My Mental Health Story: Living With Depression and Anxiety

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If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 9-1-1. For more mental health resources (quick links, hot lines), please scroll to the very end of this article.

While it may be hard to believe coming from my oversharing self, there’s something I’ve been keeping from you; something I’ve been hesitant to share; something I’ve been afraid to share, due to the surrounding shame and stigma surrounding it (that, yes – is very real, but shouldn’t be).

But while I’m not one to keep shame in silence where it thrives, the truth is, I haven’t actually been able to speak about it until now – almost 1.5 months later. That might not seem like long, but if you know me, that is a lifetime.

(Side note: I am 1000% going to be that person that tells everyone, her social media community and their pets the minute I find out I’m pregnant).

But, the truth of the matter is, I’ve been battling severe depression and anxiety.

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I thought those words would seem much more dramatic when I imagined myself typing them out to you. But after connecting with many friends and community members on the subject matter, I quickly learned that these ever-so-isolating mental illnesses affect far more people than I ever imagined (and even more so given the year we’ve all just endured), which is a big reason why I felt the need to share my story publicly, because man, is mental illness ever good at making you feel like you’re the only one going through it.

And so, what you’re about to read is my story of when I became very aware of my mental health and the steps I took to heal (and am still using to heal).

Please note, this is not to be taken as medical advice. If you are in crisis and this is an emergency, please call 9-1-1 immediately (please – you matter).

Please also note, this is a personal story of what worked for me, which may not necessarily work for you. I encourage you to do what you and your doctor feel is best for you and your health.

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Trigger warning: depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts.

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Podcast Episode

If you prefer to listen to my mental health story, you can tune into the episode #88 on The Fill Your Cup Podcast wherever you get your podcasts (iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher etc), or by hitting play on the player below.

My Mental Health Story

I’m no stranger to mental health. I’ve struggled with anxiety for years. My first panic attack struck at age 22 when I was working in my advertising job. Actually, if not for that panic attack, I’m not sure I would be working in what I consider to be my dream job now (hey, you’ve gotta find silver linings in dark times sometimes, k?).

After that, through the years, I endured both low-grade anxiety (or what I’ve learned is called “high functioning anxiety) and then more severe anxiety attacks that have landed me in the hospital getting ECGs only to find out everything was fine.

But this time, this past November 2020 was different.

This time, I noticed a sadness (or rather “lowness”) that wouldn’t leave; the inability to simply “snap out of it”; loss of appetite (which, I chalked up to stress); increased reliance on alcohol to soothe; disinterest in the things I once enjoyed and loved doing (walking, movement, music, cooking); a general feeling of a loss of hope for what was to come.

Some noted they could immediately see it in my eyes or sense it in my energy. I was slowly drifting away into a shell of who I was.

I began to notice dark thoughts trickle their way in more and more frequently. I was so confused. I mean, I love my life. I genuinely LOVE life and the beauty of it all. I love myself and who I am and am becoming every day. I’m proud of myself – heck, a few days prior, my podcast The Fill Your Cup Podcast had just won 2020 Podcast of the Year! Why am I thinking these things?

It was really unsettling, and all of a sudden I felt like I never really knew what mental health (or rather, mental illness) meant until that moment where I was slowly losing control of my mind.

I didn’t realize at the time that a mental health crisis was brewing. I just felt like, “Damn, this is really tough. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to expect myself to heal from a breakup, heal my unhealed childhood wounds, vow to not date for 3 months (to further prevent dating for “void filling” purposes) and continue to rock my biz with two upcoming back-to-back program & product launches with another impending lockdown”.

There was this low grade sadness; but more than sadness, it was like, I had lost the will and drive to go on. I would text friends “Can I lean on you?” and cry my guts out to them. I would dance and shake in efforts of feeling something again – nothing. I would wake up, take forever to sit up, and just sit – unable to find the strength or reason to put one foot in front of the other (thank goodness for my cat, Duncan, that needed to be fed).

It was now late November and the days were feeling harder and harder to get through. I had always planned to go up north to my Mom’s place for the holidays around mid-December to take a solid two weeks off. The last week of November, I called her to let her know I was struggling. This was nothing new to her – I was calling her almost every day at this point.

But what was new to her was hearing her daughter was having suicidal thoughts.

There are a lot of heart breaking things in the world, but hearing those words from your daughter, as a Mother, has to be one of them. Don’t get me wrong, saying those words to my Mom was just as devastating for me. I never wanted her to think she did anything wrong or fell short in any way, but I couldn’t deny that these dark thoughts were rearing their ugly head – and often, too. We both broke down on FaceTime together; a moment that connected us both deeply and yet, made the distance between us so palpable.

After she demanded I seek out help immediately, we made a plan for her to come get me at my place in Toronto that Saturday. It was Wednesday at the time, and the thought of going 3 more days on my own was unbearable. We reevaluated and decided on Friday morning. My chest was still tight, knowing intuitively, deep down, I needed help sooner. I felt like I was losing control of my mind, and didn’t trust my mind to stay at home alone that night. But, in true people pleaser fashion, I didn’t want to be overly demanding and ask her to come that night (oh, mental health …).

After we got off the phone and I assured her I would reach out to a friend for help (who is a mental health advocate and struggles with mental illness herself), the “real” crisis ensued (well, it was already building, but this is where it “broke”). I fell into intense dissociation.

If you’ve ever experienced dissociation, you’ll know how terrifying this is. You feel like your body is no longer yours and the world around you is no longer real. Like life is happening around you and you can see it but you no longer feel “in” your body. It’s almost like you’re in a dream, but it’s far from a dream-y state and is close to a living nightmare. Then, of course, you start to feel like you’re “going crazy”, which makes it all feel even worse.

At this point, I went out for a walk and called that mental health advocate friend of mine (aka former FYC Podcast guest, Karyn Inder!). I knew, of all people, she might understand what I was experiencing. I told her what was going on, but all I can really remember saying to her is “this is such a fucked up feeling”, “this is so weird”, “this is so fucked”. She advised that I ask my Mom to pick me up that night and stayed on the phone with me to keep me company until she arrived. It was 5:30pm at the time. My Mom lives 2 hours north of Toronto. And, at no later than 7:28pm, my Mom was there to pick up me, Duncan and all of my belongings for the foreseeable future.

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How I Healed (and continue to heal):

The first week at my Mom’s was a blur. Even now, her and I try to recall back to it, including what we did and what happened and it’s hard to connect to it. The body and mind are good at forgetting painful moments.

I do remember watching TV and finding it difficult to do so. I felt so envious of everyone’s brains and was resentful of my own. My Mom made all of my food (wow, what a gift) and I self-cared A LOT. My self-care routine was actually laughable with how intense it was in the beginning, but I was deeply committed to healing. Not to be dramatic, but I felt like I was suddenly fighting for my life, and fuck I wanted to live. I wasn’t going to let my thoughts win.

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Quick aside on suicidal thoughts: it’s still hard for me to digest the fact that I was battling suicidal thoughts (specifically, passive suicidal ideation rather than active), as someone who loves life, and is so grateful (and privileged) for the life I’ve been given. With that said, even being dealt “the best cards” isn’t enough to convince someone to stay sometimes because life feels so painful.

But, [through therapy,] what I’ve come to learn about suicidal thoughts is that it’s the brains funny way of trying to shut down and “protect the body” when it’s sensing a lot of pain and threats. I had to teach myself to not take them as fact, and instead, consider what they might be trying to tell me.

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And so, the healing began, in the form of:

Meditation: I was meditating up to 3X/day in the early days of my fight. Previously, I had been using guided-meditations to fall asleep before bed (which, I continue to do and find VERY helpful. This is my favourite one). But, in addition to that, I started to do it in the morning and whenever I would find myself overwhelmed or anxious. Instead of maybe turning to food or alcohol like I used to, I would go plug in a guided meditation, get still and come back to my body. I used the Insight Timer app, but other apps for guided meditations include Headspace and Calm.

Movement / Walking / Exercise / Dancing: In the early days of my battle, I had to be really strategic about accessible ways to get a little feel-good dopamine hit (that was within reach, because remember, I was feeling very low and it was hard to muster up the will to do most things). The idea was that I would get a little dopamine hit, that would get me feeling a bit better so I would have * that * much more capacity and “fuel” to do another self-care activity.

It started with exercise (as in, running – I cried so much during the first few runs), then turned to dancing (even DANCING was hard – I know, can you believe it? – but I would shake and move until I felt the tiniest lift. At one point I danced outside in the pouring rain (“Let the rain fall down” Hilary Duff much?). Since then, it’s turned into daily ritual forest walks and if you follow me on Instagram, you know how transformative these have been for me. I could write a whole love letter of a blog post about being in nature and what the forest has done for me, but for the sake of not making this a 300 page book, I’ll leave it at that and save it for another blog post.

But if you are struggling, get outside. Move. In any way that you can and that feels good. It might not feel like anything at first, but just keep moving. Shaking and moving your body activates your parasympathetic nervous system to signal to the brain to calm and relax, and also allows you to process and move through emotions.

Medication: Coming from the holistic nutrition world, the thought of going on medication was really hard. And, of course, I beat myself up thinking “I should’ve just ate more sauerkraut and fermented foods and took my probiotics regularly!)”. But after talking to my doctor, and explaining to her what I had been doing to support myself, we decided medication would be the best course of action in the way of next steps since I had already exhausted all of the other supportive habits (i.e. taking Vitamin D regularly, going outside, movement).

The way she positioned it was really helpful. The point of medication, is to give you a bit of a leg up so you can put the support systems into place to prevent depression and anxiety moving forward, since it’s incredibly difficult to do so when you’re in the depths of depression. It doesn’t necessarily mean you will be on medication forever (however, in some cases, for some people, you will and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just like a Type 1 diabetic’s pancreas doesn’t produce insulin and requires an insulin pump to supplement, some people’s brains don’t make enough serotonin, or require more neurological support).

I’ve been on medication for 1.5 months so far and it’s been incredibly helpful (Escitalopram – an SSRI/anti-depressant – if you’re wondering). I feel very lucky that the first medication I tried was a good fit for me, but from what I hear, this isn’t the case for everyone. Know that it may take some time to find the right one for you, and also know, if it doesn’t feel right, let your doctor know immediately.

I will be checking in with my doctor in the spring to see if medication is still needed at that point. I’m open to whatever the plan may be for me in that regard (however, I am slightly eager to eventually get off of them after discovering the incredible benefits of micro-dosing with psilocybin!).

In any case, please consult with your doctor if you’re wondering if medication would be beneficial or suitable for you.

Journaling: I’m not a consistent daily journaler, however, I found journaling to be a great way to dump everything out that was filling my brain, especially because I didn’t start therapy up again until 3 weeks-ish after my crisis.

Yoga: I haven’t done much yoga, but in the first couple of weeks of my healing, I found yoga to be a good way to get back into my body and feel my strength.

I actually recommend more intense movement / exercise when you’re struggling with mental health, as the challenge of pushing yourself through something and seeing yourself on the other side of it is good evidence that you’re stronger than you think.

Scaled back on work: The thought of scaling back on work was incredibly difficult, given that my crisis occurred during my enrolment week for my Winter 2021 Intuitive Way For Eating program, which much of my income relies on. I was also finishing up with my Fall 2020 group and had follow up consults to deliver on.

But I had to get real with myself. This was my mental health and my life I was fighting for, after all. So, I trust and surrendered to this one and decided to scale back on all of my work for December and only deliver on the things I absolutely had to. I committed to doing the bare minimum, and consulted my clients through the final sessions of the program (who were incredibly understanding and supportive, by the way) and put out the odd promotional deliverable to complete my launch.

In hindsight, I’m glad I continued to work as my work lights me up and gives me a sense of purpose and I think that helped to reignite the fire in me.

And in true trust and surrender fashion, everything worked out. I went out with a bang with my Fall 2020 Intuitive Way For Eating clients (who I miss dearly) and enrolled 9 rockstar women for the Winter 2021 Intuitive Way For Eating program, who I’m absolutely thrilled to guide and support in their intuitive eating journeys.

Sleeping: Since ditching my alarm clock back in July, my nightly hours of sleep has been pretty solid (around ~8 hours/night – sorry parents who are reading this). I’ve made a point to continue to prioritize sleep.

Albeit, the first 2 weeks after my crisis, sleep was really tough and scary. I dreaded bed time, because it meant being alone in my dark thoughts and waking up throughout the night with a sick, impending doom-like feeling (this was before my medication kicked in).

Sleep is a bit better now – I actually look forward to it! I have a solid routine of washing my face, spraying my pillow with an essential oil sleepy spray and I swapped my night time social media scrolling for reading (wow, SO helpful!). Every now and then, I’ll still wake up with that sick, impending doom-like feeling, but I'm able to manage it a bit better now (aka by scrolling on TikTok – HA! – okay, I don’t advise scrolling before bed if you’re trying to fall asleep but if you need to self-soothe in the middle of the night and distract yourself from scary thoughts, TikTok is a wonderful place to be – for me, at least).

Therapy: It took me a while to find a good therapist to work through these mental health issues. As many of you know, in the past, I used BetterHelp Online Therapy and absolutely LOVED it. I had an incredible therapist on there, but she left the platform for a new job back in August. I struggled to find a suitable therapist for me back in December and I felt desperate to find one right away. I ended up connecting with one here in Toronto who I see via Zoom.

But, I would still recommend BetterHelp if you’re looking for a therapist, especially for mental health matters as BetterHelp is membership-based and allows you to get access to weekly therapy at a more affordable rate, which I find to be super helpful when moving through mental health issues (and if you sign up using this link, you can save 10% – bonus!).. I’m doing weekly therapy right now with my therapist (who I love), but I’m paying a bit more. I’m okay with that as finding her allowed me to get the urgent care I needed.

If you’re struggling with mental health, I cannot recommend therapy enough. Therapy is crucial to help you to get to the root of what might have brought on your mental health challenges, or give you tools to manage it.

Breathwork: I do not have enough magical things to say about breathwork and the incredible breathwork coach (another former FYC Podcast Guest!), Jennifer Mansell. I did 3-4 community breathwork sessions with Jenn in December and found it so helpful to process and move through those bigger emotions that lived deep in my body. I’ve been feeling so called to continue my breathwork journey (and working alongside Jenn Mansell – because it’s Jenn Mansell), that I signed up for her 8-week breathwork program, Closer!

What My Depression Has Taught Me

I’ve always been one to look for the silver lining in things and have always been one of the mindset of “this is happening FOR you, not TO you”.

So, when reflecting on my depression, I had to dig deep to find out what the hell this beast was trying to teach me – and what do you know … it taught me everything I’ve needed to know for a long, long time.

My depression taught me that I couldn’t continue doing life the way I was. I couldn’t continue:

  • Working like a maniac

  • Tying up my worth and “enoughness” in success, productivity and “doing”

  • Relying on external validation from others

  • Dating to fill voids and prevent being alone

My depression actually wouldn’t let me do any of those things. It literally cut off my abilities and drive to work, pursue and connect with others. I was forced to stop everything I was doing. I was forced to be still. I was forced to go within. I was forced to come home to myself and my body.

Since then, I’ve made some signification changes as to how I do life, by making the following a non-negotiable:

  • Daily morning walks (and weekend hike – I love the app All Trails, which is like Yelp for hikes in your area)

  • Better boundaries around work (still working on this, but being more flexible with my work hours, carving out more breaks and being mindful of evening scrolling has been helpful so far)

  • Better boundaries in my personal life (really trying to kick my people pleasing to the curb and not saying “yes” when I really want to say “no”).

  • Investing in on-going self-care (i.e. therapy, breathwork, massages)

  • Prioritizing “free” self-care habits as well (baths with epsom salts, sleep, meditation, talking with friends and my Mom).

I also made the decision to stay up north at my Mom’s longer. I don’t have an end date yet, other than an inner-knowing/desire to return to my place in Toronto in March at the latest. Yes, I’m still paying rent there and it stings to pay rent for a place you’re not even living in (anyone looking for a short-term sublet? haha), but at the end of the day, I’ve got a roof over my head, the best company during this Ontario-wide lockdown (shoutout to my Mama!) and the most beautiful nature surrounding me.

Plus, now that Duncan has a whole house to explore versus our [adorable, but quaint] 450 square foot apartment, I don’t think he’s going to want to head back to the city any time too soon haha.

Update On How I’m Doing

Healing is not linear, so there are still tough days. But I’m feeling much better. I think the main difference now, is that I’ve been able to build up a solid toolkit so when dark thoughts or low days trickle in, they don’t feel as scary and I have a general idea of things I can do to support myself.

While I’m not 100% sure, I think my depression was situational and when I crashed and had my crisis, it was truly the perfect storm between:

  • Healing from an intense relationship and breakup

  • Vowing not to date or pursue anyone to fill a void for minimum 3 months (Sounds silly, but this was a big deal and a BIG change for me. I basically starved my brain of dopamine I was used to getting. I’ll have another post to address this soon!).

  • Living on my own and working on my own during lockdown (I know many people are in a similar situation, and all the power to those who are rocking this, but * I * was not made for this, haha)

  • Doing two back-to-back program / product launches (fellow entrepreneurs – you’ll understand how taxing this is)

  • The state of the world and what seems like never-ending lockdowns

However, another connection I’ve recently made is noticing that my super low days strike right before my period, which is a pattern I can date back 3 months and even earlier in 2020. After looking into this, I came across something called PMDD (Pre Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder). It’s like PMS (Pre Menstrual Syndrome), but more so characterized by intense depression, anxiety and irritability the week leading up to your period.

I’m not 100% sure if this is the case for me, but there’s definitely a pattern, which is reassuring in a way so I can link it back to something that I can potentially manage through food, supplement and lifestyle strategies (intuitive eating / non-diet friendly strategies, of course).

In any case, I feel like I’m on the way up. I feel hopeful again. And I’ve embraced the fact that it’s okay to not always be okay. My anxiety persists, as it has for the past 10 years, but through the years, I feel like I’ve acquired more tools in my toolkit to better cope and manage when my mental health declines.

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Getting Support For Your Own Mental Health

When you’re struggling with mental health, it can be hard to know where to even start. I wanted to connect you with some resources and tips that I found to be helpful in my healing journey:

  • Reach out for help – If you don’t feel comfortable talking to a family member or friend, please consider calling one of the mental health hotlines in the resources section at the end of this post.

  • Book an appointment with your doctor – Your doctor can determine whether medication is right for you, write you a prescription, make recommendations for on-going support lifestyle/supplement-wise or refer you to a psychiatrist (if need be)

  • Join a mental health support group (this is a mental health support group local to Toronto that I joined and I’ve found it incredibly helpful)

  • Get a therapist – As I mentioned, BetterHelp Online Therapy is amazing (if you click here, you can save 10% off of your first month) or you can search for a therapist on psychologytoday.com.

    If you cannot afford therapy, there are options in the way of government funded therapy (please talk to your doctor about this), group therapy (I recommend googling “group therapy in _______ [where you live]” – many of them are currently available virtually), or asking your therapist for a sliding scale pricing option.

  • Build your mental health tool kit – Make a list of things you notice to be helpful to support your mental health so you can turn to them on a daily basis as part of your routine, or when you need them. For me, that looks like nature walks, hot showers, rinsing my wrists under super cold water (helps you to shift out of the state you’re in), using essential oils, guided meditations, breathwork, dancing, listening to music, scrolling on TikTok.

  • Nourish your mental health – There are certain foods and supplements that can be particularly helpful for mental health. While I would recommend working with a nutritionist to determine what’s right for you, things you can focus on adding are healthy fats, as well as supplements such as Vitamin D and Fish Oil. You may also want to avoid or limit stimulants like coffee or alcohol. I don’t limit them entirely, but I’ll check in with myself on each day to see if it’s something that will set me back in any way (i.e. if I’m super anxious, coffee and alcohol is a no-go). I also recommend avoiding or limiting while getting on medication (if you plan to) to be able to determine the correct medication and dose for you.

One thing I’ll also add is that it’s so important to advocate for your own mental health. This is something Karyn Inder says all the time, and she reminded me of it again when I called to book a doctor’s appointment for my mental health and they said they couldn’t see me for 2 weeks (which meant I would’ve gone 2 weeks from my crisis day without treatment or support – yikes). Without advocating for myself, I would’ve ended up waiting those 2 weeks and struggling in the meantime, but because Karyn reminded me to advocate for myself, I called back (or rather, I had my Mom call, because it was hard for me to do things at that time) to emphasize that urgent care was needed, and I’m thankful (and very privileged) to have got an appointment later that same day.

Supporting Someone With Mental Health Challenges

There’s nothing more heartbreaking than seeing someone you love suffer from mental illness. I’ve witnessed it in a handful of friends now and if you have too, you’ll know it feels quite helpless.

Here are some of my recommendations if you are someone who is supporting a loved one or friend with mental health challenges:

  • Karyn Inder – This post was released before a very exciting announcement from Karyn. In other words, follow Karyn on Instagram to follow along and find out a new offering coming her way.

  • Get a therapist – Let’s just say, everyone needs a therapist. But, especially if you’re supporting someone with mental health challenges. It’s important to take care of you and your mind, and to get support and perhaps better understand what your loved one or friend with mental health challenges is enduring.

  • Check in on them – I used to text my friends struggling with mental illness and say “how are you today?”. Now, being on the other side of that, I realized that’s not the most ideal thing to say to someone who is struggling with their mental health because it’s yet another reminder they aren’t okay.

    Here are a few little basic text scripts you could send someone that is struggling (that I personally found comforting):

    - “Thinking of you”
    - “Checking in <3 “
    - “You’ve got this”

    (Note: I didn’t include “I love you” because sadly, I didn’t find this one entirely helpful. It comes with the BEST, love-filled intent but I found it made me feel guilty for not appreciating all of the love I had around me. Personally, I knew I was loved deeply, but it didn’t change how I was feeling. Mental health is tricky like that!).

    And don’t stop checking in once the person looks to be okay. Remember, mental illness doesn’t have a look and because of the stigma surrounding it, people struggling get to be really good at hiding it. Healing is also not linear, so you may see them on a good day and assume they’re better, but the next day could be a whole different story. Let’s just continue to check in on each other, k?

Final Thoughts

While I love to put my theatre minor to good use and add a bit of a dramatic flare to things, I truthfully don’t know where I would be if I didn’t reach out for help on that November day.

I have an endless amount of gratitude to the people that supported me through this, including:

  • My family, who reminded me of their endless, unconditional love for me

  • My friends, who cheered me on, checked in and/or sat with me through my tears on the phone

  • My Intuitive Way For Eating clients, for your compassion + understanding, and to Lindsey W who offered to host our last group seminar session for me if I wasn’t feeling up to it (like, what?! tears).

  • My brand partners (hey Made With Local!), who were incredibly understanding and flexible with deadlines and encouraged me to prioritize my mental health instead .

  • My biz mentor, who helped me to make a new intuitive game plan for my biz that prioritized my mental health and allowed me to finish my launch with success.

  • Karyn, who coached me through my hardest mental health moments and, with her dark humour, made mental health a whole lot less scary.

  • The Forest, for being the calm and still reminder that it’s safe (and joyful) to come home to yourself.

  • Mom … there are no words for your selflessness and the rock you’ve been for me. Our lifetime together will not be enough to show you the immense amount of gratitude I have for you, but I will sure as heck try my best.

(And yes, I 100% recognize this reads like I just wrote a book and am listing out all my thank you’s at the end, but I couldn’t dish my whole story to you all and not give credit to the people who helped me get to this point).

Please, do not wait until you feel your mental health has gotten “bad enough” because at that point, it could be too late.

It’s no doubt that mental health challenges have impacted far more people over this past year than ever, but mental health challenges are not exclusive to pandemics and trying times. Mental health and mental illness is rampant and we need to continue to talk about it openly and make resources accessible to support those who are struggling.

Reach out. Ask for help. You will be amazed at how many people are also struggling (which, will help you to feel less alone) and are ready to hold space for you and support you.

Mental health challenges do not make you weak. In fact, I think, with the right support, they show you your strength. Initially, I was terrified to share this with all of you. I wondered how it would impact someone’s perception of me as an Intuitive Eating & Body Image Coach who helps people heal from the stories around food & body that are going on in their head.

But, now I know that these challenges, just like my previous challenges with an eating disorder and disordered eating, are what make me the coach I am.

I’m Rachel, an Intuitive Eating & Body Image Coach who struggles with depression, anxiety and mental illness.

But * I * am not my depression, anxiety or mental illness.

And neither are you.

We are so much more.

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Mental Health Resources

Canada Suicide Prevention Service at 1-833-456-4566 (24/7) or text 45645 (4 pm to 12 am ET).

Immediate Crisis Intervention for Indigenous People Call 1-855-242-3310 (toll-free). On request, telephone counseling is available in Cree, Ojibway, Inuktitut.

Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868.

Canada Drug Rehab and Addiction Services Recovery, at 1-877-746-1963

Assaulted Women's Helpline: 416 863-0511; Toll-free: 1 866 863-0511

CAMH (Toronto) Resources

USA 24-hr Mental Health Crisis Line 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text MHA To 741741,

This post contains affiliate links, of which I earn a commission off of. However, please know that I only ever recommend products and services that I’ve tried, approve of and would recommend.