My Story!
Let me start from the beginning.
To be honest, my own journey has been anything but easy. On the outside, my life was amazing. I danced on my college dance team, did really well in school, landed my dream job (or what I thought was my dream job), met the love of my life, and had lots of friends. Internally though, I had been struggling for years.
After my sister passed away when I was in 7th grade, I began to emotionally shut down. This continued even more when my parents divorced, when I was severely bullied by my “best friends,” and then with an eating disorder that lasted 7 years. The relationship with the love of my life also ended because we both were too shut down and stuck in our pain which became a very unhealthy place to be, and this wrecked me. Honestly, it felt like it was all too messy to face, and I felt broken beyond repair. Instead of dealing with any of those events in the right way, I did what most people do; I chose to shut down and numb my feelings. I became a professional in the sport of numbing my pain. I used food, Adderall, drinking, men, over-exercising, and completely shutting down any and all emotions. Not to mention, I was a pleaser. I always made decisions that would make others happy and lived my life to fit in with total disregard to who I was actually made to be.
Fortunately, numbing only lasts for so long until all of the darkness compounds and our bodies start to cry out or show us in various ways to pay attention… and for me, it left me with severe, paralyzing anxiety. This anxiety made me afraid to work out and socialize. I pulled away from my friends, and I was in a constant state of panic. Not to mention it would wake me up in the middle of the night with panic attacks and landed me in the hospital. One night, I reached my threshold. I remember 3:00 AM lying awake in a panic, crying and singing one song on repeat crying out to God. I realized something had to change. I decided this is where it stops; This shut-down, stuck-in-my-head, half-alive way of living ended now. I wanted to heal myself, and I chose to do it without medication because I wanted to face it all, head-on, for the first time in my life……
So what changed?
I committed 100% to my healing.
No matter how hard it would get, I decided that I MUST see this through. As much as I wanted the healing to be easy, it was anything but that. Facing your darkness is messy. It is work and takes time, but I was ready because I was not going to accept the life I was living. I wanted to crack the walls around my heart, destroy the lies of who others told me I was, and come back home to myself.
So my journey to healing began. The first thing I did was give myself permission to cry and to feel which is something I am not sure I had ever allowed myself to do. When I felt anxiety rising, I started to ask my body what it needed and what I was feeling. Most often this would look like me sitting and crying, but I started to learn so much about myself. I changed my diet to focus on whole food nutrition, and I started eating Juice Plus again after years of not. I meditated multiple times a day and researched everything I could about anxiety. I threw myself into any and all self-development courses, books, audio books, and podcasts that I could get my hands on. I had spent years investing in going out, shopping, nails, concerts, etc. but always saying I didn’t have enough money for coaches and self-development. Now don’t get me wrong I still love most of those things…but for the first time I learned the power of investing in myself.
The journey to where I am today has taken a few years. It took brutal honesty. I had to unlearn almost all of my habits and ways of thinking. I had to go against what society wanted me to be or think, and I had to choose my own path. I had to learn grace and self-compassion. This unraveling was the greatest gift of my life. It woke me up, and I learned that facing your darkness allows you to experience a different level of love and joy. It changes the game. My whole life changed. The way I think, act, and spend my time is different. The journey will never end; I am always learning and growing and investing in myself. This will always be a priority. It also woke me up to my real passion which is to live an open-hearted life and to take what I have been through to guide others on their journey to find their way back to themselves. My journey also brought the love of my life back to me after we both went on our own soul journeys. Today we are married and have an amazing relationship at a level that I did not even know could even exist.
I share all of this with you so you know that whatever you are facing, you can overcome it. Whatever you want in life, you can have it. When you tap into your heart, there is nothing out of reach. So come join me. Let’s live open-hearted together.
Credentials
Victoria is a multi-certified Life Coach, Reiki Master/Teacher, Certified Akashic Record Reader, Sacred Breath Method Facilitator in training, Certified Lifestyle Meditation Teacher, & a Certified Dream Coach®. She is also a Certified Personal Trainer and Behavior Change Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
A little glimpse into the sides of me.
Wife
I just married the love of my life this past December and he is my favorite part of life! We have been together 5 years, we have two kitties and he calls me Peanut because of my love for peanut butter.
Dancer
I have been a dancer my entire life. I started as a little girl and danced all the way through college on the TCU Showgirls. Even though right now I only dance in my kitchen, I have decided to learn how to Salsa dance so stay tuned for that.
Coach
This title I have carried with me through life as a dance coach, to group exercise coach and trainer, and now to Life Coach and Dream Coach®! I have always loved coaching others and being a source of knowledge and support and its something I have done naturally my whole life.
Mom & Family
My family is my world! Although we are spread out across 3 countries and we can’t always be together, you can probably find me Facetiming them for hours.
Dad & Family
My family is my world! Whenever we are together you can find us laughing hysterically for hours, breaking out in dance moves, or playing cards against humanity.
Health Nut
I am a health fanatic! I love nourishing my body through healthy cooking, exercise and Juice Plus and I love learning more about whole food nutrition and how it influences our body.
The Heal Victoriously Quiz
- 1. Favorite breakfast food :
- 2. Guilty pleasure : Hallmark christmas movies and peanut butter
- 3. What is something other people think is a luxury that you couldn’t live without : My juicer!
- 4. You can always catch me drinking :
- 5. What is one thing you’ve been meaning to try but haven’t gotten around to :
- 6. Go-to karaoke song :
- 7. Go-to outfit :
- 8. What is one item on your bucket list :
- 9. What fictional place would you most like to visit?
- 10. Favorite vacation spot : Kauai, Hawaii
- 11. what is one job you would love to have for a day? star in a Hallmark movie or model wedding dresses
- 12. Go-to activities in your time off : reading, exercising, or cuddling my hubby