Rheumatism patient A.

I still remember the key situation well, I was sitting at the dining table with Frauke Katharina, we talked about my rheumatism and her work. Suddenly she said ... I can take pictures of you at times. My first thought was, never !!! ... because how should I endure the lens, the focus on something that I have been trying to hide for many years? I used to work as a model every now and then, so I knew what to expect, only my body was perfect back then. Only the imagination was almost like a nightmare. And yet, there was the little voice that said ... do it, dare it!

And since I have absolute trust in Frauke, knowing about how sensitive and empathetic way to deal with human-beings, I dared. We went outside into the nature and began to take photos of my swollen and partially deformed joints, of my body, of my face. Very close, very intimate, very personal.

The action as such needed great inner surmounting and yet ... once started it developed into a momentum of its own, almost a state of euphoria. Finally I was allowed to show myself, finally the body got the attention it had deserved for so long, which it had yearned so much for. So this part only was already very beneficial in itself.

Then the photos themselves ... an extremely emotional moment that was implemented with great caution and mindfulness. I was allowed to look into my eyes for a long time and again and again, to look at my feet, hands and body. Evert time I discovered something new, I discovered ... myself. And every time I became more friends with this body, began to see it why I had rejected it for so long and saw that I didn't have to, that it is wonderful the way it is. I began to accept this body, to appreciate it and even to thank it. An incredibly important and big step!!

Frauke lent me her eyes, neutral and not shaped by ideas of how something should be. Through this neutral view, she made it possible for me to open a space in which I could also look at my body neutrally. Unbiased and without feelings of guilt. And what I saw was known to me and yet again not, familiar and strange, but certainly valuable. And adorable.

I recently looked at the pictures again. And again they touched me as much as they did then. I see the vulnerability, but I also see the power and strength in this person. And I see ... that person is me!

And I am infinitely grateful that this was made possible for me, because I know it is an important component on my way!

After the photo session, I felt a great dislike of the cortisone I had taken over years, so I left it off and decided further for homoeopathic medicine.