By telling our story we inspire others to write, and share their own.
Welcome, and thank you for stepping by!
I'm so happy, that you're interested in my story!
I hope my experiences will inspire you.
To explain how I became a coach after working in the film industry, what drives my work and makes me a passionate advocate for holistic health, prevention, and healthy eating, I'd like to share my personal journey with my many chronic illnesses with you.
My story describes, how after a frustrating 15-year-long doctor odyssey, I was able to find myself, take my wellbeing into my own hands, and overcome my health challenges. I'll share, how I was finally able to feel comfortable in my body again, and how my life took on a completely different direction as a result.
As you’ll see, it’s very unfamiliar, and a huge challenge for me, to even talk about my health struggles in the first place.
However, by being transparent, I want to give hope to those of you, who are stuck in similar circumstances and who are looking for help and understanding.
The Feelings In My Gut
For as long as I can remember, I struggled with pervasive nausea, constant abdominal pain, indigestion, headaches, dizziness, allergies and a long list of other physical ailments.
I was low on energy and constantly sick.
And I had no idea what was wrong with me...
My Doctor-Odyssey Begins
After my doctor was at his wit's end, because none of the prescribed remedies, examinations or treatments had any effects, I visited one specialist after another, hoping to find the answers there – including gastroenterologist, orthopaedist, neurologist, allergist...
But even after countless tests and examinations, no one could tell me why I had all of these symptoms. The only thing I ever heard was: "We can’t find anything". Technically, exactly what everyone wants to hear from their doctor... At first, I was relieved that it wasn’t ‘something seriously bad’. Over time, however, this sentence became a disappointment each time.
Because, unremarkable test results don’t just make the symptoms disappear...
Before the age of 20, I have probably seen more doctors than some people see in their entire lives. But because of the ‘normal’ test results, many doctors didn’t even take my pain seriously.
Invisible Pain
The worst part (besides the pain) was, that I couldn't explain to anyone, how I was feeling. I tried at first, but no one believed that a young girl – who looked completely healthy from the outside and ‘functioned’ very well – was in constant pain.
Since the pain was ‘invisible’ and I didn’t have any official diagnosis, I didn't dare to ask for any consideration, and kept everything to myself, as I was so ashamed and saw it as weakness.
Because doctors couldn't tell me WHAT was wrong, I didn't want to tell anyone THAT something was wrong.
I kept up the façade and powered through in order to appear ‘normal.’
But I felt so alone and that no one ever really knew me.
Until me writing this ‘about me’ page, most people in my life had no clue about what was really going on with me.
Why Me?!
I constantly asked myself: "Why me? Why can't I just be like everyone else?" I was mad at all the doctors who didn't help me and I felt completely abandoned.
It was unfair that I was suffering when I wasn't really ‘doing anything wrong’: I avoided fast food, didn't smoke, and was a competitive athlete.
After a while, I didn't even know what it felt like to be healthy anymore. Although that became my new normal, I just wanted to feel like myself again, because I knew that THIS wasn't me.
Further Downhill…
To improve my condition, I did everything – from fasting to tanning beds (unbelievable, but true) – that doctors advised me to do. Unfortunately, nothing was helping and my ability to function ‘normally’ declined more and more.
The longer the symptoms remained unresolved, the worse they got, and the more showed up. Things like chronic back, knee, and neck pain. Because of the knee problems, I even had to give up playing my competitive sport Badminton.
My helplessness and disappointment led to dysfunctional eating habits (binge eating) and finally to a depression. As a teen, I was sent to a psycho-somatic clinic for several weeks during school vacation.
And even that didn’t do anything at all to help.
So, I kept trying to cover it all up and keeping everything to myself.
The First Glimmer Of Hope
After doctor-hopping for so many years, I felt worse than before and was as clueless as ever about what was wrong. Fortunately, I always had hope, that there had to be a solution. That’s why I never gave up, no matter how bitter the diagnoses or lack of answers were.
Finally, I met a doctor who was different... He asked many questions, and shared completely new information with me in our very first consultation. This caught my attention right away, as I immediately felt like he was listening to me, interested in thinking things through, and that he might actually be able to help me.
This feeling in and of itself was more than any doctor before had ever given me.
He ran a number of different tests, which showed very clearly that in fact many things weren’t anywhere close to ok or ‘normal.’ These tests showed issues like gastritis, immune deficiency, derailed hormone system, thyroid dysfunction, as well as inflammation in the lymphatic system. Finally! I had found some causes for my problems. But that was just the beginning of the journey.
For the first time ever, I was tested for food intolerances. This ‘revolutionary approach’ showed that I couldn’t tolerate most of the foods I was eating. Looking back, it's almost ridiculous: I go to countless doctors with constant nausea, abdominal pain, and digestive issues, and they don’t even consider that it might be related to food...?!
The Fight with Food Begins
The consequences of these ‘diagnoses’ were far-reaching. Up until this point, I hadn't thought too much about food – other than not eating too much to avoid gaining weight.
With almost all ‘normal’ foods gone (wheat, yeast, dairy, eggs, etc.), I didn't know what was even left to eat. I felt a little bit better, but many symptoms remained unchanged. And I also lived with a constant feeling of deprivation.
While I was able to keep my condition a secret for so many years, the intolerances made it visible to the outside world. But because I didn't want to show or explain that either, I made excuses and said, that I wasn't hungry or couldn't tolerate specific things.
I was soon seen as ‘the-one who-cannot-eat-anything-and-is-always-feeling-cold’. I was so embarrassed. And me being so different made the whole situation even more difficult.
What’s Really Been Going On...
When my former doctor retired and I had moved to another city, I searched for a long time, until I finally found the ‘right’ doctor for me. Her holistic examinations quickly revealed the factors that had led to and exacerbated my symptoms. Things like food intolerances, hormonal imbalances, heavy metal toxicity, and viral infections.
On the one hand, it was overwhelming to hear that so many things 'were wrong,' on the other hand, I now had things to work on, in order to support my body in becoming healthy.
A Long, Bumpy Road
Then, the food restrictions became even greater: I now had to cut out a lot of fruits and vegetables, as well as sugar and anything sweet, too. And even with sticking to the few ‘safe’ foods, I never knew how I would react.
Food became my enemy more and more, and I wanted nothing to do with it at all.
Because of being dedicated to never feeling like I used to feel before, I went through with everything my doctor prescribed – no matter how uncomfortable, annoying, and time-consuming it was.
After having worked in television and theatre for a few years at this point, I went on to study Communications and Psychology. The detox reactions, that were triggered by the treatments, further weakened me and led to brain fog, sleep disturbances, and heart palpitations. Studying at university took a lot of energy, and I was constantly sick.
But over time, the treatments improved my condition, and I was able to do sports again, and finally, after all these years, overcame the depression, headaches and constant nausea.
Other issues, however, still remained...
And Then Everything Changed...
A few years later, I came across a series of expert interviews about holistic health and natural, alternative modalities that completely changed my life forever. I found out, that the answers I had been searching for over 15 years, existed.
I realised the crucial role that nutrition plays in health and learned how countless people had regained their health due to dietary changes.
The very fact that chronic diseases and ailments could be overcome and that we have so much power in regards to our wellbeing, was completely new to me. Sometimes just knowing that something is possible, is enough.
I was on fire, and wanted to get there, too!
When you know what’s possible, it becomes possible for you, too.
Thirst for Knowledge & Hunger for More
I threw myself into everything I could find on the topic of nutrition and holistic healing. I had one ‘aha’ moment after the other and was finally able to understand why I had gotten each symptom at a specific time, and how they were all connected.
At that time, I was working in film production and felt like I was studying full-time on the side. I spend every free minute researching, and soaking up information like a knowledge-thirsty sponge.
I realised that my life circumstances (chronic stress, wrong diet, environmental stressors, hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue, etc.) had led to my physical and psychological burn-out.
In addition to that, I was now aware of the fact, that I could influence many of these circumstances, and thereby bring my body back into balance. I took my health into my own hands and implemented everything I had learned about nutrition, lifestyle, mindset, stress, etc. And my health continued to improve.
For seven years, I wasn’t able to eat what I wanted, but that was finally over.
Why Doesn't Everyone Know This?!
I was extremely happy and grateful to have found all this information. At the same time I became very angry and sad because I wondered why not EVERYONE knew about this?!
Why did I go to so many doctors for years, without getting any of answers, when the knowledge that could explain and solve my pain had been there all along?
Food Is Not The Be-All-End-All Either...
I felt so much better, but as time went on, I realised that nutrition – while being absolutely crucial – also wasn’t the only key to health and wellness. Something still seemed to be missing, because I was still experiencing some discomfort and constant, inexplicable hunger.
I needed to go deeper...
I realised that no matter how healthy I ate, there wouldn’t be inner harmony, until I gave my whole body and system what it needed. I needed to not just nourish the physiological, but also the mental, psychological, and emotional layers of me.
I went beyond what I was eating, and dealt with what was eating me up on the inside.
I worked on beliefs, like "there's nothing I can do about it," and emotions, like fear about who I would be without my discomfort, which had been part of my life for so long.
I learned to listen to my body's wisdom (what I call Meine Bauchgefuehle) and fed my body on all levels.
The small steps I took in all areas of my life, added up and I could observe incredible changes that were able to ‘set me free’ after all these years.
My Body’s Wisdom & My Mission
Today, I feel better than I did in my 20ies and more comfortable in my body than ever before. I am full of energy again and the fear of food has turned into a love for food.
I‘ve realised that the body is not our enemy, but our greatest ally. Symptoms are its way of communicating to us, that it needs our help because something is not functioning properly.
The better I felt, the more I wanted to share my knowledge with others who were struggling in similar ways like I had.
I wanted to inspire and encourage them, in hopes of saving them the long and arduous road I'd been on.
My mission is sharing the awareness that we have much more power over our wellbeing than we think, turning our perception of health on its head, and thereby perceiving new possibilities.
I want to give hope and support, and inspire people, who feel unseen and alone in their pain, to reconnect with their inner voice, take their wellbeing into their own hands, and transform their problems and pain from the inside out to create the healthy, happy life they came here for.
The Things I‘ve Learned
Some of the things that my long journey taught me: Food can either be medicine or poison for the body, our thoughts influence our health more than we think, chronic stress depletes our energy, the ‘right’ kind of exercise is absolutely crucial and must be fun, contentment comes from within, we shouldn’t just ‘fight disease’ but promote health, and our lifestyle has a greater impact on our health than we can imagine.
Since I love experiencing new ‘aha’ moments every day, and science is constantly evolving with new discoveries, my thirst for knowledge is never-ending. I believe that the best way to help yourself and others is to never stop learning and to always seek new opportunities for growth.
My Calling And New Profession
Because of this, I became a student at the Institute of Transformational Nutrition, which developed the world's first personalised nutrition coaching system: The Transformational Nutrition Model®, and graduated as a Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach.
My best ‘training’, however, will always be my own 15-year-long journey. Now, I can look back and honestly say it was a ‘good’ thing, because I know from first-hand experience, how it feels, and can therefore meet my clients at eye level and work even more empathetically with them.
What's Your Story?
Now, that you know my story, I'd love to hear yours and get to know YOU!
Did you experience something similar or know someone who’s in a similar situation? Send me an e-mail and let me know.
Health and healing are a journey. If you’re ready, or consider embarking on a new, healthier path, I would be honoured to be your guide and help you understand and trust yourself again, too.
We can do this!
All my best and always remember to listen to your body's wisdom.
Marina
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