mental health Archives - Page 2 of 2

Be Mindful of the Second Arrow w/ Allison Carmichael

Allison Carmichael Bio

Allison Carmichael has served in public education over the last twenty years as teacher, assistant principal and principal. Through her tenure she has experienced serious work related stress. In 2017, she began a journey learning about mindfulness for which she was able to build a skill set experiencing tremendous benefits. As all teachers do, Allison felt compelled to share her learning with others. Second Arrow offers stress reduction strategies specifically to teachers. Allison now also serves as Teacher Fit’s Mindfulness Director, is a mother of three, and a wife.

Mindset

Service based. Goals of impacting a situation so that it is left better than when they found it. Fear of letting others down.

Faith

How do the routines of religion and faith impact you? Our guest adds insight into the impactful nature of her upbringing in spiritual guidance.

Feelings

There is a wide margin between the amount of support that one receives for attempts with physical improvement vs. mental and emotional improvement. Normalizing mental health support is greatly needed in our communities.

Future of Faith and Feelings

Our guest tells us about the principle of the “Second Arrow” which deals with the impact of a traumatic event and the fact that we always have a choice of how we react. We are also taught that we are not the same as our thoughts, and that we have the power to reshape both.

Wrap Up

Final Words of Guidance
Dr. Brown-Henderson teaches us to remember that we either succeed or learn lessons towards how to succeed in life. We should embrace the impact of the lessons learned from your failures in life while working towards not repeating mistakes of the processes that lead towards failed attempts.

Recommendations
Creating your own structure and regiment of prayer and meditation will be one of your biggest tools to healing from trauma, and to plan your journey towards growth for the future. Remember to take the same medicine that you prescribe to others, and to put equal energy into creating the opportunities for your own healing just as you would do others.

Mission/Message
Healing and growth are ongoing, and like everything else in life, it takes planning, practice, and the obtaining of the exterior tools needs to succeed.

Mentioned Resources

Twitter: @second2arrow
Instagram: second2arrow

Feelings are Key Ingredients in Your Faith w /Dr. Lesley-Ann Brown-Henderson

This episode addresses the importance of understanding the power of “now”. It is one thing to be cognisant of the past and proactive towards the future, but excessive energy in either direction tends to cause you to neglect what is currently happening in your life. In addition, it also blocks your opportuThis episode addresses the importance of understanding the power of “now”. It is one thing to be cognizant of the past and proactive towards the future, but excessive energy in either direction tends to cause you to neglect what is currently happening in your life. In addition, it also blocks your opportunities to receive the strengthening engagements that you need to grow from your past and to prepare for your future.nities to receive the strengthening engagements that you need to grow from your past and to prepare for your future.

Dr. Lesley-Ann Brown-Henderson Bio

As an educator, professional counselor and owner of Bolden Consulting, Amber Marie Bolden is mission-driven when it comes to helping others vitalize their mental health and wellness. Whether supporting families or training organizations, she brings her brand of compassion, zeal, and humor to tDr. Lesley-Ann Brown-Henderson is the Acting Chief of Staff and Executive Director of the Department of Campus Inclusion and Community at Northwestern University. Lesley-Ann oversees three units: Multicultural Student Affairs, Student Enrichment Services, and Social Justice Education. Lesley-Ann is also responsible for overseeing and responding to bias incidents; working with staff, faculty and students to engage in ongoing dialogue on social justice, respect, and inclusion. Dr. Brown-Henderson earned her doctorate in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis on multicultural issues in higher education. Lesley-Ann also enjoys spending time with her partner Bryon, her two kids Xavier and Yara, their puppy Eddy, traveling, cooking, shopping, and teaching boot camp style classes in Chicago.he work of transformation.

Mindset

The importance of being impactful and significant to the world while also taking moments to allow the world to impact you. Understand the importance of the lessons learned when you have a failure in life and embrace the impact that these lessons can have in your journey towards growth.

Faith

During this episode, our guest teaches us a continuous lesson that you do not have to adopt the spiritual beliefs or lack thereof for your own spiritual path. Also, one of the toughest spiritual challenges can be finding the hand of faith to guide you through the darkness of the storm. Know the difference between prayer and meditation and their individual purposes. Prayer is the act of your communication to God, while meditation presents the opportunity to be still and to receive instruction and guidance in a peaceful setting.

Feelings

Always remember to set aside an equal amount of time and safe space for your own mental health and health as you would provide for others. Take a holistic approach towards strengthening your physical and mental health. Self isolation robs you of opportunities to receive healing and strength from those in your circle or community.

Future of Faith and Feelings

You do not have to fight your feelings in order to maintain faith in God. Rather it is important and impactful for you to bring those feelings and emotions to God to work through them with Him. Holding those feelings and emotions inside only ensures the decrease of space that you will have to receive guidance and the blessing of true healing.

Wrap Up

Mission/Message
Healing and growth are ongoing, and like everything else in life, it takes planning, practice, and the obtaining of the exterior tools needs to succeed.

Mentioned Resources

I want to hear from you, Email any questions, comments, or show suggestions at [email protected]

Father I Stretch my Hands to Thee

In this episode, Brandon opens up to the #TSStrong community about the challenges that came with learning how to parent his oldest child who is diagnosed with Autism. Engaging in the “honest” process of learning to understand all aspects of any challenge that you may be facing at times may be the toughest part of the journey. The true challenge comes when you understand what you are facing, and you have used all your skills and knowledge to persevere yet the challenge is unmoved.

Show Notes

Mindset

After you have done all that you know how to do to overcome a challenge, what do you do next? Have you ever given something your best shot and still come up short? Know that it is in these moments that your faith will truly offer you peace and strength, but only if you choose to surrender to it.

Faith

Have you truly surrendered to your Faith? Have you conducted the inner assessment of one’s self to identify those parts of you that are difficult to surrender? Remember that “Experience+Resistance=Suffering”. With that said, it is our responsibility to ourselves to work towards reducing our level of suffering by first reducing our level of resistance.

Feelings

Our conflict and resistance to fully surrendering ourselves to our chosen faith or to the mere fact of what “is” creates unnecessary struggles for ourselves. When we do this, we hold onto the thought process that tells us we cannot be happy unless we achieve a specific outcome. This type of thinking often blinds us from the many blessings and positive lessons taking place around us during our journey.

Future of Faith and Feelings

Remember that you were presented with your specific challenges in life for a reason. Although there are positives to surrendering oneself, take care of what and who you surrender yourself to.

Wrap Up

Final words of guidance
Find your “Redemption Song” that allows you to release and surrender yourself to what “is”. Remember that you are not defined by the mistakes that you have made during your journey.

Recommendations
Do not stay a prisoner to moments of hardship, pain and struggle. Work to change your focus towards the fight to release the yolk of your burden, to surrender to your faith, to overcome and surpass your struggle.

Support for the mission/message
Please remember to Like, Share, and Subscribe to our various media platforms to help us grow and nurture our #TSStrong Community and purpose!

Mentioned Resources

We want to hear from you, Email any questions, comments, or show suggestions at [email protected]

Is the Best Teacher Life or Religion w/ Amber Bolden

This episode addresses the need for clinical engagement within the church to assist its community with recovery from the effects of trauma. Our special guest, Amber Bolden, offers a critical look into the controversial struggle between turning towards spiritual guidance vs clinical treatment, and that choosing one or the other does not mean that you are shunning the other.

Amber Bolden Bio

Mindset

The attainment of freedom coupled with the understanding and realization of one’s true potential sits at the core of the fulfilment of purpose. Life is the best teacher, therefore, take each lesson as a way to learn how to improve yourself in life.

Faith: It is important for the church to evolve from its past rigidness of doctrine and teaching. As the generations pass, the methods of helping its members grow and heal spiritually must offer a certain level of religious flexibility and clinical education to simultaneously address both sides of one’s inner growth.

Feelings

There does not have to be a clear division between one’s faith and one’s feelings. The time for purposeful engagement presents itself appropriately, and it is up to us to choose which option best suits the current mental and emotional state that we are in.

Future of Faith and Feelings

The importance of realizing that one’s faith is not automatically predetermined by the faith of one’s family. In addition, there should be a place for clinical advisement within the church to help its members with healing from both a spiritual and clinical basis.

Wrap Up

Final Words of Guidance
Failing in life does not make you a failure as a person. Understand that as long as you have breath, then your life has purpose. Meditation is an extremely useful tool to help steady a traumatic mind. Make time to be still, to observe, to replenish yourself. It is in these moments that true inner growth, guidance, and healing can take place.

Recommendations
The following tools were present during this episode – “Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer” by Myles Munroe which points towards the importance of meditation, and “The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health” by Rheeda Walker which speaks to the imperative need for the African American culture to consistently confront and address identified mental health barriers.

Mission/Message
There does not have to be a battle between prayer vs meditation. In fact, they work one in the same and will often achieve the same purpose if properly utilized. Lastly, pursue progression over perfection. Budget the investment of your time, even better than you budget your money. Make attempts to lessen the amount of your time that you invest into things that do not nurture your spirit, and seek out the opportunities to grow and thrive in your ordained purpose.

Mentioned Resources

We want to hear from you, Email any questions, comments, or show suggestions at [email protected]

Them Changes

This episode addresses the feelings and emotions that occur when a person of faith is caught in between the points of trauma and healing. The journey that occurs can undoubtedly cause additional levels of stress and trauma in and of itself, and it is important to learn how to navigate that journey in the healthiest way to achieve your healing. We also take an in-depth look into the inner thoughts and emotions of an “introvert”. How does one fight their inner voice being against them? It is important to know when to not listen to yourself.

Show Notes

Mindset

How much work do we put into appearing to be the person that we think we should be in public versus working to improve the person that we are? It is imperative for each person to understand what sources provide them the energy they need to grow.

Faith

We have learned to live with wearing masks way before the pandemic of 2020. This episode shows us that the coin always has two sides to it which may be polar opposites of each other. Many of us present our physical personas as the way we imagine ourselves being in public, meanwhile, there is constant conflict and turmoil battling within. Our friends and family members may never truly know just how much our outward expression may be cries for helps or simply repurposed energy and focus allowing us to push through the day.

Feelings

At times, your own negative inner voice can cause you the most stress and mental anguish. Take time to break down and understand the inner world that you may have created and how it impacts you on a daily basis. Are you your own worst enemy? Have you been your biggest critic, and if so, why is that? It is perfectly ok to accept the inner parts of yourself that do not always agree with you because those parts have a voice too. Denying or merely suppressing those voices are no different than scenarios where extroverts question, shun, or even look down upon introverts for not fitting into the prototypical molds of society engagement. It is ok for your thoughts to not be “politically correct”.

Future of Faith and Feelings

You do not have to feel as if your faith has to count more than the impact of what you are feeling in your darkest moments. They are equally important and can often be reciprocal of each other.

Wrap Up

Final words of guidance
Learn to understand your inner voices and thoughts, take from them what you need to press forward, and proceed towards the next stage of your journey towards healing. Know that whether positive or negative, your thoughts are an important aspect of who you are, but you have the ability to choose which thoughts you are going to focus on.

Recommendations
Remember that it is important to treat and address the problem itself, but it is far more important to focus on the healing.Know that you don’t have to fit within anyone’s stereotype of who or what you should be. Be vulnerable, be open, be honest, be courageous when you give of yourself. Don’t be afraid to remove the “mask” that you have so comfortably worn for for years. The “mask” can bring with it added bagged and needless stress.

Support for the mission/message
What you focus on expands, therefore, make healing your focus!!!

Mentioned Resources

Chicago Police Officer says “Too Many Black People” at McNally’s

We want to hear from you, Email any questions, comments, or show suggestions at [email protected]

Freedom is Found in Good Health w/ Adam Farmer

In part 2 of episode 2, we get an opportunity to sit down with Adam Farmer again as he provides insight on his journey of experiencing trauma, rediscovering his true purpose, the importance of good health, and the pursuit of FREEDOM. He advises us to understand that the failures in our lives ultimately teach us what we don’t want.

Adam Farmer Bio

CEO of Adam Farmer Ministries, Founder of a Leadership Academy (LA) and a New Business Accelerator (“NBA”), Adam is a master connector who is truly an advocate for the entrepreneur. His purpose in life is “To Promote The Spiritual and Financial Well-Being of Mankind.” With a unique set of skills, Adam a “Marketplace Minister” is able to effectively communicate his belief that God wants “You” to be profitable in “Your” faith and finances. The Leadership Academy is a global movement of visionary leaders. Faith is taught to develop self-leadership processes. We believe that you must first learn to lead yourself well.

The New Business Accelerator deepens the lessons on faith to produce physical manifestations. One of the approaches is financial education of equity markets as a potential source of financial wellbeing. Another approach is the acquisition of cash-flowing business assets as a foundation to create healthy and wealthy communities.

A native of Chicago’s Austin community, Adam became acquainted with the power of faith and hard work at an early age. For the past 20 years, Adam has been integrating the inter-disciplinary principles of science and theology to drive change with a purpose thus creating more sustainable business models. Adam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Illinois State University and a Master of Divinity from The Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. He is single, lives in Chicago and is a co-parent of an amazing teenage boy.

Mindset

The fulfillment of finding true freedom in life. Have you obtained spiritual, physical, or financial freedom in your life? Are the key areas in your life replenishing themselves regularly? You do not have to tether yourself to the same worldly possessions that society leads you towards. True wealth is found in health and freedom.

Faith

Working to not carry your past trauma into your future should be a primary goal for anyone recovering from trauma. Fight to find your peace and protect it. Work to remove the discord between one’s spirit and one’s soul.

Feelings

Do not give power to your fears. Faith and fear cannot exist in the same active space. Therefore if you claim to be a person of faith, then how can you dwell in your fears of negative outcomes. Do not fear the possibility of failed outcomes, but rather embrace the opportunities of getting one step closer to your successes.

Future of Faith and Feelings

What do you do when you reach a point in your life where things you have learned in your life are called into question by the events you have experienced? This brings true controversy into how we work to make change in our lives and where we pull our strength and support from. Know that God is not threatened by our greatness.

Wrap Up

Final Words of Guidance
Learn from the failures in your life, but don’t dwell in them. Be careful what you give you energy to in life. Understand that every lesson in life, whether success or failure, is there to teach and remind you of where you do and do not want to be in life.

Recommendations
Once you have decided what you won’t do after a situation occurs, all of your energy has to go towards what you are willing to do to get to where you need to be. There is no purpose in ruminating on the dark aspects of your trauma.

Mission/Message
Dwell in the fact that if God has brought you through the traumatic events in your life, He will do it again, and again, and again.

Mentioned Resources

We want to hear from you, Email any questions, comments, or show suggestions at [email protected]

Controversy – A Mental Health Talk

In this episode we take a look at the importance of one’s mental health in depth. Statistics taken from a 2018 analysis show that 1 in 5 United States citizens were experiencing mental illness on one level of the spectrum, and 1 in 25 citizens experienced severe mental illness. Most youth have experienced some form of trauma triggered mental health ailment before the age of 14. With startling statistics such as these, why don’t we, as a society, talk more, learn more, and do more with regards to the importance of mental health and proper treatment?

Show Notes

Mindset

It is imperative that we as a society get to the point where it is not taboo to have open dialogue about the existence of, effects of, and acceptance for the need of mental health engagement and treatment.

Faith

It is our responsibility as members of this #TSStrong Community to work towards healing and strengthening ourselves for the greater purpose of helping our loved ones and all others who we engage with to also heal and progress.

Feelings

The fear of labels in our society often assists with building mental barriers that block us from obtaining the help we truly need. Thinking that we may be labeled as “crazy” along with the assumptions of the perceptions of other people promotes a debilitating level of independence to where we simply choose to “just push through” rather than requesting help and effectively addressing the issue.

Future of Faith and Feelings

As the Controversy Project promotes, once you have learned how to find true methods of healing and growth, it is greatly important that you guide and assist others to do the same. In that same vein, it is also important to take care with regards to the methods of assistance or encouragement that you employ. It is very plausible that, even with the greatest of intentions, you may be doing more harm than good.

Wrap Up

Final Words of Guidance
It’s okay to not be okay..own it. Live in the reality of “right now”! It is not possible to progress into the new phases of your life successfully until you acknowledge who and where you are in life. In order to truthfully do that, you must accept the good and the bad that has accompanied you during your life’s journey to that point.

Recommendations
It is not so much about changing the negative events of our lives that have already occurred. That’s impossible. Moreover, it is more imperative to acknowledge the impact that these negative events have had on us as individuals, and equipping ourselves with the tools to seek out positive and strength building engagements.

Mission/Message
As stated in a previous post, to end your suffering, you must accept and embrace what is. Once that is done, make the necessary changes in your life to allow you to move forward. Lastly remember to make earnest efforts to support the strengthening, healing, and growth of others along your journey.

I want to hear from you, Email any questions, comments, or show suggestions at [email protected]

Rediscovering Purpose w/ Adam Farmer

In part 1 of this episode, we get an opportunity to sit down with a man who has truly learned to rediscover his purpose in life. Adam Farmer provides insight on his journey of experiencing trauma, rediscovering his true purpose, the importance of good health, and the pursuit of FREEDOM. He advises us to understand that the failures in our lives ultimately teach us what we don’t want.

Adam Farmer Bio

Mindset

Faith

Feelings

Future of Faith and Feelings

Wrap Up

Mission/Message
Dwell in the fact that if God has brought you through the traumatic events in your life, He will do it again, and again, and again.

Mentioned Resources

We want to hear from you, Email any questions, comments, or show suggestions at [email protected]

It’s Been Awhile

In this episode we talk about the revelation of 38! As Brandon celebrates his birthday, he speaks about the earth shaking impact of the Season of Loss.

In one year (2014), he experienced his father’s passing, the loss of a pregnancy, financial hardship and other traumatic events. All of this reshaped the man he knew himself to be and the man he was becoming.

Brandon references the impact of the Flight, Fight, or Freeze response to illuminate what response we activate during our own traumatic events. Being stuck in either phase will ultimately keep you from truly healing. How far away is your healing… really ask yourself if you are standing in the way of that healing?

“The aptitude that ripens from within and wants to unfold does not remain ready for an unlimited time, but atrophies and disappears when the environment does not help it to develop”
Pedagogical Psychology of Teaching and Learning

Show Notes

EXPERIENCE + RESISTANCE = SUFFERING

Mindset

Repurpose the effects of your trauma. Lets work to reshape the toxic stress in our lives to repurpose our energy towards the attainment of purpose. Let’s work to remove the barriers to our own healing.

Faith

How to truly engage with those stuck in traumatic mental head spaces. Often faith based approaches fall short due to the fact that they do not fully understand the traumatic mindset that one may currently be in. The use of standard faith based colloquialisms can often be met with extreme opposition by one who’s “downstairs brain” is stuck in an open state of extreme emotion. In these instances, time and patience is needed by the person attempting to engage and assist this trauma engaged individual.

Feelings

The impact of grief can cripple one’s ability to develop and grow as a person. “Experience + resistance = suffering”. To experience the negative emotions following traumatic events is human, but our resistance to the reality of what is that leads to the suffering in our lives.

Future of Faith and Feelings

One of the hardest ideals for those dealing with trauma to realize is that they possess the power to change or reshape their situation. Our various faiths teach us that true strength lies within, and therefore it is up to us to bring about the change needed to improve our situations. We must also understand that the change that lies within our control may not be physical in nature but of our mindsets allowing us to see past our physical barriers.

Wrap Up

Final Words of Guidance
Understand that change comes when we decide to change ourselves. Know that the power to move forward past the effects of your trauma reside in you. Although the cultivation of a positive environment can nurture the seeds of inner strength and purpose, realize that it is not the responsibility of those environmental factors or persons to change your situation.

Recommendations
Seek therapeutic means of addressing the impacts of trauma in your life from all productive sources, whether faith based or clinical. Take the effects of your trauma and use it to work towards developing and returning to your true ordained purpose in life. Check the environment that you have either created or have allowed to surround you. Sometimes growth and healing is as simple as one’s change of mindset and environment.

Mission/Message
To end your suffering, you must accept and embrace what is. Once that is done, make the necessary changes in your life to allow you to move forward.

Mentioned Resources

Dr. Dan Siegel’s Hand Model of the Brain

We want to hear from you, Email any questions, comments, or show suggestions at [email protected]

The Controversy Project

In this episode, the #TSStrong community is formally introduced to the visionary of the Controversy Project, Brandon T. Bailey. It was important that viewers and supporters receive a clear understanding of the roots this project and the true purpose of his journey.

Vision, Ordained Gifts, and Purpose can provide positive cultivation in our lives. People fall short due to the lack of understanding. One of the major purposes of the podcast is to help those affected by trauma to see that they do not have to allow these experiences to cloud their Vision, lessen the Ordained Gifts, or damper the full impact of their Purpose.

Emotional conflicts do not have to impede progress. They provide an opportunity to FOCUS ON STRENGTHS and transform weaknesses. This episode presents the foundation of true inspiration. The Golden Circle depicts the “Why”, “How”, and “What”, to help understand the purpose of choosing to focus on “Why”.

Identifying the “Why” provides the true blueprint for any action that is completed. Our “Why” for this project is directly linked to the purpose of wanting to create a Safe Space for Trauma Survivors and Trauma Supporters to be able to share testimonies, strengthening resources, and to ultimately achieve healing and wholeness from the impact of traumatic experiences.

Show Notes

Mindset
Start With Why – Identify and dissect the factors that have impacted the cause for the actions you take in life. The definition of being “lost” is to act without true sense of direction and purpose. Have you identified your purpose in life? Ask yourself “why are you where you are in life and if you are on path with your identified purpose”?

Faith
Built from a diverse religious background over the years, Brandon developed his current sense of faith through education and experiences. Since he growing up in ministry, the purpose he has sought is to always find ways to be impactful to others. The power of testimony points to a two-fold process of healing for both the person providing their testimony, and the ones receiving it.

Feelings
Brandon values significance and his impact on others. As a result, this podcast allows the #TSStrong community to develop a deeper connection with the topics we cover and guests we interview. The project is designed to use multimedia platforms to connect with the day-to-day feelings of those in our communities that are struggling with past and current trauma.

Future of Faith and Feelings
There are many people in the world dealing with the effects of trauma. There are times where tension and conflict between faith and mental health follow traumatic events. This conversation seeks to open the lines of communication on these topics and second to introduce researched methods of healing.

Wrap Up

Final Words of Guidance
Fight to find your purpose. Do not allow your past or current struggles to determine the fulfillment of that purpose. Turn the weight of those burdens into the foundation and catalyst of your personal growth.

Recommendations
Seek therapeutic means of addressing the impact of trauma in your life. Explore all productive sources, whether faith based or clinical. Take the effects of your trauma and use it to work towards developing and returning to your true ordained purpose.

Mission/Message
The future of faith and feelings is not allowing yourself to be boxed into one manner of thinking or healing. The path to true healing and achievement of purpose is found in community rather than in individual effort.

Mentioned Resources

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

We want to hear from you. Email any questions, comments, or show suggestions to [email protected]