Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Whitney Donohue. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Dr. Whitney, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Honestly, I think my purpose found me. I spent many years trying to decide what I wanted to do for graduate school, I considered being a EMT (actually got certified, story for another day), PT, Orthopedic Surgeon, Nurse & I’m sure a few more options but life threw me a curve ball which lead me to the path I am on today. This isn’t a new story, I know many people end up pursing their purpose through their own life experiences, most often tough experiences that make us want to make a change in some way.
For me, I had severe pain following an accident. I went from working out twice a day, cross fitting, running races and playing beach volleyball to barely being able to lay, sit or move due to pain. This pain showed me that there were not very many options to healing when it came to conventional medicine. Pain meds and exploratory surgery were my only options and neither of them advocated for actually healing my body. Fortunately, I was surrounded by people who presented new options to me and I threw myself into natural medicine!
Through this journey, while years long, I knew that my body was healing, my pain was reducing & I was truly getting my health back. On this journey I was introduced to so many new modalities, some significant in my healing, some less so but I started to learn so much about what it truly meant to heal & it all resonated so deeply. In the mist of this, I was introduced to Naturopathic Medicine and knew I was on the right tract. While still suffering with lingering pain, not quite back to my active life I was introduced to applied kinesiology (AK) during one of the first days of medical school. This continued to blow my mind on how the body heals, how we can influence it & how significant the smallest interventions can be. I found a local doctor who practiced AK & after only 1-2 visits, all my pain was gone! I knew right then I was in the right place to learn the right thing.
From there I continued to learn similar modalities outside of medical school (it was a lot of extra time and work, mostly taking up my weekends) that continued to significantly impact my health and healing. When I experienced significant shifts in my health, I sought out to learn the technique so that I again could help others with it.
My practice today is very personal to me, as everything that I do, every way that I help people heal, is something that personally helped me. I have taken years of healing, multiple modalities and put it into one place, so that you can get everything you need here without having to go to multiple doctors for years like I did. With this, my practice has evolved to truly align with my purpose and how I help people heal from pain. From chronic pain you’ve had since you played high school basketball, to acute pain from hiking to pickleball or picking up your kids. I think my true purpose has come in deepening people’s understanding of the mind-body connection, how stress and emotions impact our pain & prevent us from healing! When we understand that every cell, organ, system, piece and part of our body is connected the true healing really begins. Again, I think it found me, as I have let the body teach me what it needs most to heal!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m Dr. Whitney, lead physician and owner at Quantum Body Optimization! We keep active women, active, energized and pain free! The focus on healing here is whole human; prioritizing the physical, biochemical (toxins that need to be removed or nutrients needed) & emotional aspects that influence your health and healing. To do this we utilize the nervous system to present in-real time feedback to identify what the body needs most, peeling back the layers & determining the root cause, allowing the body to truly heal. We focus on stimulating the body to heal itself & I am amazed every single day, at the profound healing my patients are experiencing. I am so excited that every time a patient gets off the table, their pain is significant reduced and most often time gone, they feel lighter (physically and emotionally) & they feel empowered in their health journey! I love educating my patients and giving them the tools to live the healthiest life possible! What we do in office is only a little part of stimulating the healing but it’s the patients who change their own life, which is the most magical part!
By focusing on the body as a whole, we create strong, resilient humans that shift into a more healthful state, eliminating their symptoms & optimizing not only their health but their life! The quality of life you live is more important than anything else. We aim for resiliency, longevity and high quality of life!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Curiosity – alway remain curious. Become a life long learner. Be willing to be wrong and learn new things. Right now the world is very dogmatic and polarizing and people double down even when they know it’s not right or no longer feels good to them. Be open to new ideas, opinions & allow your thoughts to be challenged. I have learned the most by being curious and letting go of the outcome. You don’t always have to be right and knowing when to admit you do not know something is more empowering and respected.
Resilience – Being able to pivot, go with the flow, get knocked down and come back stronger in all aspects of life, health, business, relationships etc. Resilience is built from experience. Having the ability to meet challenges head on and recover quickly allows you to ride the waves of life, instead of letting the waves crush you. Resilience is learned & created. Remember that everything is temporary as long as you’re willing to move through it, instead of running to hide. You are stronger than you think.
Determination – I have always been determined to be good at what I do. To learn as much as I can on any subject, to perform any skill to the best of my ability. Determination allows you to bust through doubt and builds confidence for you to succeed no matter what comes your way. Determination also requires hard work, to be great at anything you have to be willing to gain the knowledge and put in the time to master the skills.
Lastly you must go all in on yourself. Follow your gut/intuition, stay the course when things get rough but remember why you started. The path to get there might not look like you planned and the end goal might evolve but believing in yourself is more than half the battle.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I believe everyone has their super powers. Jack of all trades, is a master of none. Just because you can do all the things, wear all the hats, figure it all out, doesn’t mean you should. People are experts in their fields for a reason. Figure out what you are the very best at & what fills your cup, then find someone else to do all the things you aren’t great at. The time wasted trying to do all of the other things is taking away from the one thing you should be focusing on. If you can’t hire it out, figure out how to create the easiest system, really think about how important it is and if it is really going to move the needle. Most the stuff we get overwhelmed with we can actually do without. Simplify, simplify and simply. Then when you can, expand, hire and delegate!!
We get caught up in all the things were “suppose” to be doing or comparing what others are doing, so we feel like we always need more. However, most of the time, when you stop to think about it, does it really work for your business/ life, health, etc. or are we just getting caught up with new flashy ideas. Simplifying everything is my business changed everything. I figured out what had the highest ROI and double down there, then I let the rest go. I implement new things every so often, if they are a hit I stick with it, if not I move on. Everything is a little trial and error but pick one thing at a time, see it through then add on if needed or makes sense. You don’t have to do it all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drwhitneydonohue.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drwhitneydonohuend/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drwhitneydonohuend
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-whitney-donohue-nd-b9b140133/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_60p_CsdJcnV5Ky-pzDeMw
- Other: Schedule a Complementary Discovery Call – https://calendly.com/drwhitneydonohue/15-min-discovery-call
Image Credits
Nyoman Rivera Martinez
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