If you had told me 20 years ago that I would love standing up in front of groups of more than 200 people, I would have laughed at you!
As a child I was painfully shy, preferring to stay with my mum and her friends rather than go and play with others. I went to the type of school that motivated students to work hard by telling them they weren’t good enough and any self-confidence I might have had as an adult was eroded in an emotionally abusive marriage. Despite being a qualified GP, I was “only part time” and “not a partner in a big practice”…
One day, I had a flyer land on my desk for a day’s course offering help with time management, stress management and confidence building. I signed up instantly. After seeing rapid results and feeling something shift that same day, I was hooked.
The course was an introduction to NLP (neurolinguistic programming). Think of it as an instruction manual for your brain. When we’re born, we are all given powerful computers in our heads but are never taught how to use them. Through NLP, I began to learn that I could change the way I felt by changing the way I thought. Over the next 2 years, training with one of the co-creators of NLP, I reached the highest level of NLP trainer. I learned techniques to cure phobias in a single session and dramatically improve symptoms of PTSD. Much of my time was spent working on myself, as well as helping clients.
Following these transformational experiences, I continued my training and expanded my expertise to include EMDR, Thought Field Therapy, hypnotherapy and life coaching. The combination of these skills has given me a bespoke and effective tool kit to assist people in creating positive change or as I like to say “getting rid of their gremlins”.
As far as my personal life was concerned, my eyes were opened to the abusive relationship I was in and I found the strength to end my marriage of 25 years. With newfound freedom, I took on a number of challenges: embarking on major home renovations, becoming a GP partner in a practice that merged to become one of the first super-practices in the country and subsequently sitting on the management board. I was running my own courses all over the country, teaching doctors techniques for stress management, resilience and confidence.
The best and most important part was becoming comfortable in my own skin; it’s a lovely place to be.
My path crossed with Kala’s when she attended my course “Celebrating Fabulous Women” back in 2018 and, since then, we have discussed the need for a female fellowship. Both of us recognised that even the most successful women can experience imposter syndrome and lack self-confidence, with the isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic resulting in an even greater need for networking and support.
I am proud to be part of the Female Fellowship and be able to offer expertise to support other women. Please get in touch if you would like to connect or want to know more.
email jo@drjowaddell.co.uk