A few years ago I did my first photo shoot after 2 years of being ill, and the result was published in 2014. In this edition of Grazia magazine I share my story of recovering from a burnout and post traumatic stress disorder, as well as suffering from an autoimmune disease. I also open up on how I spent those 2 years. The shoot was conveniently at my own loft in New York City, as well as on the streets of my favorite city.
Burnout
This period was the toughest for me so far in my life, with many ups and downs. I quit modeling while I was recovering from a burnout, but I was also getting married. I turned out to have hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto’s Disease but I also adopted the best dog ever: Vito The Dog. You can say that those 2 years forced me to look at my life and think about what I really want in life, and focus 100% on my health and happiness. It made me go in a totally new direction than I was going in before I fell ill. Right now I feel it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It made me who I am today, and I am much happier, and have more love in my life than ever before.
Now it is 7 years later and I am going to share more about how to deal with an autoimmune disease in the future, and how I got myself healthy from feeling really sick. It did not happen overnight, I had to take it easy for at least 6 years. I hope I inspire people that these things can happen to anybody, and to “Organice Your Life” is a continuous process throughout a lifetime, with a few bumps in the road. I am here to take these bumps with you.
Love, Lonneke
Client: Grazia Magazine
Photographer: Christian Högstedt
Stylist: Erin Walsh
Make Up: Dominique Samuel
Hair: DJ Quintero
Location: New York City
First published in 2014,updated in 2019
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