Planet Thrive

I went to high school in Japan and when I returned to the states via ocean liner with my family I was told by my step-dad, “I guess you’re on your own now,” as our ship was pulling into the harbor in San Francisco. I wasn’t yet 18 years old but found myself standing on the dock with my suitcases not really knowing how to put one foot in front of the other. Since I really didn’t have any foundation under my feet and I hadn’t been in the states for so long I didn’t have anyone to call or anywhere to really go. I spent many years being mentally paralyzed and not knowing what the heck I should do. But I did a lot of adventurous things including traveling a lot in Europe and elsewhere. I worked wherever I landed and only spent a few months in one place for 4-5 years. When I did get some kind of roots I started to go to nursing school and by then was incredibly determined to make something out of my life. I identify those years when I was a “wanderer,” and so unsure, at times terrified, as part of the stress that damaged my adrenals and immune system.

But I was able to do amazing things, live and work in Japan (I worked for Eddie Arab Productions as a model), be a part of the counter culture in Tokyo, hitch hike across the US, travel abroad for long periods, drive from Switzerland to the Sahara desert in Morocco, live in Hippie Communes, and many other unique experiences (like attending the first counter-inaugural ball held in Washington DC for Richard Nixon, go to free concerts at Golden Gate Park in San Fransisco with Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, and stay at the Paradiso in Amsterdam). But my life ended for years when I became too ill to work at my job as a pediatric trauma ICU nurse.

My years of illness took me back to a familiar place where I found myself needing to again recoup my life. I did this with the same determination, only this time I understood the injurious power of stressors and how to work hard without damaging my health.

This week I talked to a doctor who told me about his depression, his eating disorders, his hopelessness, his use of antidepressants and how it’s a losing battle because he’s tried everything. He talked about his disillusion with medicine and Big Pharma and the FDA. Although he claims he’s done everything I told him to see my alternative MD and that everyone needs a cheerleader. Clearly he’s not doing everything and mired in what I call “REALLY BAD CARE.” I understand how he feels because I’ve been there!

We all need cheerleaders, and we need the right information, and people to tell us that there is hope while supporting and encouraging us. No matter where you find yourself, or how old you are (too young? too old?) you can start a new, healthier, and better chapter in your life. If you’re willing to do what it takes you can get your health back, start a new career, make new friends, be happy, and have a really abundant life.