Jamie’s Journey: From Survival to Taking Back Control of Her Health
Have you ever wondered what a Health Coach does? There are many types of professional coaches who support clients to make more informed decisions and choices. As a fully qualified health coach who also focuses on trauma informed support, I have had the pleasure of listening to a fellow health coaches’ journey and more importantly to understand her why.
I met Jamie, who lives in the USA via Robert Notter and his Aligned Practice Collective Mentoring Programme a health coaching support platform we both belong to. As is the norm for online courses for coaches we were put into a Zoom room, and it soon became clear that Jamie’s backstory needed to be shared. Jamie shared her extensive personal history, including a traumatic childhood with drug addicted parents, abuse, and multiple moves with me and I have the pleasure of sharing this with you too.
Jamie’s Journey:
Jamie’s life journey has been shaped by challenges that would test anyone. From childhood trauma and difficult relationships to becoming a single mother of two—including a son diagnosed with autism—she spent years navigating circumstances that demanded extraordinary resilience.
Her 30th year brought another wave of challenges. As she married her current husband and welcomed her father home from prison, Jamie also confronted the painful revelation of childhood sexual abuse by a great-uncle. Around the same time, she was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune conditions, including fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
Between the ages of 30 and 36, Jamie struggled with her physical and mental health. Her family eventually moved to Colorado to find a new beginning and to work with a local church, but even there, life continued to present unimaginable challenges. Jamie and her family experienced two active-shooter situations, including one in which their home was struck by 12 rounds of gunfire.
The experience profoundly affected Jamie’s nervous system and mental health. Seeking support became an important part of her recovery. Through counselling, she was able to process traumatic experiences and relationships in a safe environment. Neurofeedback also helped calm her nervous system and reduce her anxiety.
Yet Jamie discovered that addressing trauma and mental health was only part of the picture. Her physical health continued to struggle.
After experiencing food poisoning followed by six months of C. difficile infection, Jamie sought help from a chiropractor, who introduced her to a health coach. Initially, she was hesitant. She loved her comfort foods, including cheese, chocolate and carbohydrates, and worried that improving her health would mean giving up everything she enjoyed.
But she began to recognise that her lifestyle was contributing to how she felt. Her health coach approached the process differently—not by taking control away from Jamie, but by helping her understand that she could take control of her own body and choices.
That shift in perspective became transformational.
Over the following months and years, Jamie changed her approach to nutrition, reducing coffee and refined sugars while embracing a more plant-based diet and natural sweeteners. She also found exercises she enjoyed, including hiking, paddleboarding and dance fitness.
The results were remarkable. In one particularly significant period of working with her health coach, Jamie lost 70 pounds and saw her chronic pain dramatically improve. Over two years, she continued to work on her gut health, weight and overall wellbeing, increasingly feeling that she—not her symptoms—was in the driving seat.
Importantly, Jamie’s recovery was never about one professional or one solution. Her health coach, counsellor, psychiatrist and GP each played different but complementary roles. Her health coach focused on physical health and lifestyle, while her counsellor supported her mental and emotional wellbeing. Together, these relationships created a more holistic approach to recovery.
Jamie’s story is not one of overnight transformation. It is a story of surviving, seeking help, asking different questions and gradually learning to take back control.
Most importantly, it demonstrates that asking for support is not a sign of weakness. Sometimes, real strength lies in recognising that we don’t have to navigate the journey alone.
The Value of Having Someone in Your Corner
Jamie’s story is a powerful reminder that better health is rarely about finding one magic answer. It is about having the right support, asking the right questions and making changes that are realistic and sustainable for your individual life.
That is where health coaching can make such a difference.
A health coach doesn’t replace your GP, psychiatrist, counsellor or other healthcare professionals. Instead, they can become an important part of the team—helping you understand your lifestyle, identify the small changes that can make a meaningful difference, and, perhaps most importantly, helping you believe that you can take an active role in your own health.
For Jamie, having someone alongside her who listened, encouraged her and helped her focus on what she could change was transformational. Her coach didn't simply give her a list of things she should or shouldn't eat. The relationship became a partnership—one that gave Jamie greater confidence, accountability and a sense of control.
And that may be one of the greatest gifts of health coaching: helping people move from feeling powerless about their health to feeling empowered to participate in their own healing journey.
Jamie’s journey continues, but she is no longer simply surviving her health challenges. She has developed a deeper understanding of her body, her choices and the support she needs—and that is a transformation worth celebrating. Plus, she retrained as a Health Coach and now supports others to regain control over their own health and wellbeing. Inspiring is just one of the words I would use to describe Jamie and what an honour it is to have her in my coaching corner.
If this resonates with you, reach out for support our contact details are below; both Jamie and Robert are based in the USA & I am based in the UK; however the beauty of the internet means we can support you world wide.
Contact details for Jamie: Jamie.Ackerman30@gmail.com & check out Robert’s profile and website too: http://www.bookclientsnow.com/ you can also book in with me at: Golden Years Coaching | Enhance Your Wellness Today or email carole@gyc.org.uk
#HealthCoaching #Wellness #TraumaInformedCoaching #NHS #Wellbeing
