Liz Shares her Story
5 years ago, Liz was almost giving up believing that her life and her mental health would ever change. Battling depression, anxiety, emetophobia and carrying the weight of some hugely negative experiences in her past, Liz felt at rock bottom. Fast forward to today and she is positive and happy, fully in control of her mental wellbeing and able to handle the challenges of life in a calm and powerful way. She is also a Licensed Thrive Programme Coach ®, helping others to turn around their own mental health with The Thrive Programme just as she did! She shares her story – and what her life looks like today – below to inspire others that anybody can turn around their mental wellbeing with the right training!
“I think it’s fair to say I get a bit emotional when talking about how different my life is now, it is no understatement to say that finding The Thrive Programme was lifesaving (literally), a game changer and the end of searching for solutions and answers to my issues that over the years had cost me more money than I care to think about.
I had experienced 40+ years of very poor mental health, panic attacks and anxiety from the age of 6 or 7, depression for 20+ years, violent and abusive relationships, sexual abuse, struggled with suicidal thoughts, finding myself homeless with not a cent to my name and a newborn baby, suffering from emetophobia (a chronic fear of vomit) for over 40 years of my life, zero self-esteem and such high social anxiety that I hid what was going on inside me from almost everyone. I should have won an Oscar for best actress starring in her own life.
I’d been told by one professional that the best I could hope for was to manage my symptoms better… So many decades of high stress and depression had also taken a huge toll on my health and my body, so emotionally and physically I was worn out and burnt out.
The Thrive Programme was actually my last hope, and I had no idea once I had that workbook in my hands just how much I was about to change my life and who I was forever.
I can hand on heart say I am in the best place in myself I’ve ever been in my life. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, and I look forward to each day with no fear what tomorrow will bring. To really experience a feeling of peace without a constant worry of ‘what next’ hanging over me is just without comparison.
I now feel as I’m actually living instead of just existing, making things happen in my life instead of being a passive recipient. My relationships have improved, my health is so much better, the knock on effect is massive.
Has it been plain sailing? No, but even on my most difficult days it’s just a small hill now and not the ‘Mount Everest’ I used to face.
I’ve had to work hard at thriving, it does absolutely take effort, practice and being consistent, but the price of staying in your comfort zone and doing nothing? It’s not even worth thinking about. Comfort is the enemy of progress.
“I spent many years of my life wishing I wouldn’t wake up the next day, planning my suicide on more than one occasion and just not wanting to be present, now I look in the mirror and see the wrinkles and the grey hairs creeping in and I celebrate that because I’m alive to see it…”
As I look back over the past almost 4 years since doing the programme, I am amazed at what I have achieved in myself and just how much it’s possible to love your life, even at times when life isn’t so great. Here’s a selection of my top achievements since I completed the programme;
- I’ve been able to travel on a plane to the UK from New Zealand (something I thought impossible)
- Bought my first home after moving 50 times in the last 49 years
- Started my own business
- Became a qualified Thrive Programme Coach ®
- Talking about mental health to an audience, even sharing my own personal story (I honestly never thought I’d be doing that!)
- Going to the emergency room and being totally calm
- Cleaning up vomit and caring for sick people (this is a huge milestone for someone who had a vomit phobia for 40 years)
Liz in London after travelling halfway around the world from New Zealand!
I’ve also had a number of quite challenging personal situations in the last year and the way I’ve handled these has been so different, my ability to maintain perspective and stay calm would rival that of an emergency worker. The way I look at life and situations now is totally different.
I’m clocking up 50 this year and I’m pretty excited about it, I spent many years of my life with depression, wishing I wouldn’t wake up the next day, planning my suicide on more than one occasion and just not wanting to be present, now I look in the mirror and see the wrinkles and the grey hairs creeping in and I celebrate that because I’m alive to see it.
I’m pretty sure I sound like a broken record to my family and friends but hands down this programme is the most life changing thing I have ever experienced. My future is waiting for me to enjoy and live to the fullest, something I thought would never happen to me.
I know that no matter what happens in my life I always have a choice. I’m no longer a victim or a survivor: I’m a THRIVER!”
Liz Wilson is a Licensed Thrive Programme Coach ® working face-to-face with clients in Rotorua (New Zealand), as well as remotely via Skype/online sessions. She is available to help with a wide range of mental health problems including emetophobia and depression. Find out more about Liz and how to contact her by clicking HERE
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