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Polly

MY STORY

With all these experiences, I carried a substantial burden of beliefs:

• Family Permanence: The idea that family is not always forever, contrary to the “happily ever after” portrayed in fairy tales.
• Divorce and Single Parenting: Understanding that love brings not only happiness but also pain.
• Step-Parent Adoption: Navigating the complexities and emotional aspects of trusting another person who might not work out.
• Male Distrust: Developing a deep-seated distrust or negative attitude towards men, influenced by my mom and grandma’s experiences.
• Female Sacrifice: The notion that women often have to sacrifice their personal goals (like education) for their family’s welfare.
• Economic Hardship: Understanding how economic crises impact family stability and lead to drastic measures, such as my grandma working in a canteen for more food.
• Multiple Jobs: Believing in the necessity of working multiple jobs to make ends meet.
• Coping with Loss: Learning to accept loss and death and how it impacted my emotional state.
• Adaptation to New Environments/Bullying: Experiencing not being accepted and not fitting into society.

Hey, it's Polly here!

I want to share my story with you, not only to show that I can relate to what you are going through but also to demonstrate how crises can positively change our lives when you have the right knowledge and support. Keep in mind that we all have our own paths, so try not to compare your journey with mine but rather feel and learn from it.

First, let's shed light on the beliefs we unknowingly inherit from our parents. Both my mom and grandma were divorced and raised me alone in the 90s when I was a three-year-old toddler. The worldwide economy was in turmoil. My grandma even took a job at a canteen so we would have more food on the table. My mom, who gave birth to me at 19, had to quit college to provide for us and juggled multiple jobs. At the age of seven, I learned what it meant to be adopted by my stepdad (love you!). In the following years, I lost both of my grandfathers, moved to different countries during my teens, and was bullied for being different for two years. Quite a history, huh?

As children, we absorb these beliefs and emotions from our loved ones, accepting them as normal because we want to be like them and be accepted by them.

At the time, I saw all these experiences through a prism of negativity because my mom and grandma portrayed them as hardships, struggles, and pressures. I was not taught to view them as a transformative journey. Everything changed when I delved into psychology and somatics.

BELIEFS I HAD AS A KID

WHO, WHAT, and HOW helped me get to where I am today? Here are the key influences: