New Website/Adventure
Hey y’all! Just wanted to update you all here if you are subscribed to my blog. In this last 1.5 years since my last blog post, I have had a baby and moved twice. So it’s been slightly crazy…but I also have been working on me and trying to decide what my next steps in…
My Experience: Losing Both Parents Early
Imagine this. You are 18. You are by legal terms an “adult”, but in all other aspects you are kid trying to find your way in this crazy world. This is often a time when many people go off to college, start a career, party, make mistakes, begin romantic relationships – basically explore what life…
The Effects of Social Media
I’m not like everyone else. I never will be. You could say that’s a good thing. That makes me unique. And many times I feel the same way. But then there are times, that I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. At a social event for instance – You’ll see others drinking…
When Life Throws You Lemons…
Recently I found out I have two insulin resistant issues, hypoglycemia and PCOS. Why is this difficult? I HAVE to stay active and eat clean to reverse symptoms, even when I don’t want to or feel up to it. I generally enjoy being active but chronic headaches and pain often has me taking a step back…
The Empowerment of Being Single
Don’t get me wrong – I am completely happy in my current romantic relationship. And I definitely don’t think that being in a relationship is wrong. What this article is about, is rather emphasizing the message that being single is okay – that being single should, instead, not be looked down upon but actually utilized…
What Healthy Fitness Looks Like
If you know me, you know I’ve always been on the thinner side – not healthy thin – thin because I had an eating disorder. Then two years ago, I found the love of my life and got insanely happy. I just did me – I didn’t restrict any foods and just enjoyed living. As…
Love is the Answer
Memories on Facebook are a reminder of where we have been – sometimes this can bring up a lot of emotions, depending on what the post entails. A year ago, I posted the message below*. Today it showed up and reminded me that no matter what life throws at you, LOVE is always the answer.…
The Misconceptions of PTSD
“The big issue for traumatized people is that they don’t own themselves anymore. Any loud sound, anybody insulting them, hurting them, saying bad things, can hijack them away from themselves. And so what we have learned is that what makes you resilient to trauma is your own self fully. ” – Dr. Bessel van der…
Stuck in Your Own Head While Quarantined at Home
The worst place to be is stuck in your own head. Being quarantined due to the COVID-19 outbreak only makes this dilemma worse. It is day two for me working from home and I have noticed that (what I thought would be blessing) is actually making me feel more lost. Don’t get me wrong -…
The Power of Addiction
“One of the hardest lessons I learned was that I was worth recovery.” Demi Lovato The term addiction is not a one size fits all kind of term, which is why many people need multiple rounds of treatment in order to truly begin sobriety. For some, their addiction may be to a chemical or drug.…
Self-Discipline Reminders
When I start to feel off-balance, it is often because I have begun to skip the activities on my Self-Discipline tactics I am about to list. While I know it is counter-productive, the pattern is so easy to get trapped into. It starts with (a) getting overwhelmed then (b) crawling up on the couch and…
Dear Me: I forgive you.
Sometimes in order to heal, we have to forgive ourselves for our imperfections and mistakes. The hard part is “how”. In my experience, the first step is acknowledging whatever it is that is keeping you stuck. That moment in time doesn’t have to be acknowledged to anyone but yourself. It just has to be present…
30 Years: 30 Life Lessons
It’s crazy to think I am thirty years old – not because I think it is an old age, but rather because time is going so insanely fast. One moment we are all graduating high school and the next, everyone is settling down in their careers and building a family of their own. To celebrate…
Improve Your Self-Esteem
After going to a conference a month ago, I decided to pick a word for 2020 that I would force myself to work on throughout the entire year. My word was “confidence”. While it may look like I have a ton of confidence and high self-esteem, it is far from the truth. I do my…
How Your Core-Conflict Shapes Your Identity
“Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” William James One of the coolest things about being a human being is that we are each unique due to our various experiences and circumstances. These layers of influences have shaped our beliefs whether we realize it or not, and have…
Judgement – Who is Judging Who
“People will judge you no matter what you do. So you might as well do what you want.” Unknown Raise your hand if you ever remember feeling “judged” for something you did, a comment you said, or a decision you made? 🙋♀️ I think it is safe to say, we have all been there. Sometimes…
The Track of Life
Behind me is a track. Let’s pretend it’s the track of life. You can either run it or you can stand back and watch. Who do you let control your life? Are you in control or are you letting life just happen? You are not meant to stay stuck in life. Your mindset has a…
Intro to Clean Eating
This is the beginning of the recipes section of my website! A new tab will be made on the homepage to display some of my personal favorite clean eating recipes. Part of “Holistic Living” is living to the best of your ability physically, as well as mentally. When you eat clean – riding of processed…
Success: The Iceberg Illusion
“Achievements and success often blind us so that we often are not even aware of the huge efforts that were necessary to make these outcomes possible.” Katelyn Shelby, Blogger The iceberg illusion highlights the difference between what you see and what you don’t see when it comes to achieving success. While it is not an…
The Truth Behind Eating Disorders
“Choosing to engage in binging, extreme dieting, purging and other obsessive behaviors relating to body image and weight loss are attempts to “self-treat” their lack of control in other aspects of their life where they have no control.” Psychology Today, Kristen Fuller M.D. One of the biggest misconceptions about Eating Disorders are that they are…
Anniversary of My Suicide Attempt
Exactly seventeen years ago, I attempted to take my own life. I don’t talk about it much because I don’t like to remember that day or the events after it. In actuality, I think part of my psyche has blocked it from my memory because I only remember bits and pieces. I was thirteen. I…
Watching Your Loved One Pass
“I’ll be seeing you…” Billie Holiday It was April 24, 2010. I was twenty years old. My dad was sick with pancreatic cancer and had just gone through his second major surgery in two years. Most of my days were spent between college classes and the hospital room in which I slowly watched my dad…
The Power of a “Vision Board”
“When you make a decision, the universe rises up to meet you. Even when it comes to the hard things— you have to be able to let them go so that your hands are free to receive new blessings.” – Rachel Hollis A vision board is a powerful way of letting the law of attraction…
Suffering from Chronic Pain
“Throughout the world, 1 in 5 people suffer from moderate to severe chronic pain.” Breivik H, Collet B, Ventafridda V, Cohen R, Gallacher D. Survey of chronic pain in Europe: prevalence, impact on daily life, and treatment. Eur J Pain. 2006;10:287-333. February 24, 2015 – It was 3:10 in the afternoon. I was working as a…
When You Find “The One”
“There are many forms of love, as there are moments in time.” Jane Austin How do you know when you find “the one”? It’s going to sound simple, yet not simple all at the same time. The cliff notes version is you just know. Now – you are probably reading this and thinking “that is…
What is Holding You Back?
“A lot of the time, what holds us back and keeps us trapped is the thought that we aren’t the sort of person who can succeed.” Katherine Hurst As our souls enter into this world, each individual is born with a pre-designed purpose. As we grow and learn from experiences, we begin to recognize what…
30 Day Challenge: Mind, Body, and Soul
Here it is. The challenge you have been waiting for – the sign to start changing things little by little. If you love setting goals for yourself, here is a 30 day challenge to help your mind, body, and soul flourish. Commit to it and see where it leads! MIND Stay offline for one day…
Mindset – Ready, Set, GO!
“The biggest disability is a bad mindset.” Nick Santonastasso The world is full of negative people. In your lifetime, you will come across many people who will tell you that you can’t do something or that your vision is too big. Many of us get discouraged and then tell ourselves that we are incapable of…
Body Image: Looks vs. Health
“When did we become a society focused around looks and not health?” Body image is a sensitive topic to many people, myself included. Even as a recovered anorexic, I still have my moments when I cringe at my body or nitpick every little roll or imperfection. I often wonder why I have a certain image…
My “Coming Out” Story
“I am gay. I am straight. I am a lesbian. I am bisexual. I am trans. I AM HUMAN.” My story is anything but ordinary, especially when it comes to my relationships and sexual orientation. The most common question I get is, “Did you always know you were attracted to women?” The answer is quite…
The Truth About Being an Empath
“When empaths absorb the impact of stressful emotions, it can trigger panic attacks, depression, food, sex and drug binges, and a plethora of physical symptoms that defy traditional medical diagnosis from fatigue to agorophobia.” Judith Orloff, M.D. Growing up, I was always told I was “emotional” or “overly sensitive”. While I knew wholeheartedly this was…
You are Not a Tree
“If you are not happy with your life, you need to do something to change it. Do not stay stuck. You are not a tree.” If you read the name of the article and the quote, you might think – “Wow that’s harsh, what does this girl know?” Let me tell you what I know.…
Physical vs. Emotional Hunger
“I was not eating to nourish my body but rather eating to fill an emotional hole” After my battle with anorexia, I still struggled with food for many years. Essentially, I went from not eating anything to over indulging in things because I went too long not enjoying food. Then the occasional overindulging lead to…
The Pillow Method
“The idea is to write your affirmation on a piece of paper and place it underneath your pillow before you fall asleep.” Okay, so I cannot claim”The Pillow Method” as my idea – I want to put that out there first and foremost. However, I think the whole concept is an amazing idea and I…
Loneliness
“Loneliness is designed to help you discover who you are and stop looking outside yourself for worth.” Do you ever have one of those days were you just feel misunderstood? Like no matter what you do, you cannot get your point across? Well, what happens when this feeling occurs on a daily basis, leaving you…
Law of Attraction
” In the New Thought philosophy, the Law of Attraction is the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person’s life. ” Have you ever heard someone tell you how important it is to think positively? If you haven’t, even more of a reason to read this article! If…
The Untold Story: My Battle With Depression, Body Image, and Food
“Real hope combined with real action has always pulled me through difficult times. Real hope combined with doing nothing has never pulled me through.” ― Jenni Schaefer, Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love with Life This is a story that almost came to an end many times over the last…
Are You an Overthinker? Try this.
“Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded.” Buddha Overthinking – I could write a book on that topic. If you were to look up “overthinking” in the dictionary, my picture would be next to it. I am the Queen of second-guessing and going back over situations a million times. It is…
Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life
It takes 21 days to create a habit, and 90 days to create a lifestyle. Unknown You know you are unhappy. Now what? First off, you are not alone. I have been there. There is nothing wrong with feeling hopeless. It is a human emotion that is much more common than others let on. The…
Why Reading is Important for Personal Growth and Achievement
Do not underestimate the magic of what 15 minutes of reading can do for your self-growth. Kristen S. Reading is a popular habit among super successful (and happy!) people. But not just any kind of reading – it’s the kind of reading which helps to spark the soul, building self-confidence and spirit. Some people choose…
The Holidays Without a Loved One
“Those we love never truly leave us. There are things death cannot touch.”Jack Thorne Rewind time back to 2010 – the year my dad died and the first set of holidays without him by our side. Each day that passed was challenging, let alone a group of holidays which seemed so empty. My dad was…
Heartbreak City: How to Ease Your Pain
You are strong enough to face it all, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. Unknown Break-ups can be heart wrenching and take a toll on every aspect of your life if you let it. No matter what anyone says, it is not that easy to just “move forward” or “let it go”,…
My Anxiety has Anxiety
“This too shall pass.” Unknown Sweating. Heart racing. Can’t breathe. Hands are shaking. Thoughts are bouncing. What the fuck?! Welcome to the world of anxiety, my friends. It sucks! If you have anxiety, you know it is a very physical and mental struggle. Your body begins to have its own reaction while it seems like…
Friends Come and Friends Go
“As I get older, I am becoming more selective of who I consider a friend. I find that I would rather have four quarters than 100 pennies” Unknown One of the hardest things about life is “change”. It is unavoidable and honestly a natural occurrence here on Earth. As you travel throughout the different phases…
Miscarriages are a BITCH!
One out of every four women will experience a miscarriage in their lifetime. I am one of them. (FYI: So my first blog post is a little bit heavy, but this topic has been weighing on my heart for a while… ) The moment you find out you are pregnant, emotions of all sorts are…
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