood trauma conditioning in my career by using failed attempts at entrepreneurship to reinforce the 'never good enough' narrative that was imprinted into my nervous system.
In 2019, I had just moved to Mexico when the pandemic hit and I found myself completely isolated in a small city, only knowing one person, and spending 99% of my time alone, inside.
To say it was depressing is an understatement.
I decided to try talk therapy ONE MORE time (this was after trying 5+ different therapists/psychiatrists over the years).
And wouldn't you know it, it still did nothing. I felt like I maybe learned more about why I was the way I was...and that was it.
Right after my last ever talk therapy session, when I'd decided to stop for good, I came across a term on Instagram, "Soul Work".
Soul Work...My Gateway To Healing
To this day I don't know what it was about reading this term that awoke something deep inside me.
Something that said "THAT!".
I felt my body respond and it came from a place within me that felt like it had been asleep for a really long time.
I felt both frantic and extremely calm at the same time. Knowing I'd found something I desperately needed.
I took to my computer, googling the term and came across a list of practitioners that did soul work.
On the list were a few Canadians (I'm Canadian BTW), and I came across Karen's profile.
Something clicked for me, so I booked my first session with her.
In that first session I connected to the energy of the Amazon Rainforest and touched that part of myself again that had been asleep.
Honestly, I don't have the right words to describe this experience.
What I can say is that my soul felt happy, I cried, and I connected with this deep part of myself that had been asleep. And I gave it permission to start to wake up.
To come alive again.
Enter: The Nervous System
As I dove deeply into this work, I began to get curious.
Really curious actually.
What was happening inside my body?
Why was this working when so many other things never helped me?
With some guidance from my Somatic Therapist, I began to research. Coming across the nervous system, somatics, ancestral living, epigenetics and more.
When I first understood how the nervous system works, I was fucking gobsmacked.
It literally explained EVERYTHING about how I felt, how I acted and gave me an even clearer path forward to healing.
Through nervous system regulation, which involved:
-Learning how to validate all my feelings, thoughts & behaviours and not feel guilt about them
-Drastically improving my sleep
-Learning how to create & sustain boundaries in work, relationships & life in general
-Reconnect with my body through somatic practices
-Developing personal spiritual practices
-Shadow work
-Learning about my own biology to improve my movement & nutrition
-And more!
...I have gotten to the point where I don't experience general anxiety, don't get depressed, my skin issues are almost gone, and I have more energy & creativity than ever before.
This isn't to say I don't experience stress. However, I now have the tools and ability to consciously shift my state and support myself when I'm experiencing stress.
One incredible 'side effect' of regulating my nervous system is that I am much more regulated with money. I was able to pay off all debt (around $30,000) during my intensive healing phase, and am now in a much more wealth building phase.
Experiencing all these results for myself made me realize I needed to bring this knowledge to the world.
Combining nervous system regulation, somatics, spirituality and science with evolution as my guiding force
I went DEEP on understanding the nervous system, how trauma is coded into the fascia & body, what factors contribute to healing, what options were available in the market...and realized I wasn't satisfied with what was out there.
So, here I am working towards combining nervous system regulation, somatics, spirituality and science to help others experience how GOOD life can be.
Evolution is the best guide we have as humans to understand how we can live a life of vitality, peace and deep contentment.
Today, I am working with clients privately to combine these practices as well as developing a variety of programs and resources to support anyone who desires to deeply heal and optimize their lives.
Thank you for reading my story, and welcome to the rest of your life <3
Nervous System Healing 101
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The best program for learning nervous system regulation fundamentals.
Soma Love
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Five beautiful guided somatic practices with different purposes to support you on your healing journey.
Private Coaching
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Get individualized support with nervous system regulation + health optimization that's completely tailored to you.
