For much of my life, I often believed that feeling deeply made me a burden to myself and to others. I coped by striving for perfection and prioritizing the needs of those around me, hoping this would quiet my self-doubt and fear. This pattern perpetuated cycles of exhaustion, emotional suppression, and feeling unseen and misunderstood. I struggled to understand my anxiety and depression, and over time my anxiety evolved into relational and moral OCD, reinforcing the belief that my inner world was something to manage, suppress, or control.

Healing began when I started to understand my experiences through a systemic and trauma-informed lens. By addressing my own systemic and intergenerational trauma, I began reconnecting with myself — learning to trust my body, my emotions, and my internal signals rather than fearing them. This shift allowed me to move away from self-monitoring and self-criticism toward self-compassion and embodied awareness.

Learning to tend to my wounded parts, offer myself compassion, and honor my emotional depth fundamentally changed my relationship with myself. What once felt overwhelming became a source of strength — a way of connecting more deeply with others and with my own sense of worth.

Today, I bring this lived understanding into my work as a therapist. I practice from a trauma-informed, systemic lens and am trained in EMDR therapy, supporting clients in gently processing painful experiences and beliefs while cultivating safety, integration, and self-trust. I believe our symptoms make sense in the context of our stories, and healing begins when we approach those stories with curiosity rather than judgment.