Between 1985 and 2001 I managed my own hotel business, in a small village in Switzerland between Berne and Zurich. I worked extremely hard for many years, taking care of clients, employees, purveyors and bankers alike. It was not unusual to find myself working 15 hour days and I found no time for myself, my wife or my two children. Finally, the stress became over-bearing and the inevitable happened. My system went into a deep and profound burn-out. My memory, normally so reliable, began to fail me and my mind began slipping where before it had traveled with ease. I couldn’t remember how to get places although I had taken the same route thousands of times before, I couldn’t remember discussions I’d had with my clients, and, during management meetings, I was astonished by suggestions that had already been decided a month before. I became increasingly panicked as my pockets filled up with hastily-scribbled notes to remind me of things that needed to be done but that I knew I’d forget.

The situation lasted for months and I began to believe that I had dementia or another such mind-effacing malady. I became depressed and anxious, not quite knowing what to do.

I came across Sophrology by chance, reading about it one day in a magazine. I looked on the internet to find out more, and was soon enrolled in a Sophrology training course at the Swiss Academy of Sophrology.

Today, all my symptoms have disappeared. Since I benefited so much from Sophrology, I wanted more people to know about it and started giving courses and seminars. In September 2004, I teamed up with Dorna Wilson-Revie to co-train the certified Sophrologist training courses in English.