One of the most common harmful misconceptions is that there are some mental health conditions that are too serious for people to recover from. People suffering from psychosis are much more likely to be survivors of violence, abuse, and trauma than perpetrators of it. However, psychosis, just like any kind of crisis, can be an opportunity for transformation.
Read MoreMany people that struggle with trauma and emotional pain also suffer from some chronic health issues, but never connect the dots. But the problem is, many people have no idea that they have an underlying physical illness and that it can affect their mental, emotional and overall wellbeing.
Read MoreHow can we feel more at ease and more secure in our own bodies? It’s worth finding out because we only have one body for the rest of our lives. It’s the only constant and the thing we can’t get rid of. So, what actions to take to feel safe and at ease in our own homes (aka bodies)?
Read MoreWe all have inner critics, those little voices that enable us to get down to some of the roots of our shame and deepest insecurities. It might sound strange, but your inner critic is actually trying to help you - not destroy you. But how, you might ask? How do those hurtful questions help you?
Our inner critics are the doubtful, at times debilitating, thoughts or voices in our heads that love to judge and criticize. But you don’t need to still sit, you can own those voices and actually use them in your advantage.
Read MoreBecome a part of an amazing global community of folks interested in different ways of understanding and supporting mental health issues from a holistic, systemic, and lived experience lens.
With the discussions around gun violence in the US, we often hear a rallying cry for better mental health access and services. However, conflating violence with those deemed mentally ill is problematic enough (often those who are labeled are victims of violence, not perpetrators), not to mention our mental health system itself is utterly broken and unable to honor and provide what folks truly need. It's time we listen to those with lived experience and broaden our understanding of what mental health support can look like on a community level.
Read More[30 min listen] Ancestral trauma is a huge aspect that I was not recognizing for a lot of my life. Some people in this world are actually made to feel like impostors. Impostor syndrome isn’t just something that your brain just comes up with to trick you. It is an element of your lineage that is perpetrated by colonialism that is made to make certain people feel that they are imposters. That they aren’t good enough. That they aren’t white enough. That they aren’t rich enough.
Read More[6 min read] One of my favorite moments as a healer and practitioner is getting to witness the joy and ecstasy of someone coming out of a huge emotional release with immense insight, awareness, and power. The moment someone says "I never knew I could feel this good" or "Wow, it felt amazing to let that go". After years of practicing as an experiencer and facilitator, my favorite way to access and return to a state of authenticity is through Breathwork.
Read More[4 min read] The biggest thing we get wrong about dissociation is that it is pathology or an indication that there's something wrong with you or your mind. Through the years I spent healing trauma and working through dissociation, I've come to a deep appreciation for its existence.
Read More[4 min read] Ever since I can remember, I've been paralyzed getting up on a stage of any kind. The fear stemmed from a feeling that I didn't trust myself to show up fully. It was as if only 30% of who I am was active at any moment, and the other 70% was hiding in the shadows. That feeling left me restless to find the right spaces and opportunities to show up…
Read MoreYou don’t have to say no to a lot of things to be effective at just some. Yes, you’d think that most people specialize in just one thing, but what if I told you that you can love many things but feel less scattered?
“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.” - Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Read More[3 min read'] It's time for a resource roundup! I want to share with you some books that have changed my life and my perspective as a human, a healer, and an activist…
Read More[2 min read] We often see people with boundaries as strict, distant or selfish, but protecting your space doesn’t mean you’re selfish. It is a way of showing self love and appreciation to yourself. Many of us have negative associations with boundaries. Perhaps we've been hurt or felt rejected by others' "no"s. Perhaps we've seen time and time again that people have not responded well to our "no"s.
Read More[2 min read] Interpersonal relationships, romantic or otherwise, are where the spiritual practice, self-growth, and healing all gets put to the test. It's easy to say we've changed until we are forced to practice and inhabit that change in the presence of another. In truth, the stakes are always higher in relationship. Our relationships are where we struggle, mess up, where all our attachment issues, fears, pain, trauma, and beliefs about ourselves and the world come out from the trenches. It is also where we find our greatest lessons staring us right in the eyes.
Read MoreMost of us are plagued with what I like to call: The Authority Wound: a wounded sense of personal power and authority developed from years of experiencing subtle or overt abuses of power. To a greater or lesser degree, most of us have a challenging relationship to authority. So what are the signs of the Authority Wound and how do we deal with it?
Read More[4 min read] Healing fatigue is real. If you've been in the weeds of trying to figure out how to feel better for so long that the search itself is exhausting - I'm with you. Apathy sets in, you get so sick of treating yourself like a problem, that you want nothing to do with your trauma or pain nor it’s remedy. Here’s how we can combat disempowerment and the ways we’ve been socialized to think about healing…
Read More[4 min read] There are some things that come innately to us from a young age, and for me, this was the propensity towards gathering flowers, leaves, and other Earth debris into a glass jar, along with a wish - written or spoken - and burying it deep into the ground, to marinate for months, maybe years. I, of course, didn't have a name for this practice, back then, it just felt right. Now you can buy "witch kits" and "spell jars" to teach you how to do what children know intuitively…
Read More[3 min read] For years, I have denied myself the possibility that what I was experiencing could be overwhelm because it didn’t look like the “classic symptoms” I had known. Here are the signs of nervous system overdrive and how to overcome it…
Read More[3 min read] When was the last time you held your rage as sacred? Or truly felt it was safe to feel anger? I hold the belief that anger can connect us - it is an entrypoint, a truth-teller, a portal to our deepest wounds and our shared humanity. Training the body that it is safe to feel anger is an epic battle in and of itself. Here’s how to make it feel safe to feel anger…
Read More[4 min read] Anti-racist work is the most transformative work we could possibly do. Our healing and mental health practices are neither just nor sustainable until they directly address racism and white supremacy at its core. Our mental health training institute that myself and other amazing folks have built over the last few years, The Institute for the Development of Human Arts (IDHA) has released a self-paced, online class we held live earlier this year called OUR STRUGGLES ARE INTERTWINED: INTERSECTIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH & OPPRESSION . We're inviting you to take it now if you're interested in the intersections of race and mental health as a provider, supporter, or advocate…
Read More[5 min read] Taking a chance on someone with your emotional health on the line is scary and vulnerable. Here’s how to get better prepared so you search smarter not harder, get clear on exactly what you want and need in a healer, and spend less time and energy on people who are not the right fit…
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