Latest Podcast Episodes

The Backpacks and Hairwraps podcast has two new episodes of season 1! Episode 2 “Finding Your Purpose” aired two weeks ago. If you’ve been pondering your life’s purpose and/or experiencing an awakening during this year, this episode is especially for you! You can check it out here! Episode 3 “Let’s Talk Mental Health” is also …

Managing Perinatal Depression

With the new light being shined on mental health awareness and the open discussion on postpartum depression (see link to blog post from last year), I want to talk about perinatal depression or depression during pregnancy.  This kind of depression often gets mistaken for the common changes that happen during pregnancy like moodiness and being exhausted …

Tips For Managing Depression

One thing I’ve learned through battling depression over the years is acceptance. Instead off resisting what I’m feeling or going through, I’ve become intentional in accepting what is going on in the present and using that awareness to create change. I’ve shared some of my experiences with depression on the blog in past posts, one …

What Happened When I Stopped Eating Meat

Around the summer of 2016, I started my journey with eliminating meat from my diet. I knew one that I would “go vegan” I just didn’t know how soon it would happen for me. First, I eliminated beef by eating more ground turkey. Next, I cut pork and started eating more chicken. By the end …

Ways to Do a Mental Detox

Whenever I would hear someone say anything about detoxing, I would automatically assume that they were referring to a physical detox. They probably were talking about flushing their bodies of toxins by using detox tea, sweating, or whatever their preferred method may have been at the time. While those methods may have produced desired results, …

Not On That Couch

When we begin to have honest and uncomfortable conversations regarding mental health we can heal individually and collectively. Until then mental health remains a taboo subject as I have commonly seen it in the black community. Until then we are left to guess and wonder about the matter much less normalize healing.

Be Present

Picture yourself driving down a busy freeway, you’re looking in your rear view mirror the entire time, and your car eventually crashes into another vehicle right in front of you. What did you expect? There’s a reason that you’re able to see clearly what’s in front of you out of the front windshield and that …

15 Affirmations for Anxiety

In one of my latest posts, I provided some methods that I have found helpful in managing anxiety. In the spiritual sense, anxiety can result from a lack of trust. This lack of trust shows up as a lack of trust in God, in self, in others, and in the process of life. Here are …

10 Natural Ways to Manage Anxiety

I grew up believing that mental illness and mental disorders only looked like straight jackets, prescription pills, and psychiatric hospitals, or the “crazy house” as those around me would say. This was partially due to images depicted on television. Another reason being the environment that I grew up in and seeing my family members suffer …

Thoughts of the Anxious

I should be a better person I should be a complete woman I should be further in my career I should me more than an organ donor I should already be accomplished I should be closer to God I should be in better shape I should eat healthier I should have a clear face I …

My Soul Teacher Lesson #3: More Gratitude, Less Stress

My oldest shouted, “Mommy I want some breakfast.” “What do you want?” I asked. He answered with, “Just some plain toast.” While I was preparing the toast, he kept asking if the toast was ready. I urged him to wait a few more minutes. He began growing impatient and I began to get slightly annoyed. …