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I used to be an actor. I had a career for over a decade that spanned stage, screen, and even the vocal booth in voiceover. But at a certain point, I tired of the hustle to sustain myself financially, as well as the constant travel and instability of my career choice. So, I stepped back from my creative life and got myself a 9-to-5.

I was so focused on making this part of my career a success that I defaulted to people-pleasing — so much so that I found myself in the midst of a perfect storm. Hindsight is 20/20, and what I can tell you now is that I had no boundaries with work (I made myself available at all hours); I was living in a house with toxic mold; I was eating takeout and barely exercising because of my workhorse mentality; I barely slept; and then, I got into a car accident.

Several months later, the symptoms — what I thought were signs my body failing, but turned out to be messages to tend to myself — hit: brain fog, cognitive decline, joint pain, and a host of other mysterious ills. The fatigue — functional exhaustion, as I’ve now learned to call it — was perhaps the most debilitating. Diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (an autoimmune disease of the thyroid, which causes hypothyroidism) and obstructive sleep apnea, I was additionally given the diagnosis of idiopathic hypersomnia (doctor-speak for “medically fatigued”) some years later. (And it might bear mentioning that the mold…and some well-timed, long-lived parasites…were major contributors to that experience.)

I felt VERY alone, struggled to find community, and got gaslit. HARD. But all throughout my experience, two pieces of deep inner knowing remained clear to me: I NEVER gave up pursuing my thriving; and I ALWAYS knew that my experience was physiological — not “all in my head.” I imagine, in retrospect, that this had a LOT to do with my amazing support system.

I’d been an activist in women’s health for some years at this point — and with my microphone in hand, the idea of combining my skills, interests, and talents to create a community and platform took shape quite organically. I wanted to give those who didn’t have support or direction the kind of understanding, inner conviction, and healing that I was beginning to experience.

In 2019, I launched Uninvisible Pod®, a podcast that takes an intersectional view on what it’s actually like to live with invisible chronic illness and disability. I became a full-time patient…and a full-time advocate both for myself, and for a host of others in my new community (including close friends, who suddenly began to crawl out of the woodwork to reveal the diagnoses they’d been secretly harboring — many of them, for years).

As my work grew, so did my network and opportunities. I’ve now had the honor of speaking about patient advocacy and invisible illness across multiple platforms, from podcasts to conferences. All while keeping UP alive and well, featuring new patient stories regularly.

My work is centered in deepening narratives about chronic illness and disability: raising awareness, inspiring inclusion, and cultivating community for those living the Spoonie life — because the act of sharing these stories has helped me find healing, again and again. I came to Health Coaching as naturally as I did to podcasting, too — I was introduced to a coach who filled me in on the process, and was immediately hooked. Several years later, I have opened my own practice — and bring with me my years of experience living with chronic illness, as well as my insider knowledge of the healthcare system and the mind/body/spirit connection (because, let’s be real…I’m living it, right alongside y’all!).

More on health coaching practice in Approach.