Have you ever found yourself faced with the ruminating question of why? Why did this event happen to me? Why did this person do this to me? Why am I unhappy?

Everyone at different points in their life faces challenges or traumas, which can lead them to create unhealthy patterns.

For those who are ready to break free from that negative thinking and start their wellness journey, mindset coach and vibrational healer Tracey O’Connor may be the person you are looking for.

She has been a practitioner at River’s Edge Healing Center, now located at 30 Church Hill Road.

Her title of mindset coach stems from her work helping people shift their mentality, while the title of vibrational healer encompasses her many modes of energy healing work.

O’Connor embarked on her own path to healing 11 years ago when she was diagnosed with Lyme disease and was put on antibiotics for six months.

“I started to question why I got this,” she said.

In search of answers, O’Connor investigated holistic healing and found reiki, an energy healing method where a practitioner holds their hands on energy points on the body and channels the source flow. Reiki became a huge part of her life, but she felt the need to keep searching for more clarity.

“I wanted to know more: Why do we get sick? Why do things these happen in our lives?” she said. “So, the deeper healing in the ‘why’ led me to polarity therapy.”

According to O’Connor, polarity therapy is similar to reiki, but instead of channeling the source, it is about releasing your emotions.

She explained, “Polarity therapy works with your own energy field, so there are the five elements: the ether, which is the throat chakra; air, which is the heart chakra; fire, which is the solar plexus; water, which is the sacral; and then there’s earth, which is the root chakra.”

The chakras — or centers of spiritual power in the body, according to a variety of meditation-based practices — associated with these areas of the body help to release stuck emotions, so they can be processed.

“When we have an experience, we make a decision about that experience and then that decision creates a pattern in how we react to any experience that looks like that same experience. And that is because we’ve blocked the flow when we’ve made that decision,” O’Connor said.

On the road to discovering holistic healing, she also endured a “traumatic divorce” that led her to discover other kinds of energy healing tools such as meditation, sound healing, and flower essences.

As she mended her mind and body, she awakened a part inside of her that wanted to help others in the same way.

Range Of Healing

Now, as a practitioner, O’Connor uses her personal experiences and expertise to find the best way to help her clients heal.

“Usually I’ll offer a free 30-minute discovery call to see if we are a right fit for each other. Then see if it is something I can help you with… Not everybody is a good fit and not everybody is ready to take action, so I want to make sure if we work together, we are going to have results,” O’Connor explained.

After assuring they will be a good match, she will meet with clients to first do talk therapy.

“In my coaching sessions I do talk therapy, because the mind and conscious speaking will tell me what the underlying issue is. Then I work with the body to help calm the central nervous system with sound healing to help release those stuck emotions,” O’Connor said.

She added, “All of the trauma is held in the body. We’re so disassociated from our bodies, and when you are trying to work with the mind and the body, they have to be connected.”

Depending on the person’s needs, O’Connor will use acupressure, meridian work, reiki, and emotional freedom techniques (EFT), which is another term for tapping.

One of her favorite methods, in her personal and professional life, is customized flower essences.

Flower essences can help clients with specific needs and can be administered by putting it in water to drink and/or be sprayed.

“When I used flower essences for myself, it really helped balance my emotions,” O’Connor said. “Then I got more clarity, could make better decisions, and see the patterns that I adapted from childhood trauma, the divorce trauma, [etc].”

It allowed her to switch from unconscious behavior patterns to conscious ones. The shift in her mindset changed the way she was living her life, and that ability is exactly how she wants to empower her clients.

“Those two components — between the energy work and the talk therapy — work together so that the energy work can clear out the stuck emotions and bring clarity into why we are doing what we do, why we are behaving how we’re behaving, and the patterns that we’ve adapted, and you get more clarity to make conscious decisions,” she said.

For those who would prefer to not partake in the coaching side of the practice, O’Connor also offers single sessions of sound healing and reiki.

She understands that everyone is going through something and wants to be of service to help people on their healing journey in a way that fits them best.

Overall, O’Connor said, “It’s amazing work. It’s so rewarding when you see your clients shifting and making changes in their lives and they are happier. It’s like the light bulb goes off. It’s great to see that.”

Upcoming Opportunities

Currently, O’Connor is creating a three-month online course called “New Mindset New Results,” which will be launched sometime in September.

“The course will be self-paced as well as live coaching with me,” she explained. “What people will gain from the course is: 1) Get clear on your passion and purpose. Learn the skills to manifest your dreams; 2) Create more self-compassion and confidence to set healthy boundaries creating deeper authentic relationships; and 3) Get clarity on why you made the choices you did and gain a new perspective that will empower you to make different choices.”

Those interested in learning independently about ways to heal can purchase O’Connor’s book, Transforming Emotional Blocks Healing through the Chakras, available through Amazon.

For more information about upcoming events or to book an appointment with Tracey O’Connor, visit traceyoconnorcoaching.com and riversedgehealing.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/traceyoconnormindsetcoach.

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.