prioritizing our mental health as healers

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Typically as therapists and mental health professionals, we spend the month of May on education, sharing resources, and working to end the stigma around mental health in our communities. 

But who focuses on the mental health of therapists?
Who heals the healer?

This is a question I’ve asked myself a lot, especially towards the beginning of my career in the mental health space. As someone with a passion for helping my community heal from trauma, anxiety, and depression, I put my all into my work as a therapist. However I found myself in a situation very common for therapists, mental health professionals, and healers: burnout. Because burnout is SO common for people in helping professions, for a while I thought this was just part of the program.

The truth is, the more burnt out, exhausted, and disconnected from myself I became, the LESS available I was for the work I truly wanted to do in the world. 

Thankfully, as I began to prioritize my healing journey and incorporate a holistic approach through yoga, sound healing, breathwork, affirmations, and fostering my spirituality, I was able to experience more joy, freedom and authenticity in my life. This not only positively impacted myself, but my loved ones, and ultimately my clients. 

I began to realize that in order to show up for my work and help my community heal, I needed to be whole, embodied, and continuously pouring into myself.

As women who help and heal, we spend so much time pouring into our clients and communities. We feel it’s part of the job to give and give, putting ourselves last. In my experience the opposite has rang true. When we put ourselves first, and prioritize the nurturance of our own souls, we are able to serve our communities from a place of overflow, rather than deplete ourselves. When we drink as we pour, we have so much more to offer.

If you are a woman in a helping profession, I encourage you to check in with yourself, evaluate your priorities, and make sure that YOU are at the top of that list. Not only for your own sake, but also for the sake of your calling: helping your communities heal.

I would love to know: what has your personal journey with self care looked like as a therapist or healer? Leave a comment below!

With so much love,
LeNaya