988 has been designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. While some areas may be currently able to connect to the Lifeline by dialing 988, this dialing code will be available to everyone across the United States starting on July 16, 2022.
If you feel like you are in crisis or want to speak with a caring individual call/text 988 or go to 988lifeline.org to chat online.
You matter. You are not alone. There is help. Reach out.
Hey SLAYERS, September 5 – 11th is Suicide Prevention Week and I am always honored to work with Attitudes In Reverse® in spreading a message of good mental health and suicide prevention. I was recently asked while Zooming into an AIR event what I do to combat my fear. Please find my response below:
Good morning SLAYER! The potential for greatness lives within each of us.
New blog goes up Tuesday, until then… SLAY on!
Why are we always so hard on ourselves?
We hold ourselves to impossible standards, judge our every move, and then wonder why we feel stuck, small, and not good enough.
We speak to ourselves in ways we’d never speak to someone else—calling ourselves idiots, failures, brain-dead, or worse.
And we may not even realize we’re doing it.
That inner dialogue becomes so automatic, so embedded in our thinking, that the jabs feel normal.
But they’re not.
And worse—they’re harmful.
Those words don’t just disappear.
They settle into our energy, into our nervous system, into the way we show up in the world.
And over time, they become the very thing that holds us back from becoming who we are meant to be.
Before I began my journey in recovery, I judged myself constantly.
Nothing I did was ever “good enough.”
Even when I succeeded, I’d discredit it—call it luck, minimize the achievement, or immediately nitpick what wasn’t perfect.
My expectations were so high, they were built to break me.
And they did. Over and over.
The voice in my head wasn’t just critical—it was cruel.
It kept me sick. It convinced me I’d never be enough. It told me to give up before I even tried.
And I believed it.
I lived inside that mental prison for years.
I’d get these little bursts of self-confidence, moments where I felt like maybe I could do something great.
But the voice always returned—louder, meaner, and more persuasive.
It was a cycle that drained me and kept me from healing.
When I finally made the decision to seek help, one of the first things I had to face was my own thinking.
I had to get honest about the way I spoke to myself.
And what I discovered?
I had become my own worst bully.
If anyone else had said the things I said to myself, I never would have stood for it.
So why was I allowing it to happen in my own mind?
That realization changed everything.
I began to:
And slowly, something started to shift.
The voice got quieter.
The harsh words faded.
And I started to celebrate myself—for real.
No one gets it right all the time.
We all make mistakes.
We all fall short sometimes.
But that doesn’t mean we’re failures.
It means we’re human.
Mistakes are how we grow.
They help us refine our goals, improve our preparation, and get clearer on what we really want.
And when you set realistic goals—ones that allow for learning, flexibility, and growth—you give yourself a chance to succeed.
Even the smallest win becomes a reason to celebrate.
You are not the voice in your head that tells you you’re not enough.
You are not your mistakes.
You are not your worst day.
You are a work in progress—a beautiful, evolving human being.
And your job is not to be perfect.
Your job is to keep going.
So speak to yourself with kindness.
Encourage yourself like you would a best friend.
Celebrate every step, every shift, every bit of progress.
You’re doing better than you think.
I’d love to hear from you.
What’s one negative thing you’ve told yourself that you’re ready to replace with kindness?
Share your story in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on.
And if you know someone who’s struggling with self-judgment, send this to them.
Sometimes, all we need is a nudge.
Good morning SLAYER! When we are at our lowest point we are open to the greatest change.
New blog goes up Sunday, until then… SLAY on!
For most of us, there’s been a time when we’ve hit bottom.
And for many of us, there have been many.
But just because you find yourself at a bottom doesn’t mean you have to stay there.
In fact, sometimes hitting bottom can be the very thing that propels you upward—it can be a turning point, a wake-up call, a catalyst for change.
What matters most is that you recognize it as a bottom.
And then decide you’re not going to live there.
Looking back, I had many bottoms before I hit the one that finally brought me to my knees.
There were so many moments I should have asked for help…
So many warning signs I ignored…
So many nights I let myself spiral deeper into darkness.
But the truth is: we’re ready when we’re ready.
And if we’re lucky, we get that one moment—the one where something shifts, where the fear becomes too loud to ignore, and we finally ask for help.
For me, that moment came from fear.
Fear of where my mental illness had taken me.
Fear of where it might take me next.
I don’t know why that particular night was different.
There were many terrifying nights before it.
But that night, I got scared enough to pick up the phone.
And in doing so, I opened the door to my own recovery.
There’s a saying I love:
“You don’t have to ride the truck all the way to the dump.”
You can get off at any time.
Even in the darkest place, even at your lowest, you have a choice.
You always have the option to get off the path that’s dragging you down.
But you have to believe that it’s possible.
And you have to take action.
When I was deep in my illness, I felt powerless.
Like I was strapped to a runaway train.
But that wasn’t true.
I always had a ticket off that train.
And the moment I picked up the phone and asked for help, I used it.
That one action—speaking my truth—shifted everything.
I didn’t have all the answers yet.
I still had work to do.
But the secret I had been carrying was out.
The weight I had been holding got lighter.
And for the first time, I realized I was in control of my recovery.
It’s so important to notice your bottoms.
To recognize when you’ve fallen harder than usual.
To acknowledge when you’re staying down longer than you want to.
Because that moment of awareness?
That’s the moment you can begin to rise.
We all fall.
We all struggle.
But no one has to stay in the pit.
Freedom starts with acceptance.
The willingness to see where you are—and the courage to choose something better.
A bottom doesn’t have to be the end of your story.
It can be the beginning of your comeback.
A bottom might just be the biggest blessing in disguise.
It might be the one thing that finally gets your attention.
The one thing that cracks you open.
The one thing that forces you to stop, reflect, and change direction.
You don’t have to stay down.
You don’t have to prove anything to anyone by suffering longer.
Your story is still being written.
And a bottom can be the moment you choose a new chapter.
Use it to rise. Use it to SLAY.
Has a past bottom ever helped you grow or pivot in a new direction?
How can you use that lesson now?
Have you ever hit a bottom in your life?
What were the signs? What did it feel like?
Have you hit multiple bottoms?
What made the most recent one different?
Are you currently in a bottom?
If so, what are you doing about it—or avoiding?
What’s holding you back from asking for help or making a change?
What could shift if you took just one small step?
I’d love to hear from you.
What helped you recognize a bottom in your life—and what did you do to rise from it?
Share your story in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on.
And if you know someone who’s struggling to climb out of a hard place, send this to them.
Sometimes, all we need is a nudge.
Good morning SLAYER! Trust the plan not the pain.
New blog goes up Friday, until then… SLAY on!
Good morning SLAYER! Grow through what you go through.
SLAY on!
It may sound impossible at times, but in those moments when we feel our weakest, we must dig deep and find our strength.
There have been countless times in my life where I’ve had to rely on an inner strength I didn’t even realize I had. Somehow, just enough rose to the surface to help me push through.
We are all stronger than we think.
And when I take a moment to reflect on everything I’ve overcome, I’m reminded of the strength and courage that carried me.
It helps me in the present.
It prepares me for the future.
Because true strength often reveals itself when everything feels like it’s falling apart.
Looking back on my lowest points, I can admit—I didn’t always use my strength.
There were times I believed I was weak.
Times I gave in to the idea that I was broken or not worth saving.
I had flickers of power, brief moments of energy and clarity, but they’d fade. And that negative voice in my head? It would rush in, louder than ever.
That inner strength—the warrior in me—it was there.
But some days, that sword felt too heavy to lift.
There was one day in particular when I came dangerously close to surrendering.
I was at my lowest. But even then, there was a whisper of strength left inside me.
It wasn’t loud.
It wasn’t flashy.
But it was just strong enough to reach out, to ask for help, to cry for help.
And that moment changed everything.
That quiet strength was enough to rally.
Enough to begin my fight back.
For me, strength isn’t about pushing through everything without feeling.
It’s about showing up—even when it’s hard.
My strength lives in the inner warrior that walks beside me.
It’s the part of me that shields the most vulnerable parts inside.
My strength is spiritual.
It’s rooted in a connection to something greater than myself—a belief that I’m held, even when I’m hurting.
It’s also built from experience:
I also surround myself with people who reflect that strength back to me.
People who remind me who I am when I forget.
And I do the same for them.
Sometimes we need to borrow someone else’s light until we remember our own.
I’ve learned that strength isn’t something you “find” once and then never lose.
It’s a practice. A choice. A mindset.
I know now that:
And there’s always a small spark inside me—a flame that never goes out, no matter how dark it gets.
That’s what carries me.
That’s what keeps me standing.
And that’s what I want to help you find too.
We all have strength.
Even if it feels buried. Even if it’s been challenged.
Even if it’s quiet.
If this past year has shown us anything, it’s that we’re still here.
We’ve survived more than we thought we could.
We’ve made it through dark seasons, tough days, and hard truths.
And we’re still standing.
That is strength.
Now is the time to pick up your sword.
To fight for someone who matters—you.
Me. Us.
Dig deep.
Find your strength.
And use it to keep moving forward.
I’d love to hear from you.
What’s one moment when you found strength you didn’t know you had?
Share your story in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on.
And if you know someone who’s struggling to feel strong right now, send this to them.
Sometimes, all we need is a nudge.
