If you would have told me a decade ago that my chronic symptoms were simply a response to my nervous system being overwhelmed and dysregulated due to a combination of having a perfectionist personality, childhood trauma, and lifestyle stress I would have thought you had lost your mind. But as it is so often said, “hindsight is 20/20.”

I grew up one of three sons to one fantastic mother. She unfortunately did not have the best of luck with marriages, but finally found a good one in my stepfather in my later teen years. Looking back I see a woman who had to carry the load of father and mother working two and three jobs to make a living to provide for her three sons. I saw early on in my childhood what it took to take care of a family, and that often money was scarce. I worked hard to try to help her at times knowing just how hard she worked to make ends meet. I really wanted to make her proud seeing how she sacrificed for us through the years.

When I was 18 I joined the US Air Force and was blessed to find a career in the field of physical therapy. I went to school and completed my Associates degree and received my license to practice as a Physical Therapist Assistant. I also had the privilege to be chosen to instruct physical therapy for my last few years in the military. It was during these years that I developed an eczema primarily affecting my legs and hands.

After separating from the military I decided to pursue the Christian ministry. I worked in various ministry roles until my wife and I with our children started a church where I pastored for the next 20 years. The amount of stress I experienced at times manifest as gastrointestinal issues that would knock me down for several days at a time. There were also times when I would suffer from back and neck pain that would come out of nowhere. Meaning I hadn’t performed any type of activity or labor that should have triggered the kind of pain I was experiencing.

During my time working in Christian ministry I was still working in physical therapy. And after several decades working with thousands of people suffering from various chronic pain health issues I began to realize I had my own chronic health problems that kept returning again and again when I least expected it.

It was just a few years ago after playing a rather lousy game of golf that I felt I needed to fix the problem. So there I was emotionally hitting one ball after another out in to the field, until I felt my back begin to guard up. Over the next 72 hours I experienced the worst pain I had ever felt extending from my back down my left leg to my foot. Having decades of experience in physical therapy I thought I knew for sure what I had done. In my mind due to my training I had most likely traumatized my back either causing a disc herniation or some condition that was compressing a spinal nerve, which is commonly called sciatica. Knowing what the doctor would do if I went to him. I decided I would do my own rehab. After nine months with only marginal improvement with days of flare ups that would once again cause me to be debilitated and depressed. I knew I had to look for an answer. So I found a physical therapist online who promised he could fix back pain and sciatica. I paid for the rather expensive fee ($1,500 out of pocket) and began the six week course. In the second week of the course I was tasked to read a $15 book called - “The Way Out of Chronic Pain” by Alan Gordon. Within the next 48-72 hours for the first time in months my pain almost went away completely. That’s when it happened! My mind shifted to awareness that I wasn’t broken, and my healing journey began.

The amazing thing (here is the 20/20 part) is that I never really understood just how much stress I was under throughout much of my childhood and adult life. And I especially did not understand that my mind and nervous system perceived a constant threat due to this stress, and was simply attempting to send a message to my body. You may ask how can this be? I can assure you that I have myself worked with thousands of people suffering from Chronic pain and symptoms who most likely were simply suffering from an overwhelmed and dysregulated nervous system. And the saddest part is that our health system in much of the western hemisphere gives no validity to this now proven scientific understanding. And to often even if they did receive temporary relief with the traditional biomedical approach, within a few months they would be right back in the physical therapy clinic to see us once again. Or worse they would fall further into the healthcare system being bombarded with multiple tests, procedures, and often surgery.

Not only did I realize the root of my chronic symptoms could be traced back to a type of mind-body syndrome. I also realized from decades of experience that there exists a multitude of people who are still suffering and without hope searching for an answer to gain their lives back.

So as so many clinicians who have experienced this epiphany and dedicated themselves to this great work. I chose to go back to school and become certified as a health and wellness coach. And to pursue further education with the specific purpose of dedicating the remainder of my career to helping others find their way to living their best life now. To shift from a life of despair to one of hope and vision for what life can be and should be.