You Are Not Alone: A Meditation Coach’s Message for Mental Health Awareness Week.

⚠️ Trigger Warning

This blog discusses PTSD, suicide, sexual assault, and other mental health struggles. Please take care while reading. If you're in crisis, reach out to someone, you're not alone.

This Week, and Every Week, We Talk About Mental Health.

Mental Health Awareness Week is a time to break the silence. To connect. To feel seen. It’s a time to say: you’re not alone in your pain, your overwhelm, or your healing.

As a meditation coach today, I often meet people during their most vulnerable moments. But not long ago, I was the one desperately searching for a lifeline. I’ve been the woman on the floor, not knowing how to get up. I’ve been the person smiling on the outside, while inside everything was falling apart.

So this blog isn’t just my story, it’s a message for you. For anyone navigating trauma, burnout, depression, PTSD, or simply trying to get through another day. This is for the people who feel broken, unworthy, or invisible. You are not alone. And you are not beyond healing.

From Pain to Purpose: My Journey Through Mental Illness

My childhood was complicated, that’s a story for another time. But I eventually joined the Navy, a dream that made me feel strong, proud, and full of purpose. Until I was SA, by a group while serving. That trauma shattered the image I had of myself and the world. PTSD took hold. I tried to bury it with alcohol, distraction, and denial.

The Navy medically discharged me, and I spent years in therapy trying to rebuild. But trauma is tricky, it doesn’t vanish on a schedule. When my marriage ended, and I had a newborn in my arms, everything fell apart again. I believed I wasn’t enough. Not as a mother. Not as a person.

Eventually, I asked their dad to care for them while I tried to heal. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I judged myself harshly. I lost my sense of worth. I crumbled.

One night, it got so bad that I tried to take my life.

The Wake-Up Call: A Book & A Stranger

In the aftermath, I saw a book called Wake the F*ck Up by Brett Moran. The title hit me. That’s exactly what I needed. A jolt. Something to shake me from the numbness.

Then, weeks later, I kept seeing the same stranger in different places. One day, we finally talked. He shared that he had once been an addict. He had been in prison. But now, he was a life coach teaching meditation and helping others heal. I was inspired.

Then he told me he’d written a book. Yup, it was the book. The one I had just bought. That wasn’t a coincidence. That was the universe cracking open a door.

And I walked through it.

From Surviving to Serving: The Healing Tools That Changed My Life

After that moment, over time, I committed. I started reading. Studying. Practicing. I tried cold water therapy, yoga, meditation, breathwork, anything that might reconnect me with me.

These practices changed my brain and my life. They helped me come off medication. They helped me re-parent myself. They helped me show up for my kids again, not just physically, but emotionally.

Mindfulness didn’t make me perfect. It made me present. It made me resilient. It gave me a new way to live.

“What happened to you isn’t your fault. But your healing is your responsibility.”

That quote stuck with me. I live by it. Because healing doesn’t just happen, it’s a practice. A commitment. A decision to show up, over and over.

What Mental Wellbeing Really Means

Mental wellbeing isn’t the absence of struggle. It’s the presence of tools, support, and self-awareness. To me, it’s like training a muscle. The mind needs strength, flexibility, recovery, just like the body.

It’s also about self-love and courage. Facing our stories. Challenging beliefs like “I’m not worthy” or “I’m broken.” It’s letting go of perfection and embracing wholeness, even in the mess.

“Sometimes, to escape the trap, you just have to let go.”

My Core Philosophy

I believe in healing, not fixing. In self-awareness, not shame. In real talk, not sugarcoating. I aim to be the person I needed when I was lost: kind, honest, and grounded in empathy without judgment.

I deeply resonate with yoga philosophy and its pillars, from non-harming to truthfulness, and the pursuit of inner peace. But above all, I believe in being a good human. In holding space. In listening. In showing up.

I also love the metaphor of the monkey and the coconut. A monkey reaches into a coconut for a banana, but his clenched fist won’t fit back out. He’s trapped, unless he lets go. For a long time i struggled to let go of the "life" I had built. I had built it though my trauma, but it wasn't until i fully let go, that things truly fell into place.

Healing often means loosening our grip, on pain, on stories, on mindset on expectations. Sometimes through no fault of our own we are trapped by our own limiting beliefs and victim mentality. You aren't a victim. You are a survivor. Only then can we be truly free.

How I Help Others Heal Now

I now hold space for people who are walking their own healing journeys. Through my offerings, I share the tools that helped me find myself again:

• Grounding and nervous system regulation

• Guided meditation and breathwork

• Sound baths and Reiki healing

• Creative self-expression

• Group work and personal support

• Oracle cards, cacao ceremonies, and self-reflection rituals

But more than that, I bring empathy without judgment. I’ve lived it. I don’t pander, but I speak with heart. We all have flaws. We all have an ego. And sometimes, we just need someone to tell us the truth, with love.

One of My Favorite Tools: Morning & Evening Rituals

When people ask me where to start, I always come back to this: how you begin and end your day matters more than you think.

Creating structure and intention at the edges of your day sets the tone for everything in between. These small rituals tell your brain, “I am safe.” “I am cared for.” “I matter.”

Morning:

• Wake up earlier than needed

• Avoid your phone for the first 10 minutes

• Breathe deeply. 10 long, slow breaths

• Wash your face with cold water

• Drink water to hydrate and activate your system

• Sit quietly or journal for 5 minutes

Why it matters:These simple actions set a calm tone, reduce cortisol, and regulate your nervous system. They build resilience, one morning at a time.

Evening:

• Power down screens 30 mins before bed

• Light meditation or soft background music

• Deep breathing to calm the body

• Let go of the day with compassion

Sleep is not a luxury. It supports mood, memory, emotional regulation, and healing. Protect it like your wellbeing depends on it, because it does.

A Self-Care Check-In

Take a moment. Which of these can you check off today?

•  Drank water

•  Took 3 deep breaths

•  Moved your body

•  Spoke kindly to yourself

•  Spent 5 mins in stillness

•  Let something go

•  Reached out for support

•  Did something just for you

Every tick matters. Progress, not perfection.

Final Thoughts: This Is For You

If you’re reading this and struggling, I want you to hear this:

You’re not your diagnosis. You’re not your worst mistake. You’re not too far gone.

You are healing. You are worthy. And you are not alone.

Mental illness is real. It deserves space, compassion, and respect, just like any visible wound. The more we talk, the more we heal.

Let’s keep the conversation going. Let’s build a world where no one feels ashamed to say, “I’m not okay.”

With deep love and belief in your strength,

Natasha | Meditation Coach | Trauma Survivor | Wellness Advocate