"Your gut is about to burst, and it's life-threatening. Surgery is necessary."

I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel condition, when I was just 11 years old. This autoimmune disease presents a challenge for conventional medicine, as treatments for many autoimmune diseases are limited. Traditional approaches focus on prescribing medications to alleviate symptoms and suppress the entire immune system, or parts of it.

 

After years of drug treatments and hospitalisations that led to a life-threatening situation and surgery, I decided as a teenager to start treating myself differently. This decision went against my parents' wishes and the advice of my doctors.

 

Over several years, I met with therapists who combined body and mind approaches, primarily focusing on emotions. In my case, my stomach was highly sensitive, and what I discovered corresponded with my gut feelings. I found that emotions are not only generated in the head but throughout the body. I discovered that thoughts turn into words in the brain but often begin in the stomach. I realized that the way I feel directly affects my physical condition and the pain I experience.

 

As a result of all this, in 2004, I turned to study naturopathy and specialized in Shiatsu, herbal medicine, nutrition, and later in systemic constellation guidance. Since 2008, I have been focusing on treatment processes that combine body and mind, emotion and touch, herbal medicine, and interpersonal communication. In my clinic, I see patients who come with severe suffering, constant pain, as well as those who come with confusion and a desire for clarity and order. Among other things, I work with people who struggle with attention and concentration difficulties, hyperactivity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, digestive issues, back pain, sexual dysfunction and identity, sexual orientation or preference and gender identity, sadness, frustration, anger, depression, and coping with life changes.

 

Crohn's disease turned out to be a valuable teacher for living a fulfilling life. Even today, after it has subsided, I hold a place of honor for it, and it occasionally reminds me, during more challenging times, that it's better to fully experience life.