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Welcome to our blog where we share all our tips and tricks on holistic wellness and mindset.
I'm Lucy, the founder of LB Holistic Wellness and I thought it would be a nice way to kick off the blog with a post where you can find out more about me. I think it's so important when choosing a practitioner that you feel as though you can trust and relate to them. So, I hope this post facilitates that helps you get to know me a bit better.
I began my career working in Marketing & PR in London, which was absolutely amazing but with that came a lot of late nights, burn out and a cripplingly low salary. That paired with a party lifestyle making the most of London's nightlife I was well and truly burnt out. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and prescribed medication again. The first time was when I was only 16 years old, the prescription was given and I was sent on my way. At the time, I was so low that I didn't question it. But now, looking back it angers me. I needed support and someone to teach me the tools to build resilience, regulate my nervous system and in turn take back control of my life. With that being said, I had always had an inner knowing that there was something else and whenever I had the energy I would spend hours researching holistic practices like meditation and reading books written by people who had turned their lives around like Melissa Ambrosini and Gabby Bernstein and knew there was something more out there for me. It was just hard to get it to stick when I was living in a state of overwhelm, which I now know to be out of my Window of Tolerance.
It wasn't until my Grandma became really unwell that I decided to quit my job and move home to help support and care for her that I started to look inwards again. I reevaluated what was important to me in life and knew my passion was in helping others. (I seriously thought about retraining to be a nurse for a while). I decided I needed a clean break and a fresh start so I planned my move to Australia. Something I had wanted to do my whole life, but never thought I would have the guts to do it.
I feel like I truly grew up and healed in Australia. It was the best decision I ever made but it came with it's challenges too. I spent the first year there playing up to my usual party girl self...I thought this is who I had to be to get people to like me. Of course, the universe had other plans and everything came crashing down while I was doing my farm work. My body just said no. I developed an acne like skin rash all over my face overnight, I had sunken black eyes, I didn't even have the energy to stand in the shower I was that exhausted, my whole body ached and it was a really frightening time. The doctors prescribed me an acne cream and eventually ran some tests after I begged him to but all they found was that I had low ferritin.
If only I knew what I knew now, I'd know that I had early signs of Hashimoto's, an autoimmune disease which attacks your thyroid cells. I'd have known which tests to get and I even may have been able to save my thyroid. With that being said, I knew that something else was going on and I began researching as much as I could. I quit drinking and found the elimination diet and began just eating meat. After about 4 days, my skin was clear again and I started to have more energy. I then transitioned to eating more keto after a couple of weeks and felt so much better. After 6 weeks of not drinking, we had completed our farm work and had a huge trip to Byron Bay planned, feeling a lot better but still not great I fell back into the partying and this spilt out into the next 6 months as I lived in Sydney.
The depression and anxiety came back, I was trying to eat keto at the time but would binge on McDonalds on a hangover and all of the wine was not keeping me in ketosis, that is for sure. I was the biggest I had ever been, so swollen, everything ached and despite, being offered sponsorship by a fashion company working in marketing which was my goal since I'd arrived in Australia, I was miserable. I knew something had to change, this cycle couldn't continue, I wanted so much more for my life so I quit my job. I wanted to help other people like me who have mental health challenges and so it began, I worked so hard to get into a Masters of Counselling course at Torrens University. It was near impossible to be accepted without a previous degree in a related field but with a lot of determination and additional work I did it! I was then working 12 hour days, 8 hours in a temp e-Commerce role for an amazing global company and the other hours dedicated to my masters degree. I had never been busier but I was so fulfilled.
Naturally, from having a purpose and feeling fulfilled I began to turn my life around. I quit drinking because quite frankly I did not have time to be hungover and it did not align with who I wanted to be. I started exercising daily, with a gentle walk and I was back to eating keto which I knew made me feel good. I finally felt like myself again and the weight was beginning to come off. Not that weight is the focus here, but it felt like an emotional weight too.
That winter, I remember I was painfully cold every day, even with jumpers, blankets and a heater by my desk and to say I'm from the North of England, a Sydney winter should have been a breeze for me. I was doing everything I could to look after myself, meditating, and journalling, I loved my degree but the depression & anxiety came back. This time I really felt hopeless and it was a frightening time. I had no energy, joint pain, freezing cold, headaches, my eyelashes were falling out, so back to the doctors I went. I'm forever grateful to this doctor for checking my thyroid and antibodies and discovering I have Hashimoto's disease. All these symptoms I had been experiencing were a result of this. I was later also diagnosed with celiac disease, which again is the answer to a lot of issues that I have suffered with throughout my life. The doctor did however, prescribe me levothyroxine (thyroid medication) and told me there was nothing I could do to heal. It's something I'd have to take for the rest of my life and my antibodies will never go down but I had that inner knowing again that there was hope out there.
I dedicated any spare time I had to research Hashimoto's and how to heal naturally. I found the AIP diet and the rest is history. My holistic healing journey really began. After a year, I was still experiencing bloating and pain after eating and my antibodies had not shifted. I then found the Lion Diet (meat, salt, water) which allowed me to truly heal. I did this for 90 days and then began reintroducing things slowly. My antibodies were the lowest they have ever been and I felt amazing, with no stomach issues.
My journey has really taught me that we need to be treated holistically. Just fixing your diet or just focusing on one area such as meditation is not enough to heal. We are complex beings and everything needs to be in balance for wellness which is why I have continued my studies to gain certifications in hypnotherapy, coaching and NLP and now primal health coaching. On going professional development is something I am extremely passionate about as I am always on the look out for how I can further help clients.
At LB Holistic Wellness we are dedicated to true healing which is why all areas are encapsulated in our signature method from talking to the subconscious to release limiting beliefs, to anti-inflammatory diets and nervous system regulation. We find what balance is in your body to allow you to life the life you deserve.
Are you ready to start your healing journey?
Disclaimer: this is not medical advice
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