Growing up Dr. Bennett had multiple health concerns, from gastrointestinal distress, food allergies, polycystic ovarian syndrome, attention deficit disorder to depression. By her college years she was on a cocktail of medications, with a laundry list of side effects. Being only 5 foot in stature, she was sensitive to pharmaceuticals and found herself in the hospital with seizures due to these side effects. Interested in learning more about cooking and to get in shape, she found Dr. Mark Hyman’s Ultra Mind Solution, a book that revolutionized her understanding of health, mood and healing. As she started implementing changes, she reversed all of her diagnoses and lost 60 pounds in the process. This was the seal that broke open years of intense study in the field of natural healing.
This propelled her into a career of bridging the gap between mental health and natural healing. Working in residential treatment facilities, fitness, rehabilitation and wellness centers. She has worked in the wellness and mental health field for over 10 years, holding degrees in exercise science, nutrition and Doctor of Naturopathic medicine.
The moment mental health and brain health came together.
Prior to 2018 Dr. Bennett was a solo-traveler, hiker, and loved exploring the world. When she wasn’t working as a Naturopathic Doctor, she was planning her next adventure. A true Enneagram 7 at heart: outgoing, loved a challenge and had zest for life. She built her business with fierce tenacity, grit and willingness to do whatever it took to succeed with wild ambition. And adventurist, she loved uncertainty and danced in the magic of writing her own story.
July 4th, 2018 after a long day of wake-boarding, she suffered a blow to the head from a less-than-graceful fall off the board. After some staples and an inadequate emergency care visit, she was sent home and told everything would be ‘fine.’ However, Dr. Bennett didn’t know where she was, what day it was, or recognize people in her life. She in fact was not, “fine.”
Within two weeks, she started having extreme anxiety and panic attacks, for the first time in her life. She endured upwards of 50 panic attacks per day, unable to care for herself or get to the bottom of her distress. After almost 6 months in a horror-film of despair, terror, and complete panic she saw a neurologist who put the pieces together. She had suffered a traumatic brain injury and her brain was going haywire. The long journey of healing was peppered with panic, anxiety, and fear. Her injured brain interpreted any noise, the flip of a light, or movement as a threat. In addition, she suffered a myriad of other brain injury-related diagnoses that went unnoticed in the first year, due to the intensity of anxiety that this injury brought.
The journey back to health and healing both fascinated and deepened her understanding of how great a role hormones play on the brain, mood, and happiness. Through naturopathic medicine, physical and occupational therapies, and the wisdom of nature – she was able to make a full recovery.
This road was not an easy one, but Dr. Bennett feels certain it was her path to help others with this new intimate understanding of anxiety and panic.
Since this interview, Dr. Bennett encountered mold illness, from a hidden mold exposure in her home in 2022. Mold primarily targets fatty tissues such as the brain, and has since brought on new brain symptoms for her such as POTS, vision disruption, hormone imbalances and fatigue. As Dr. Bennett works through healing mold, supporting her brain health and yet again deepening her understanding of the brain and chronic illnesses, she has found a newfound connection to her patients and clients walking the same journey. With no doubts of a full recovery, she balances play in nature, ‘doing life together’ with friends and helping others in her AFMastermind and private coaching.
Dr. Bennett’s mother was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2021, furthering her passion to focus on brain health, where both mental and physical symptoms are at play. To donate to or learn more about her local passion project of Hope for Healing: A Nonprofit for Natural Brain Healing, please see the Charity link below.