Is there anybody out there?

So as I am trying to build my private practice in Edinburgh, reaching out to fellow nutritionists in private practice has been one of my missions. Sadly, my efforts have been completely unsuccessful. Why is making new friends as adults so difficult?! Despite several emails to the dozen or so nutritionist's in this city to say "hello- Im just like you- have a passion for living a health lifestyle, love cooking, eating well, etc, etc...let's connect and share ideas!" (Crickets.) Yea, its discouraging. I'm craving a community of professional peers to spark new ideas and stimulate each others businesses. Guess it's not a match.

So I moved on to contacting Functional Medicine Practitioners. There are 2 in Scotland. Thats right. Two. Deux. Dos. Not surpassingly I have not heard back from either. Wishing there were more progressive health care superstars for me to message, I began to wonder how can there only be a couple in the Capital city of Scotland. Well, there are only 37 IFM (Institute of Functional Medicine) registered practitioners, in the entire UK.

According to the IFM website, Functional Medicine (FM) is a "systems biology–based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness." Targeting the root cause of illness and creating a practical therapy based on nutritional intervention is, for me, the model of what modern health care should be. To work with a functional medicine expert would be a perfect match for me at this point in my career. I love a team dynamic. It encourages me and challenges me. I want to be inspired everyday. To provide this kind of treatment to individuals seeking the best possible therapy from their health care provider would get me out of bed (and that's saying a lot!) I have taken hours upon hours of FM courses but am far from expert. There's so much to learn. So, for the foreseeable future, I will be here in Edinburgh. Studying and playing well on my team of one. Unless....