"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
-- Anaïs Nin
Everyone’s story matters. The hardest chapters of our lives are often the ones that shape us the most. I'd like to share two that have been significant for me.
I share my story not just so you know me better, but so you can see that whatever you’re facing, you’re not alone in it.
From my mid-20s to my late 30s, I suffered from debilitating episodes of anxiety that brought my life to a halt each time. Panic attacks became so intense that I developed agoraphobia. Unable to leave my apartment, basic activities like going to work, running errands, or meeting friends felt impossible. Twice, I had to take medical leave, leave my apartment in Queens, and stay with my parents while I recovered. It felt like I’d been pulled out of life, left watching the world go on without me.
Being a prisoner of your own mind while your body betrays you with terrifying waves of fear and panic is frightening and isolating. I mourned how easily I once moved through my day-to-day. Remaining incapacitated was not an option I could accept, so I had to find a way forward. And the only way forward was through.
P!nk's words, “But just because it burns doesn’t mean you’re gonna die, you’ve gotta get up and try," kept echoing through my head as I carried out exposure therapy, slowly confronting panic-inducing situations.
Easing back into life, even in tiny increments, was difficult. But each small victory, such as driving with my mom, joining my family at a restaurant, and realizing I had “survived”, filled me with pride and hope. Gradually, I added more activities as my tolerance grew, and things began to feel natural again.
The process was slow, frustrating, and full of setbacks, but also deeply humbling. I became grateful for the little things most people take for granted. I learned self-compassion and developed empathy for others whose struggles weren’t always visible.
Managing anxiety, panic attacks, and agoraphobia required letting go of who I thought I should be and redefining what progress looked like. I had to learn to accept and even love myself, especially at my lowest. That lesson in self-compassion has become the foundation I lean on in every challenge I face today.
Losing My Career, Finding a New Direction
In 2020, my 18-year career in IT ended because of COVID's economic impact. Losing my job was devastating, not because I loved the work, but because it was my only source of income. When layoffs were first announced, part of me even hoped the company would let me go. By then, the work drained me and left me uninspired. I hadn’t found the courage to leave, so I waited for the decision to be made for me.
After losing my job, I chose not to go back to IT or to a corporate environment. I became a freelance transcriptionist to pay the bills, gave up my apartment, and moved back in with my parents. In doing this, I lost a core part of my identity: the independent career woman living alone in NYC.
I was surprised by how much losing my job and moving back home shook my sense of self. I felt like I had lost the wind behind my sails.
Without the full-time job that dictated so much of how my daily life unfolded, I was confronted by many difficult questions: Who am I without my job? What purpose do I want to serve now? What value do I bring? For the next four years, I lived in that liminal space between what was gone and what would come next.
Not having answers when I wanted them felt disempowering. Searching my memory for the last time life felt full of possibilities, the only thought that came to me was about my training as a life coach in 2018. At the time, I had hoped to build a side business while working full time, but I didn’t have the energy for both. Nonetheless, the training was transformational and its impact stayed with me.
This time, I had both the time and the space to give coaching my full attention. I decided to commit to retraining and building a coaching practice with the energy and dedication it deserved.
And now, I’m building my coaching career and sharing my experiences with you.
Why I Coach
These experiences of breaking down, rebuilding, and finding a new sense of self are why I’m drawn to helping people who are in their own “in-between” phases of life. I know what it feels like when everything familiar falls away and you’re left asking, Who am I now?
Those moments of uncertainty can feel dark and scary, but they also offer a chance at reinvention if you meet them with curiosity, self-compassion, and persistence.
Whether or not we work together, I hope you remember that time living through the in-between isn't wasted time. Change is already happening in the small shifts you create when you take even the tiniest steps forward, even if you can’t see it yet.
If you’d like to explore what those next steps could look like for you, let’s talk.