During the covid-19 lockdown, I was furloughed and living alone, with a hefty stipend from the government. I did as any young twenty-something would do and spent my time feeding into targeted marketing. I bought new makeup, skincare, clothes, home decor - anything to fill the void of experiencing the real world. Corporations managed to profit more than ever, yet convinced us that it was our duty to ‘recover the economy’ once things opened up again. Which, yes - recover the economy by supporting local businesses, using public transportation, and participating in arts and culture. Not continuing to buy useless plastic from billion dollar corporations. Consumerism makes you think that you need to constantly have more. It has resulted in mental health and environmental problems just to scratch the surface. It has become increasingly hard to drown out the noise, but consuming less is possible and even more fulfilling than buying the hot new product in your feed.

When home feels like a battlefield, the brain responds the same way war does, children exposed to family violence develop brain activity patterns strikingly similar to combat veterans. This hour session explores how childhood exposure to family conflict and violence shapes the brain’s threat-detection systems, often mirroring the neural patterns of combat veterans. Using insights from studies we will learn to identify when we are in heightened activity in the amygdala and anterior insula—regions linked to vigilance and anxiety—reflects the brain’s adaptation to repeated danger. While such changes may serve as protective in the short term, they increase vulnerability to long-term anxiety and emotional distress. While this adaptation might offer a short-term benefit by helping children identify danger, it also increases vulnerability to anxiety disorders and other mental health problems later in life.

I am the parent of two kiddos who experience the world deeply and fully in what feels like every moment. There are sensory challenges, misunderstandings, stimming, and hyperfixations that we navigate together all of the time. We are aiming to raise our kids with intentionality so they understand themselves and their needs while not making them feel like anything is "wrong" with them, the tricky balance of it all. They are extraordinary in a world not really built for how they experience things, so we work together on how to move through the world so they feel safe and supported.

I’ve built my career outside the box—shaping a non-traditional path as both a freelancer and entrepreneur. After earning my degree, I worked as a service provider for 11+ years before diving headfirst into entrepreneurship. OOver the past 5+ years, I’ve worked as a CEO, freelancer, and entrepreneur. I’ve also explored 100+ side hustles—from flipping items for profit to being paid to travel and make content around the world. Along the way, I’ve launched multiple businesses, built a private coaching practice, grown a blog with 500k+ metrics, and stepped into publishing, public speaking, and soon, releasing my book It’s Time To Manifest Your Vision. My journey shows that you don’t have to follow a linear career path to create success—you can design a life that blends passion, freedom, and impact while thriving on your own terms. But finding those terms, and manifesting it, is where we'll start!

When I was a nurse for 33 years, I became a workaholic. I thought the hospital could not function without me. I often took my work home, calling back to the hospital, checking on patients. My family, life and family suffered because of that I paid more attention to my work than my family, which eventually resulted in a divorce and custody battle. I can help you know what’s important in your life.

I've dated while still figuring myself out, created queer relationships, explored my gender identity, and dealt with issues like anger management and gambling habits. I provide a space where you can share your story without fear of criticism because I have experienced similar things myself. Whether you're working on relationships, quitting a habit, discovering healthy ways to handle conflict, or simply exploring who you are, I'm here to listen and offer support and help.

I'm as prone as anyone to press the buy now button as anyone else, but for a while there, I found myself using the instant uplift of online purchases to avoid thinking about difficult topics. This thankfully didn't put me into debt, but as someone who never had much income to begin with due to becoming disabled early on in life, impulse purchasing quickly made life much more difficult than it needed to be. Not to mention the gathering clutter around my home. The only reason it didn't put me into debt was due to my credit card use as a young adult, so I couldn't get a credit card, not even the prepaid kind. I even had to have my grandmother cosign my first utility bill. luckily after paying my bills ontime I was able to get a prepaid card and have recovered my credit score.

Pornography addiction within monogamous relationships is very real, and not talked about enough because of stigma. Partners of PAs often hesitate to seek help because we are often told, "it's not really cheating", "it's just fantasy", etc. When our partners keep a secret sexual basement, the entire relationship and household is affected. The constant lies, the never-ending comparisons, the lack of physical intimacy and touch- all contribute to destruction of relationships, and self-esteem. I spent years in this dynamic and ended up with mental and physical health issues as a result. I had nobody to confide in. If this is you, first off, please know you aren't wrong for feeling betrayed by a partner lying to you about their porn use. I invite you to consider reaching out for support. I can't promise to fix a relationship, but at the very least, I will make you feel validated and I can tell you what I did to come out on the other side of betrayal trauma.

I was married to someone who lived with sex addiction, and for a long time I didn’t fully understand what was happening. I just knew something was very wrong—there were secrets, shame, and a deep erosion of trust. At first, I blamed myself. I thought if I just looked a certain way, acted a certain way, needed less, maybe things would get better. But they didn’t. Eventually, I found my way into the 12-step community, got a therapist who didn’t flinch when I told her the truth, and slowly started reclaiming my sense of self. Divorce wasn’t easy, but staying was harder. I did the gut-wrenching work of healing—through yoga, meditation, therapy, and a whole lot of tears. Today, I’m happily married to someone who values honesty and intimacy in the realest sense. If you're in a relationship where trust has been broken by addiction, I’d be honored to hold space for your experience.