My journey into therapeutic wellbeing support began at 17, when life knocked me sideways! I was diagnosed with PTSD after witnessing a fatal car accident — my friends and I were the first on the scene, watching someone fight for their last breaths. It shook me to my core. Anxiety bulldozed my world. I couldn’t queue at the post office, sit exams, or even leave the house without my mum. I felt completely out of my depth.

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Traditional therapy didn’t land for me at that age, so I had to find another way through. I dug deep, learned everything I could about what was happening to my mind and body, and slowly rebuilt from the inside out. I leaned on grit, curiosity, and the kind of

no-nonsense wisdom only a grandma who’s survived cancer can give:
“Life is tough, my darling — you’ve just got to choose to be strong.” Stoic and Old-Skool, but it stuck!

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As I searched for ways to feel steady again, I began exploring anxiety, trauma, and the nervous system in ways that felt practical rather than clinical. I dove into Taoism and Zen Buddhism, grounding myself with their simplicity rather than drifting into spiritual bypassing. I experimented, made mistakes, and found everyday tools that helped me feel safe in my own skin again. Good music played its part too.

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Around this time, I also came across ideas from ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) — things like making space for difficult thoughts, reconnecting with my values, and taking small steps toward the life I wanted. They weren’t formal therapy for me back then, but the principles helped me rebuild in a gentle, realistic way.

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My turning point came when I booked a bus ticket to Copenhagen — knowing it meant facing one of my biggest fears: feeling trapped. Sitting in the Channel Tunnel for 35 minutes, on a bus, inside a train, under the sea… I realised: If I can handle this, I can handle a supermarket queue! That moment became my anchor — proof that my mind and body could cope, anywhere.

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From there, fascination took over. I wanted to understand our capacity to face adversity and come through it still standing. I studied medical anthropology and psychology, later writing my Master’s thesis on PTSD and our ability to maintain a sense of composure in the aftermath of a traumatic event. I interviewed survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans about the role of inner strength, spirituality, and mindset in recovery.

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Now, over a decade later, I've not only been able to leave the house on my own (!), I’ve gone on to live, work, and study in 5 countries. Through Coco Belle, I’m grateful to share what helped me rebuild: grounding tools, therapeutic wellbeing support, ACT-informed practices, mindset work, and a deeply human approach to restoring trust in yourself. 

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