As a final-year diploma student in Integrative Psychotherapy in the UK, specialising in Humanistic (including Existential & Gestalt),  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Transactional Analysis (TA) approaches, with a personal passion for deepening my expertise in stress and anxiety, my own experiences with these challenges profoundly shape my journey as a coach and future therapist. For years, I’ve navigated specific phobias—acrophobia (fear of heights) and gephyrophobia (fear of driving over bridges)—alongside Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). These manifest as intense physical reactions, such as a racing heart and emotional overwhelm, including dread when approaching high bridges or persistent worry about life’s uncertainties, often leading to avoidance behaviours that limit my daily life, like rerouting trips or declining travel opportunities. GAD fuels a constant undercurrent of rumination, disrupting sleep and focus. With over 20 years of coaching experience using mindfulness, breathwork, and meditation, I’ve cultivated resilience and moments of calm, yet these haven’t entirely prevented panic attacks for stubborn fears. My training in CBT and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), complemented by Humanistic and other perspectives, has equipped me with tools like cognitive restructuring and empathic exploration, offering clarity but not always overriding ingrained fear responses. This humbling realisation—that expertise doesn’t erase vulnerability—deepens my empathy for clients, a theme I explore in my books, which detail my transformative journey following a life-altering car crash and offer strategies for mind-body wellbeing and overcoming stress and anxiety.