Choosing to be a Naturopath.. My Journey.
Why did I choose to become a naturopath?
Yes sometimes I wonder the same. Why didn’t I pick a “normal” job like teaching, or police woman or nurse?
But in all seriousness , I enjoy my job and more importantly I enjoy looking after your health. Complex cases in particular are fascinating to me and I love helping those with chronic conditions get their health back on track.
So why did I choose this?
From a very young age I wanted to work in nutrition. From grade two, I thought I would become a dietician. My mother kept some of our school work books and I discovered many years later that I had written a story on my favourite food. I was 8 years old and it was lettuce, LOL. What a strange child. Mum tells me I liked to brew all sorts of concoctions out of weeds and grass and sand as a younger child, hence my love of herbal medicine. (I promise you your herbal mix is not made with sand, but we do still use some particular weeds, for example, stinging nettle or dandelion for various health conditions).
I didn’t always stay with this dream in mind, however. The idea of being a dietician faded, and in came ideas of interior design.
Around the age of 15, my mother Denise was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She was not able to work her long hours at her teaching job anymore. Instead, she would lie on the lounge very worn out. She went to a few doctors and no one was able to give her any answers, except anti-depressants and antibiotics. These did not help her. She saw numerous natural therapists, an allergy specialist, a hormone doctor and a chiropractor. She had lots of tests and changed her diet. She took lots of supplements. She did counselling. She was determined to beat her illness. I still admire her determination. And she is well now. It took her a few good years but she is well. And now she counsels people with chronic illness. I think that is amazing.
This had an effect on me of course. I saw my mother struggle and not get the answers she needed. I could see there were issues with the current medical model which did not have any answers for her. (please note I am NOT anti-doctor- I have beautiful doctor friends and believe many doctors do wonderful things, particularly emergency doctors and integrative doctors. I believe we can work together).
I saw the hope natural treatments offered her and I wanted to learn about how I could help others in similar situations. So with my love of lettuce and all things nutrition I started to become passionate about holistic health, which is where we aim to find out why a health condition is occurring.
The owner of the local health food store (Marilyn Smith from Tamworth Honeypot Health foods- some of you may know her) was very helpful and kind to my mum. She was very encouraging and helped her with supplements and with foods. Marilyn offered me a job at her store after school and on Saturday mornings, which I accepted. It was there that I learnt about the wonderful world of herbs, vitamins and minerals and all the lovely alterative foods. It was there I made the choice to study naturopathy when I left school.
I was accepted to Southern Cross University after my HSC, and then deferred and worked a year at the Honeypot . Under Marilyn, I learnt so much. As life often has different plans for us, I became engaged that year and changed my course to a private college in Brisbane. I was married the following year and finished my studies in QLD in 2006. (Since then I have gone on to upgrade my qualifications to my Health Science degree).
So basically, it was my mother’s ill health that led me to a career in naturopathy. As I always say to my clients, we are all works in progress. I certainly have not always had super health myself , mainly as a younger person with eczema, mild asthma, allergies, gut issues, depression (especially post second baby), anxiety, adrenal fatigue (also post baby), however I have overcome these things now, but I do have to look after myself. Finding out I have Pyrrole disorder made a HUGE difference for me, so I am particularly passionate about this area.
If you are concerned about your health and would like to make an appointment, please message my facebook page or book via the booking tab on this site or phone the clinic on 67658899. I’m only too happy to help.
Yours in health,
Jayne
P.S. I still like lettuce and all things salad…